Roof Dryer Vent Cleaning in Florida

Plenty of Florida homes have no outside wall the dryer can reach. Two story houses, townhomes and interior laundry rooms often send the duct up through the attic to a cap on the roof. Those runs are long, they climb before they leave, and every foot of lift is a place where damp lint loses speed and settles back down.

The cap is where they tend to choke. Many roof caps sold for bath fans or attic ventilation come with a screen, and on a dryer that screen felts over with lint until very little gets through. Others are open enough for birds and rodents to build in. Because the cap sits out of sight on tile or shingle, a dryer can run hot and slow for months before anyone thinks to look up.

We clean these runs from both ends. From the roof we clear the cap and brush downward; from the laundry we brush and blow upward toward the open cap, so lint leaves the house instead of packing into the attic elbow. On barrel tile, steep pitches or wet roofs we stay off anything that will not bear weight safely, and tell you what that means for the result.

Key benefits

Cap and run in one visit

The screen, damper and throat of the roof cap are cleared, and so is every foot of duct below it.

Top and bottom

Brushing from both ends keeps lint moving out through the roof rather than piling up where the duct turns in the attic.

Care on tile and shingle

Weight placed only where the roof will take it, and the cap left sealed as we found it, or flagged if it was already failing.

Measured at the cap

Airflow read at the roof termination before and after, so you see how much more air now reaches the outside.

Our process

Reading at the cap. With the dryer on high, airflow measured at the roof termination and the cap checked for a screen, a nest or a stuck damper.
Clear the cap. Felted lint, nesting material and debris lifted out of the cap and the first feet of duct beneath it.
Brush from the roof. Rotary brush run down the vertical section from the top, loosening what has settled on the way up.
Brush and blow from the dryer. Transition hose checked, then brush and compressed air sent up through the attic run toward the open cap.
Measure and report. Second reading at the cap, dryer reconnected, and any problem with the cap or the attic joints noted with a price.

Roof Dryer Vent Cleaning: FAQs

How much does roof dryer vent cleaning cost?

$100 to $200 for most homes, the same range as any dryer vent cleaning, with roof runs usually toward the top because of their length and the climb. A nest packed solid into the cap is quoted before booking, and a cap that has to be replaced is repair work at $200 to $600.

Why does my dryer roof vent keep clogging?

Usually the cap has a screen or louvers too fine for lint, or the run is so long and vertical that the dryer cannot push lint all the way up. Taking the screen off or fitting a cap made for dryer exhaust often solves it; a run past its length limit may also need a shorter route.

Is it normal to have the dryer vent on the roof?

It is common in Florida where the laundry sits in the middle of the house or upstairs. It is not ideal, being longer and harder to clean than a wall vent, but it works when the run stays within its length limit and the cap is built for a dryer.

Can a roof vent be cleaned without going on the roof?

Partly. Most of the run can be cleaned from the dryer, but lint felted onto a cap screen or a nest inside the cap has to come out from above. If the roof cannot be walked safely, we tell you what was reached and what was not.

Do you replace dryer roof caps?

Yes. A cap with a screen, a broken damper or a cracked housing is swapped for one designed for dryer exhaust and sealed to the roof. That falls under our repair range of $200 to $600 and is quoted before the work.