Whole-system duct and dryer vent check with before-and-after photos - you see exactly what came out of your vents
That "$99 whole-house special" is a bait ad - the real number appears once they are in your hallway, or the "clean" is a shop-vac at the register. We photograph the inside of your ducts before and after instead.
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Before
AfterVent Cleaning in Alpharetta, GA
Our Dryer Vent Cleaning services in Alpharetta typically run $129-$229 for a standard single-story run, and most jobs are completed the same visit. If you’re noticing longer dry times, a hot exterior wall, or lint collecting around the exterior cap, the vent itself – not just the lint trap – is the problem. At CleanRun Air Duct Cleaning Alpharetta, we photograph the inside of every vent run before and after the work, so you’re not taking anyone’s word for what was found or what changed.
Vent cleaning is a specific sub-service under our full Dryer Vent Cleaning in Alpharetta program. That parent service covers the whole system: the exhaust pathway from the dryer’s exhaust collar through every elbow, transition duct, and wall cavity, all the way to the exterior termination cap. This page focuses on the vent line itself – the duct run and cap – which is where most Alpharetta homeowners have a problem and don’t know it yet.
You can reach us directly at (678) 679-7540. A live person answers every call.
When You Need Vent Cleaning
Most vent problems in Alpharetta don’t announce themselves until they’re already overdue. Here are the signs worth acting on:
- Drying cycles taking 60 minutes or longer for a normal load. A clear vent moves hot, moist air out in roughly 25-40 minutes per cycle. When that time doubles, airflow is restricted – usually by a lint blockage at an elbow or inside the exterior cap.
- The dryer cabinet or the laundry room wall feels unusually hot during a cycle. Heat that can’t exhaust through the vent backs up into the cabinet and radiates through the surrounding drywall. In homes in Windward and North Point where laundry rooms sit on interior walls, this heat has nowhere to go and builds fast.
- Visible lint accumulating around the exterior vent cap. If lint is collecting on the outside louvers or on the siding around the cap, it’s pushing past a blockage. The cap itself may also be damaged – bird nests are a documented issue in the Johns Creek corridor, and a lodged nest blocks airflow completely.
- A burning or dusty smell during operation. Lint is a fuel source. A partial blockage that allows the dryer to run while trapping lint against a hot surface is a documented fire risk. The U.S. Fire Administration links roughly 2,900 dryer fires annually to failure to clean vents – we won’t overstate this, but the mechanism is straightforward and the smell is a clear warning.
- It’s been more than 12 months since the last cleaning, or you’ve never had it done. Alpharetta’s new-construction homes built between 2015 and 2022 often have longer vent runs with multiple 90-degree elbows, because laundry rooms are placed for layout convenience, not vent efficiency. These configurations collect lint faster than a short, straight run.
- You just moved into a resale home. Vent cleaning history is rarely disclosed in a real estate transaction. If the previous owner had a gas dryer and you’ve switched to electric – or vice versa – the duct dimensions may not match the new appliance’s exhaust requirements either.
Our Vent Cleaning Process
Every vent cleaning job at CleanRun follows the same documented sequence. There’s no variation based on who’s on the crew or what kind of day it is – the H.A.V.E.N. Standard requires the same steps on every visit.
- Written price before anything is touched. Haven Standard Clause 1 means you receive a written scope and price before a single panel comes off or a tool goes into the vent. You approve it or you don’t – there’s no pressure either way. This is not a practice we adopted recently; it’s been the standard on every CleanRun job since 2013.
- Pre-work camera inspection and photo documentation. Before cleaning begins, we run a camera through the vent line and photograph the interior – the first section near the dryer collar, any elbows, the midpoint of the run, and the area behind the exterior cap. These before-photos become part of the job record we leave with you. If there’s a 4-inch compacted lint plug at the first elbow (a finding we see regularly in Alpharetta homes with stacked-configuration laundry units), you’ll see it in the photo, not just hear about it.
- Negative-pressure extraction with rotary brush agitation. We connect negative-pressure extraction equipment – which creates a controlled vacuum that pulls debris toward the exhaust rather than pushing it further into the duct – while a rotary brush works through the vent line to break up compacted lint. The Rotobrush system we use for residential vent work is designed for this specific application; it handles flexible transition duct, rigid metal duct, and the aluminum semi-rigid material that’s standard in Alpharetta construction without abrading the duct wall.
- Exterior cap inspection and clearing. The termination cap is checked for blockage, damage, and proper louver function. Caps that are clogged with lint, bird material, or wasp nests are cleared. If the cap is damaged or the wrong type for the duct diameter, we document that finding and give you options in writing before doing any additional work.
- Airflow verification. After the vent line is clear, we verify airflow at the exterior cap while the dryer runs. Adequate airflow means the louvers open fully under operating exhaust pressure. If they don’t – because of a remaining restriction, a duct disconnect inside the wall, or a cap that’s undersized for the dryer’s CFM output – you’ll know before we leave.
- Post-work photo documentation and written job record. After photos match against the before photos, and both go into the documented job record delivered to you at the end of the visit. Every duct run photographed, before and after, is standard on every CleanRun job – not an upgrade. You’ll have a written record of what was found, what was done, and what, if anything, needs attention.
Before
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Vent cleaning in Alpharetta costs $129-$229 for most residential jobs. The range exists because vent runs vary significantly from house to house, and the honest answer is that price follows complexity, not what sounds good on a coupon. Here’s what affects where your job lands in that range:
- Vent run length. A standard builder-grade vent run in Alpharetta is 8-15 feet. Runs over 25 feet – common in two-story homes where the laundry is on the second floor and the exterior termination is at grade level – require more time and add to the cost.
- Number of elbows. Each 90-degree elbow is a lint collection point and adds resistance to cleaning. Vent runs with three or more elbows take longer and require more passes with the rotary brush.
- Blockage severity. A light annual cleaning on a well-maintained vent is faster than clearing a 3-year accumulation with a compacted plug near the wall cap. If the camera shows a severe blockage before we start, the written price reflects that before any work begins.
- Cap condition and accessibility. Exterior caps on second-floor or roofline terminations require ladder access and take additional time. A cap that needs replacement is quoted separately, in writing, before we touch it.
| Service | Typical Price Range |
|---|---|
| Standard vent cleaning (under 20 ft, 1-2 elbows) | $129-$159 |
| Extended run or complex vent path (20+ ft, 3+ elbows) | $169-$229 |
| Exterior cap clearing (included in standard scope) | Included |
| Cap replacement (if needed, quoted separately) | $45-$85 |
| Pre- and post-work photo documentation | Included on every job |
The written price is delivered before any work starts – Haven Standard Clause 1. There’s no version of a CleanRun job where you find out the final number after the truck leaves. If you have a competitor’s written estimate, bring it. We’ll put our number next to it in writing at no cost – that’s our Free Second Opinion offer, and it applies to any written quote you’ve already received.
Call (678) 679-7540 to get your written estimate. Estimates are free, and the price you’re quoted is the price on the invoice.
FAQs – Vent Cleaning
How often should dryer vents be cleaned in Alpharetta?
Most Alpharetta homes need dryer vent cleaning once a year. That’s the general guideline, but your actual interval depends on vent run length, household size, and dryer usage. A household running 10+ loads per week through a 25-foot vent with three elbows will accumulate lint meaningfully faster than a two-person household with a short, straight run. If your dry times have increased noticeably since the last cleaning, that’s a more reliable indicator than the calendar. Call (678) 679-7540 and we’ll give you a written assessment of what the camera actually shows.
Is vent cleaning something a homeowner can do themselves?
The lint trap and the first foot or two of flexible transition duct behind the dryer can be cleared with a consumer brush kit. Beyond that, DIY vent cleaning has real limitations: consumer brush kits lack the rotary agitation needed to break up compacted lint inside long runs, and pushing lint further into an elbow without negative-pressure extraction behind it can worsen a partial blockage. More importantly, you can’t photograph what’s happening inside the duct wall, so you don’t know what you’ve actually cleared. For a standard annual cleaning on a short, accessible run, a homeowner can handle the visible section. For anything longer, more complex, or overdue, a camera inspection and extraction equipment are worth the cost. The 365-Day Done Right Promise backs our work in writing if you want the documented record.
What’s the difference between a cheap coupon service and what CleanRun does?
The $79 dryer vent coupon typically means a shop-vac connected to the exterior cap for a few minutes – no camera, no rotary brush inside the run, no documentation of what was found. The price is a door-opener, not a description of work. What CleanRun delivers is a camera inspection before work starts, rotary brush agitation with negative-pressure extraction through the full vent run, a photo record of every duct run before and after, and a written price before anyone touches anything. Those are concrete differences you can verify by asking any service provider what equipment they’re using and whether you’ll receive before-and-after photos. We’ve held this standard on every job since 2013 – it’s not a promotional claim.
Can a clogged dryer vent cause a fire?
Yes, and the mechanism is straightforward: lint is combustible, and a dryer exhaust system operates at temperatures that can ignite accumulated lint if airflow is sufficiently restricted. The U.S. Fire Administration documents roughly 2,900 residential dryer fires annually, with failure to clean the vent as the leading cause. We won’t overstate the risk to pressure anyone, but a blockage that allows the dryer to run while trapping lint against a hot surface is a genuine hazard. If you’re smelling something burning during a cycle or the dryer cabinet is unusually hot, stop using the dryer until a Dryer Vent Inspection is completed. Call (678) 679-7540 – we’ll get a camera in the vent and give you a written assessment of what’s there before recommending any work.
Why Alpharetta Homeowners Choose CleanRun
Alpharetta’s housing stock has some specific characteristics that make dryer vent maintenance worth taking seriously. Homes built in the Windward, Crabapple, and North Point sections between 2000 and 2015 were built with long vent runs as a matter of layout priority – laundry rooms were placed near master suites, not near exterior walls. The result is vent paths with 25- to 35-foot runs and three or four elbows that collect lint at a rate a short, straight run simply doesn’t. We’ve been in enough Alpharetta homes to know that the camera almost always turns up more than the homeowner expected, and the before-photo makes that finding concrete rather than something you’re being asked to take on faith.
The 365-Day Done Right Promise means that if something isn’t right after we leave, we come back and make it right – that commitment is in writing on every job, not subject to manager approval or fine-print exceptions. Tomas Reyes built CleanRun on the idea that a home service company should be able to show you documented evidence of what it did, not just tell you it went well. Every photo record, every written price, every before-and-after is part of that standard.
CleanRun is independently owned and operated, established in 2013, and has served more than 52,000 homes – every one with a written price before work started and a documented photo record when the crew left. All technicians are background-checked and uniformed, and you’ll know the technician’s name before anyone arrives at your door.
If you’re ready to get a written price for dryer vent cleaning in Alpharetta, call (678) 679-7540. The estimate is free, the price is written before anything starts, and the photo record is included in the job whether or not you’re there when we finish.
To learn more about the complete system inspection that precedes every vent cleaning job, visit our home page for the full scope of services CleanRun offers across Alpharetta and surrounding areas.
Written by Tomas Reyes, Owner at CleanRun Air Duct Cleaning Alpharetta, serving Alpharetta.