Dryer Vent Cleaning
Dryer Vent Cleaning in MA, NH and Southern Maine
If a load takes two cycles to dry, the lint has already won. We clear the whole run from the back of the dryer to the outside hood, and show you photos of what came out.
★★★★★ 5.0 from 104 Google reviews • Family owned since 1994
The short version
Kealey's does residential and commercial dryer vent cleaning across Essex County, Massachusetts, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, and southern York County, Maine. We clear the full run from the back of the dryer out to the exterior hood, vacuum the dryer cabinet and the floor behind the machine, pull out nests, free a stuck flap at the cap, then confirm the air is moving before we pack up. Every job comes with an upfront price and before and after photos.
Family owned since 1994 and founded by mechanical engineer Brian Kealey, who still runs jobs with his son Keenan. More about the family.
How often? NADCA recommends cleaning a residential dryer vent once a year. Heavy laundry weeks, shedding pets, or a long run with several turns move that closer to every six months.
How do you know your dryer vent is clogged?
Most people call because the laundry stopped drying in one cycle. The quieter signs usually show up first.
- Two cycles for one load. A normal load should be dry in about 40 minutes.
- The dryer runs hot and the laundry room feels warm and humid.
- A restricted airflow code. LG shows d80, d90 or d95. Whirlpool and Maytag show AF. That usually means the line, not the machine.
- A burning smell, or clothes that come out musty.
- Lint at the outside hood, or a flap that no longer swings open.
- The dryer quits mid cycle. That is the thermal cut-out doing its job.
One of these is worth a look. Two or more and lint is packing in faster than it can blow out.
What changes after the vent is cleared?
Airflow figures are easy to advertise and impossible for a homeowner to check. Here is what you should notice instead, starting with the next load.
Same line, before and after
One cycle instead of two
The most common result. A load that took 80 or 90 minutes goes back to roughly 40.
The machine stops running hot
Heat that was backing up in the cabinet goes out the wall. No more tripping the cut-out.
Lower running cost
A dryer that finishes in one cycle uses about half the power of one that needs two.
The appliance lasts longer
Elements and blower motors wear out fast under constant back pressure.
Can a clogged dryer vent really start a fire?
Yes, and the reason is not complicated. Lint is dry, fine and flammable. When it packs into a vent line, hot air backs up into the cabinet where the heating element sits.
Gas dryers carry a second risk. A blocked vent can push carbon monoxide back into the house instead of out through the wall. Worth knowing if your laundry sits in a finished basement.
Home dryer fires a year, per the U.S. Fire Administration. Failure to clean the vent is the leading cause.
Cabinet opened up on an August job
How does Kealey's clean a dryer vent?
Brian trained as a mechanical engineer and built the process around one idea. Clear the whole run, then prove it is clear.
Look at the whole run
Where it goes, how long it is, how many turns, where it exits. That decides how we clean it.
Pull the dryer out
Lint collects behind the machine and inside the cabinet, closest to the heat source.
Clear the full line
Brush rods and air work the length of the duct. Packed lint comes out rather than moving deeper.
Clear the outside hood
Nests, screens and matted lint come out of the cap, and the flap has to open properly again.
Confirm the air moves
The dryer runs while we check flow outside, then the transition duct gets reconnected.
Show you the photos
Before and after. Any damage we found gets shown and explained before anything else happens.
What does the inside of a neglected vent look like?
Homeowners rarely see inside their own vent line, which is most of why this industry has a trust problem. One run, photographed before and after.
You get the same pair for your own house after every dryer vent cleaning.
Why are Seacoast and southern Maine vents harder than most?
We have been doing dryer vent cleaning from Georgetown up through the Seacoast since 1994. The same six problems come up over and over.
Long runs in Colonials and Capes
The laundry sits nowhere near an exterior wall, so the vent snakes twenty feet through joist bays. Every elbow slows it down.
Second floor and closet laundry
Newer builds in Exeter, Stratham and Durham vent up through the roof. Plenty of companies will not go up there.
Coastal damp
Humid ocean air in a long cold duct makes condensation. Wet lint sets into a plug a shop vacuum will not touch.
Birds and pest screens
Exterior hoods are prime nesting spots each spring, and an added screen catches lint until nothing moves.
Ducts knocked loose
New flooring or a washer swap bumps the duct off its floor connection. We check that before blaming the line.
Foil and plastic duct
Older laundry rooms still have flexible foil behind the dryer. It sags, traps lint, and is no longer what code calls for.
What does dryer vent cleaning cost?
Any company that quotes a firm number before seeing your setup is guessing. Four things move the price:
- How long the run is
- Whether it exits through a side wall or the roof
- How easy the dryer is to reach
- Whether anything is damaged or needs replacing
What we promise is that the number you are quoted is the number you pay. If we open things up and find a problem the quote did not cover, work stops and you decide before we go further.
Worth knowing. Call and describe the problem and there is a fair chance we talk you through a fix instead of booking a visit. Brian has done it plenty of times.
Where does Kealey's clean dryer vents?
On the Seacoast route, August 2026
Essex County, Massachusetts from Georgetown north, the New Hampshire Seacoast across Rockingham County, and southern York County, Maine.
On the New Hampshire side that means Exeter, Stratham, Dover and Durham, plus Hampton and Portsmouth. Over the bridge in Maine we cover Kittery and York. Dover, Durham and York are on the regular route even without their own pages, so call and ask.
Salisbury, MA
Salisbury Beach, Ring's Island and the coastal neighborhoods.
Amesbury, MA
Downtown, Lake Gardner and the Powow River neighborhoods.
Newburyport, MA
Historic downtown, Plum Island and homes along the Merrimack.
Exeter, NH
Downtown, the Plains and the Squamscott River neighborhoods.
Hampton, NH
Hampton Beach, North Hampton and the nearby Seacoast towns.
Portsmouth, NH
Downtown, the South End and Atlantic Heights.
Kittery, ME
Foreside, Kittery Point and Badger's Island.
Air duct cleaning
Dust, pollen and pet dander cleared out of the HVAC system, with the same before and after photos. Plenty of homeowners book both on one visit. Mention it when you request your quote.
What customers say about dryer vent jobs
★★★★★"Had a national chain come to our house and say they couldn't clean our dryer vent due to water. Brian and his son came and cleared out our vent no problem, dryer works great now."
Eric D.
★★★★★"Fantastic service! Our dryer vent was blocked by a nest and Brian came out to fix it extremely quickly as well as provided some troubleshooting advice in the meantime. They went above and beyond, highly recommend!!"
Erin M.
★★★★★"Brian and his son Keenan did a FANTASTIC job! They were easy to book with, done in an hour, and not only did they do the vents but they left my wash closet even cleaner than they found it. 10/10 service!"
Allison O.
Dryer vent questions we get asked
If yours is not here, call and ask. We would rather talk you out of a job than sell you one.
NADCA recommends once a year, and that covers most single family homes. Go to twice a year with a big family, pets that shed, or a long run with several turns. One or two loads a week can usually stretch it longer, and we will tell you that rather than book you in.
Yes. Second floor laundry rooms and roof terminations are common across the Seacoast and we are set up for them. This is one of the jobs other companies turn down, so if you have been told no before, it is worth calling us.
No. Lint gets captured as it comes out rather than blown around the room, we protect the floor, and the dryer goes back where it belongs. Customers regularly tell us the laundry area was cleaner when we left than when we arrived.
About an hour for a standard cleaning. Longer runs, roof exits and repairs add time. Someone should be home to let us in and hear what we found, and we text ahead so you are not waiting all morning.
It happens more than you would think. Crushed sections, joints disconnected behind the dryer, sagging foil duct and broken exterior flaps all turn up regularly. We show you the problem, explain the fix, and let you decide. Repairs are quoted separately and never added on quietly.
Often the vent. We have had customers repair or replace a dryer, see no improvement, and only then check the line. If your machine is fairly new and suddenly stopped drying well, call before you spend money on an appliance repair.
You can clear the first few feet behind the dryer, and if that is all your run needs, go ahead. Trouble starts on longer runs. Rod sections can come apart inside a wall cavity, and a household vacuum cannot pull the loosened lint back out, so it packs tighter further down.
Request your dryer vent cleaning quote
Tell us about your setup and we will come back with a real number and a time that works. No obligation, and nobody will chase you.
- Where the dryer sits
- Roughly how far the vent runs
- Whether it exits through a wall or the roof
- What you have been noticing
Prefer email? kealeys@bkductdryercleaning.com
Stop running the dryer twice
A quick phone consult, a clear price, and photo proof when the job is done.