Whole-system duct and dryer vent check with before-and-after photos - you see exactly what came out of your vents
That "$99 whole-house special" is a bait ad - the real number appears once they are in your hallway, or the "clean" is a shop-vac at the register. We photograph the inside of your ducts before and after instead.
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AfterFast, Reliable Dryer Vent Cleaning Across Malden
Dryer vent cleaning in Malden typically runs $150 – $275 for a standard single-family or condo unit, and most jobs are completed in under two hours with the dryer back in service the same day. We’re familiar with the triple-deckers along Pleasant Street, the capes tucked behind the Fellsway, and the two-families near Malden Center where vent runs often disappear into finished basements that were framed decades ago. Our crews dispatch from the Boston office and carry rigid metal duct, proper termination caps, and camera inspection gear so we’re not making a second trip to a Malden home because we guessed wrong about what’s behind the wall.
Call (361) 326-5060 for a free estimate. We’ll give you a written price before any work starts, and every job carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Why Hollis Air Duct Cleaning Is Malden’s Preferred Dryer Vent Cleaning Company
We’ve been serving Malden homeowners since 2004 as part of the Garrison Partners family, and our reputation here was built on showing up when we said we would and pricing the job before we touch it. Malden customers tell us the same thing: they called another outfit that quoted a low teaser over the phone, then the invoice jumped once the technician was inside. That doesn’t happen with Hollis. The price is written down before any work starts, and it does not move at the door.
Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed, and they arrive inside the quoted window. Calls are answered by a live person 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so you’re not leaving voicemail when you’re trying to schedule around a workday in Malden. We know the local housing stock, we know where the vent runs hide in these older homes, and we know that a dryer taking three cycles to dry isn’t always a bad heating element, sometimes it’s a crushed foil duct behind a basement ceiling that no one’s looked at in twenty years.
Dryer Vent Cleaning Service in Malden
Dryer Vent Cleaning Service in Malden means more than pulling lint from a trap. In this city, it often means tracing a vent run through a shared basement in a 1920s two-family, finding where a flexible foil duct was crushed behind a finished ceiling during a 1980s renovation, and removing a decade of packed lint mixed with road salt dust and coal ash from old gravity-furnace conversions. Our crews use Rotobrush rotary systems and Nikro negative-air machines to agitate and extract debris, then verify the line is clear with camera inspection before we seal the access and leave.
A standard Dryer Vent Cleaning Service in Malden runs $150 – $225 for a single dryer with accessible exterior termination. Jobs requiring access panel cuts in finished basements, or cleaning of shared runs in multi-family buildings, typically fall in the $200 – $275 range. We price by the system, not by the foot, and we photograph the before and after so you see what came out.
Camera Inspection and Access
We run a borescope through every vent line we clean. In Malden’s older homes, this is where we find the problems: crushed foil ducts, disconnected joints behind plaster, or terminations clogged with pollen from the Middlesex Fells that have hardened into a mat. The camera lets us show you exactly what we’re dealing with before we cut anything open.
Lint Removal and Pathway Clearing
Lint is hydroscopic, it grabs moisture from Malden’s humid summer air and compacts into a dense, flammable mass. Our rotary brush systems break it loose from galvanized duct walls, and negative-air extraction pulls it out rather than pushing it deeper into the run. The dryer breathes again, and drying times drop back to normal.
Dryer Vent Installation in Malden
Dryer Vent Installation in Malden is often a replacement job disguised as a cleaning call. We arrive expecting to clear lint and find a flexible foil duct crushed behind a finished basement ceiling, or a vent run that was never properly routed to the exterior and instead terminates into a crawl space or the back of a chimney. In these cases, cleaning won’t fix the problem. The vent needs to be rebuilt with rigid metal duct, properly supported, and terminated through the wall or roof with a code-compliant cap.
A straightforward Dryer Vent Installation in Malden, replacing an existing run with rigid metal duct to an accessible exterior wall, typically costs $300 – $450. Jobs requiring routing through multiple floors, roof terminations, or cutting access in finished spaces usually run $400 – $650. We write the price before we start, and we explain exactly what we’re cutting and why.
Rigid Metal Duct Replacement
Malden’s pre-1950 homes were never built with dryer vents in mind. The foil flex duct that a previous owner jammed through a coal chute or joist bay is a fire hazard and a performance killer. We replace it with 26-gauge rigid metal duct, sealed at every joint with high-temperature mastic, supported every four feet, and terminated with a proper backdraft damper.
Vent Rerouting and Termination
Some Malden homes have dryers located where no sensible vent path exists, the result of a basement conversion or kitchen relocation. We reroute through interior walls, floor systems, or roof terminations when exterior wall access isn’t practical. Every route is calculated for maximum airflow and minimum lint accumulation.
Trusted Brands We Service in Malden
Our equipment roster includes Rotobrush rotary brush systems for mechanical agitation, Nikro negative-air machines for debris extraction, and filtration and sealing products from Abatement Technologies and Guardsman. These are the same tools commercial duct crews use in hospitals and schools, not the hardware-store shop vacs some competitors bring to a Malden job. We stock rigid metal duct, termination caps, and bird guards sized for the older construction we encounter here, so most installations are completed in a single visit without waiting on parts.
Common Dryer Vent Cleaning Problems We See in Malden Homes
- Crushed foil ducts behind finished basement ceilings. In Malden’s two- and three-family homes, basement renovations often buried the original flexible dryer vent behind drywall or drop ceilings. The duct kinks, lint accumulates in the low spot, and the dryer labors for hours while the homeowner assumes the appliance is failing.
- Coal chute conversions in Edgeworth and Maplewood. The original gravity-furnace ductwork in these neighborhoods was converted to forced-air in the 1950s, often using old coal chutes as return-air plenums. Dryer vent runs in these homes can share pathways with a century of coal ash and debris that recontaminates living spaces every time the system runs.
- Exterior terminations clogged by local debris. Malden’s cold, damp winters and proximity to the Middlesex Fells mean vent caps collect road salt dust, ice formations, and compacted pollen. The exterior flap freezes shut or jams with debris, and the homeowner calls us thinking the dryer blower motor has failed.
- Shared vent runs in multi-family buildings. Many Malden triple-deckers have dryers on multiple floors feeding into a single exterior termination. When one unit’s lint load combines with another’s, the blockage forms where the runs merge, typically in an inaccessible basement joist bay that requires camera inspection to locate.
Pricing for Dryer Vent Cleaning in Malden, MA
We give honest numbers because we’ve been on the other side of the bait-and-switch, and we won’t run that play on Malden homeowners.
| Service | Typical Range in Malden |
|---|---|
| Standard dryer vent cleaning (single unit, accessible termination) | $150 – $225 |
| Multi-family or shared-run cleaning | $200 – $275 |
| Vent installation / replacement with rigid metal duct | $300 – $450 |
| Complex reroute or roof termination | $400 – $650 |
| Camera inspection (standalone or with service) | $75 – $125 |
What moves the price: finished basement ceilings that need access panels cut, shared runs requiring coordination with multiple tenants, roof terminations needing ladder work, and bird guard or cap replacement. What doesn’t move the price: we don’t charge per foot, we don’t add “disposal fees” at the door, and we don’t quote low to get the van in the driveway. The price we write down is the price you pay. Call (361) 326-5060 for a free estimate, we’ll ask about your home’s age, the dryer location, and whether you’ve noticed any burning smells or extended dry times, then give you a range you can plan around.
We Also Serve Cities Near Malden
Our crews work throughout the immediate metro area, and we regularly schedule Dryer Vent Cleaning in Malden alongside jobs in Everett, Melrose, Medford, and Chelsea. The housing stock is similar, pre-1950 construction with the same hidden vent runs and shared basement configurations, but Malden’s density of triple-deckers and two-families creates cleaning challenges we don’t see in the single-family neighborhoods of Melrose or the newer builds near Chelsea Creek. If you’re in one of these neighboring cities, the same pricing and same 365-Day Done Right Promise apply.
Serving Malden, MA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Malden 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 About Dryer Vent Cleaning in Malden
Restricted airflow is almost always the cause, and in Malden’s older homes the restriction is usually a crushed or clogged vent run rather than a failing dryer. We find flexible foil ducts compressed behind finished basement ceilings, terminations blocked with Middlesex Fells pollen and road salt dust, or lint packed into the low spots of shared multi-family runs. Call (361) 326-5060 and we’ll camera-inspect the line to confirm what’s choking your airflow.
Yes, and we do it regularly. We coordinate access with all affected tenants, inspect the full run from each dryer to the shared termination, and clean the entire pathway so one unit’s lint isn’t backing up into another’s. The price for shared-run cleaning in Malden typically runs $200 – $275 depending on access and the number of connection points.
Every 12 to 18 months for single-family units, and every 8 to 12 months for multi-family buildings with shared runs. Malden’s pre-1950 construction means vent pathways are longer, more convoluted, and more prone to lint accumulation than the straighter runs in newer homes. The coal ash and debris in converted gravity-furnace systems adds another layer of contamination that accelerates buildup.
We remove any flexible foil duct, verify the termination path to the exterior, and install rigid metal duct with proper support and sealing. In Malden homes with converted coal chutes or finished basement ceilings, this often requires cutting access panels and routing around existing obstructions. A typical installation runs $300 – $450, with complex reroutes up to $650. We write the full scope and price before cutting anything.
Yes, on every job where the vent run isn’t fully visible. The camera shows us crushed ducts, disconnected joints, blockages, and the condition of the interior walls. In Malden’s older homes, this is essential, we can’t assume a straight run when the duct may have been rerouted three times since 1920. Camera inspection is included with our standard cleaning service or available standalone for $75 – $125.
Written by Roy Castellanos, Owner at Hollis Air Duct Cleaning, serving Malden and surrounding communities since 2004.