DIY vs Professional

You can clear the first few feet with a hardware-store brush kit and a shop vac, and that helps. Full-length cleaning, roof caps, and long runs with elbows need a rotary brush system and a strong vacuum. DIY kits often break off inside the duct or push lint into a plug at the cap.

It is a popular hack but we don't recommend it. A leaf blower can push a lint plug tighter against the cap, blow lint into the wall if a joint is loose, and does nothing for lint stuck to the duct walls.

Cheap rods spin apart or kink at elbows. If part of the brush is stuck in your duct, stop and call us; we remove broken rods with a camera and retrieval tool.

About $20–$40 for a 12–20 foot kit. For a short straight basement run it can be worth it. For roof vents or runs over 15 feet the kit rarely reaches the cap where the clog is.

Clean the lint screen every load, wash the screen with soap monthly to remove softener film, check the outdoor flapper opens while the dryer runs, keep shrubs and snow 12 inches from the cap, and never run the dryer with a crushed hose.

For anything other than a short, straight, ground-level run, yes. Professionals clean the full length, clear the cap, measure airflow, and catch hazards like disconnected duct or flex hose that DIY misses.