Tri-State's Trusted Duct & Dryer Vent Cleaners:

According to the EPA, three things justify a cleaning: mold you can see inside the ducts or on other heating and cooling parts, signs of rodents or insects in the ductwork, and so much dust and debris that it blows out through the registers. A recent move or remodel is another good trigger. We always look first, and if a cleaning isn't needed, you'll hear that from us.

Fire-safety guidance calls for a professional vent cleaning once a year at minimum. If your family does laundry daily, or the vent takes a long, bendy route to the outside, twice a year is safer.

Very likely. Other clues: a dryer or laundry that gets unusually hot, a scorched smell during a cycle, barely any air coming out of the outside flap, lint collecting near the dryer or the exterior vent, and fresh laundry that smells musty. Spot one of these? Pause the dryer and get the vent looked at.

Serious. The U.S. Fire Administration counts roughly 2,900 home clothes dryer fires each year. The top contributing factor is failure to clean, and dust and lint are what most often catch first. A lint screen helps, but fine lint slips through and builds up in the vent, and only cleaning the vent itself clears it out.

Everything that moves air. The EPA cautions that cleaning ducts alone lets dirt from the rest of the system work its way back in, so we also do the returns, registers, grilles, blower motor and furnace.

Roughly 60 minutes for a dryer vent. For air ducts, a whole house usually takes 2 to 5 hours, depending on its size and how many vents it has. You'll get a time estimate along with your quote.

By the size of the home, how many vents it has and how long the dryer vent run is. We quote for free and put the number in writing before starting. A word of caution about very cheap 'whole house' offers: many clean only part of the system, then add costs once the crew is there.

We do. Machines that run all day fill their vent lines with lint far quicker than a home dryer. Dryer makers advise inspecting commercial exhaust lines anywhere from monthly to every 6 months, depending on volume. We'll inspect your lines, set a schedule that fits how busy you are, and plan the work around your opening hours.

Our base is the Tri-State area. We're in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs every week, and we reach the rest of Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana on planned routes. Tell us your town or ZIP and we'll let you know the next opening.