Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repair
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Fast, Reliable Dryer Vent Cleaning Across Altadena
Dryer vent cleaning in Altadena typically runs $149 – $249 for a standard single-story home, and we can usually get to your property within a few business days. If your dryer takes two cycles to finish a load, the vent is almost certainly clogged with lint, ash, or both. If you can’t remember the last time it was cleaned, it’s overdue. Call Hickory Chimney Sweep at (855) 554-2841 for a free estimate, and we’ll send a technician who knows exactly what Altadena’s older homes and fire-season conditions do to dryer vents.
Key Takeaways
- Altadena dryer vent cleaning costs $149 – $249 for most single-story homes; two-story or long vent runs run higher.
- Post-Bobcat Fire ash and charred debris from the San Gabriels clog Altadena dryer vents in ways lint alone never will.
- Many 1920s – 1950s Altadena homes route dryer vents into clay-tile flues that were never designed for the job.
- We camera-inspect every vent and show you what we find before recommending any repair.
- Hickory Chimney Sweep covers both chimney and Dryer Vent Cleaning, the two leading appliance-fire hazards in one call.
Styles & brands we work with
Why Hickory Chimney Sweep Is Altadena’s Preferred Dryer Vent Cleaning Company
We work in Altadena every week, and the homes here are different from what you’ll find down the hill in Pasadena or over in La Cañada. The mix of 1920s Arts and Crafts bungalows, 1940s ranch houses, and mid-century builds with later additions means almost every dryer vent setup is unique, and a surprising number of them are vented into chimneys that predate modern dryer specs. Our technicians know what to look for before they even go inside: clay-tile flues, disconnected vent transitions, and caps that haven’t been checked since before the Bobcat Fire.
Ruben Acosta leads our team, and he’s the one who set the rule that still guides every job: we don’t recommend any repair the homeowner hasn’t seen with their own eyes on a camera. That matters in a foothill community like Altadena, where fire risk is real and the temptation for less scrupulous companies to sell unnecessary liner work is high. Our Dryer Vent Cleaning in Altadena customers get the same standard: evidence first, recommendation second, no scare tactics.
We respond to Altadena from our East Los Angeles base, and our scheduling team keeps dedicated windows open for the 91001 and 91003 ZIP codes. That means a call on Monday can usually get a tech to your door by midweek. For a clogged dryer vent in fire season, that’s not a convenience, it’s a safety issue.
Our Dryer Vent Cleaning Services in Altadena
Full Dryer Vent Cleaning and Lint Removal
We clean the entire vent run: the transition hose behind the dryer, the pipe through the wall or floor, and the exterior termination cap. In Altadena, that cap is often crusted with more than lint. Wind-blown ash from the San Gabriels and charred debris from the Bobcat Fire settle into exterior caps and cling to lint, creating a plug that’s denser and more flammable than standard household buildup. We remove it by hand, run brushes the full length of the run, and vacuum everything out.
Camera Inspection of the Vent Run
Every dryer vent cleaning in Altadena includes a camera inspection, and we show you the footage. If your vent runs through a wall cavity or up through a clay-tile flue, you deserve to see what’s actually in there before anyone tells you to tear anything out. That’s the only way to distinguish a simple clog from a damaged flue liner, a disconnected joint, or a transition that’s too small and trapping lint inside the wall. Our techs carry the camera gear on every Altadena call, not just the big jobs.
Dryer Vent Termination Cap Replacement
The cap on the outside of your Altadena home is the first line of defense against embers, ash, and even birds. When we replace one, we do it with professional-grade materials from suppliers like Gelco and Olympia Chimney. These are the same brands specified by certified chimney contractors, not the flimsy plastic caps you’d find at a big-box store. A proper metal cap with the right backdraft damper keeps ash out during Santa Ana conditions and lets moisture escape when the dryer runs.
Transition Hose Repair and Replacement
The flexible hose connecting your dryer to the wall is the most common failure point we see in Altadena homes. In older properties, it’s often too long, kinked, crushed behind the machine, or made of brittle plastic that should never have been used for a dryer vent. We replace it with rigid or semi-rigid metal ducting sized to your setup, then verify airflow with a manometer. This is standard procedure on every Altadena job, not an add-on.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees — you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Altadena
When a repair is needed, we install materials from brands like DuraFlex and HeatShield, both of which are specified by certified chimney and venting professionals, and we offer Altadena DuraFlex service on the same visit. For Altadena customers, that means we can usually handle a damaged liner or a failed vent transition on the same visit, without ordering parts from a consumer retailer and waiting a week. We keep common HeatShield and DuraFlex components on our trucks when we service the 91001 and 91003 areas, because we know the housing stock here and the problems that come with it. Clean it. Repair it. Protect it. That sequence applies to dryer vents just as much as chimneys.
Common Dryer Vent Cleaning Problems We See in Altadena Homes
- Dryer vents routed into clay-tile flues. Many Altadena homes from the 1920s through the 1950s were built before stand-alone dryer venting was standard, so the dryer was connected to whatever flue was available. Clay tiles crack and spall under decades of seismic stress, and lint finds every gap. We camera-inspect these runs every time, because what looks like a clean flue from the outside is often a hidden lint trap waiting to ignite.
- Post-Bobcat Fire ash in exterior caps and flues. We see this constantly in Altadena and almost nowhere else in the foothill communities. The 2020 fire pushed fine ash and charred particulate into the air for weeks, and it settled into dryer vent caps, flue liners, and even the space behind the dryer. That ash mixes with lint and forms a crust that restricts airflow far more than lint alone. It needs mechanical removal, not just a quick brush.
- Mismatched and disconnected vent transitions from retrofits. Altadena homes have been expanded, remodeled, and re-plumbed over the decades, and dryer vents are often an afterthought. We find transitions that don’t match the dryer outlet size, joints held together with duct tape, and runs that vent into wall cavities instead of the exterior. These are hidden fires waiting for the right combination of heat and airflow restriction.
- Crushed or kinked transition hoses behind the dryer. It’s the simplest problem and one of the most common in Altadena’s compact laundry closets and older utility rooms. The hose gets pushed against the wall, kinks, and airflow drops. The dryer compensates by running longer, which means more heat, more lint shedding, and eventually a thermal fuse failure or a fire. We fix it by replacing the hose with rigid metal and verifying the airflow before we leave.
See the difference
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After
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After
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AfterPricing for Dryer Vent Cleaning in Altadena, CA
A standard dryer vent cleaning in Altadena runs $149 – $249 for a single-story home with a straight vent run of 15 feet or less. Homes with vent runs over 15 feet, multi-story routing, or vents that exit through the roof typically run $229 – $349. If you have a two-story home in the 91001 or 91003 ZIP code, expect the higher end of the range. Camera inspection is included in every cleaning, and any repair quote we give you comes with photos and video. We will not recommend liner replacement or masonry work you cannot verify with your own eyes, and if your vent just needs a cleaning, that’s what we’ll tell you. Call (855) 554-2841 for a free, no-pressure estimate specific to your Altadena property.
We Also Serve Cities Near Altadena
Hickory Chimney Sweep serves Altadena and the surrounding foothill communities, including Pasadena, La Cañada Flintridge, East Pasadena, and San Marino. If you’re in one of those areas, our Altadena scheduling covers you as well, with the same camera-inspection standard and the same evidence-first approach to repairs. One call covers the chimney and the dryer vent, wherever you are in the foothills.
Serving Altadena, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Altadena area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage — if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs – Dryer Vent Cleaning in Altadena
Altadena’s position at the base of the San Gabriels means the Bobcat Fire’s ash and charred debris settled into dryer vent caps, flues, and even the space behind dryers in a way that neighboring cities didn’t experience. That ash mixes with lint and creates a dense, restrictive crust that standard brushing often won’t fully remove. Homes in the 91001 and 91003 ZIP codes should have their vents inspected even if the dryer seems to be working, because airflow can drop by 30 – 40% before most homeowners notice a longer drying cycle. Call us at (855) 554-2841 for a camera inspection and an honest assessment of what’s actually in your vent.
No, and this is one of the most important things we tell Altadena homeowners. Clay-tile flues were designed for fireplace exhaust, not for dryer venting, and decades of seismic activity have cracked and spalled the tiles, creating gaps where lint accumulates out of sight. On a 1920s Craftsman in Altadena’s Poppyfields neighborhood, we found a dryer vent hose connected to a crumbling clay-tile flue that had been compromised by seismic shifting and clogged with ash from the Bobcat Fire. Our tech ran a camera and showed the homeowner the spalling mortar and third-degree creosote glaze inside the flue liner, evidence that the venting setup was unsafe. We replaced the damaged section with a DuraFlex liner and cleared the vent, restoring proper draft and preventing a potential fire hazard. If your dryer vents into a clay-tile flue, call (855) 554-2841 and we’ll show you exactly what that looks like on camera.
For most Altadena homes, once a year. If you have a large household, multiple dogs, or if your vent run is long, you may need it every 8 – 10 months. Homes that were exposed to heavy Bobcat Fire ash should have been cleaned at least once since the fire, and if you haven’t been, don’t wait. The combination of dry Santa Ana conditions and restricted airflow is exactly the scenario that causes dryer fires. Call (855) 554-2841 and we’ll get you on the schedule.
First-degree creosote is a light, fluffy soot that brushes away easily. Third-degree creosote is a hard, shiny glaze that forms when the vent runs hot and restricted for a long time, and it cannot be removed with standard brushes. In Altadena, we see third-degree buildup in dryer vents that were routed through clay-tile flues or that haven’t been cleaned in years, often compounded by ash from the Bobcat Fire. Third-degree creosote is a fire hazard and usually means the affected section of vent or liner needs to be replaced. We’ll show you the footage before we touch anything.
Every single time. We run a camera through your vent run before and after cleaning, and we show you the footage. That’s how we identify hidden damage, disconnected joints, or the localized ash-and-lint plugs that are specific to Altadena’s post-Bobcat Fire conditions. You’ll never get a repair recommendation from us unless you’ve seen the evidence yourself. Call (855) 554-2841 to book a cleaning with camera inspection, free estimate included.
Schedule Your Altadena Dryer Vent Cleaning
If your dryer is heating properly but taking longer to dry clothes, that’s a vent problem, not a dryer problem. In Altadena, where fire season is a year-round reality, a clogged vent is not something to put off. Call Hickory Chimney Sweep at (855) 554-2841 and we’ll schedule a cleaning, camera-inspect your entire vent run, and give you an honest answer about what needs attention and what doesn’t. No scare tactics, no upselling, just evidence and straight talk from a team that knows Altadena’s homes.
Written by Ruben Acosta, Owner at Hickory Chimney Sweep, serving Altadena and the surrounding foothill communities.