Dryer Vent Inspection in Houston, TX

What a dryer vent inspection actually involves

The dryer gets pulled out first. We look at the transition duct behind it before anything else. Crushed flexible foil shows up constantly here, left over from earlier installs. In shallow closets the duct is folded flat against the wall. Then we read airflow at the hood while the dryer runs on heat. Weak discharge with a clean lint screen means the blockage is downstream. A camera goes in from the termination end. We map elbows, strap points and any sag. Last step is the cap itself.

Houston runs fall into a few patterns. Short sidewall runs in 1950s–70s slab ranches are usually simple. Garage-corner laundries terminate through the garage wall. Two-story 1990s suburban builds push attic duct to a roof cap, and that long run sags between straps. Townhome and condo stacks vent through an interior chase, which is the hardest to inspect without roof access.

Humid intake air is why lint here behaves differently. It packs into a damp mat instead of dry fluff. Pollen bonds to it in spring. Roof caps also collect bird and wasp nests during warm shoulder seasons.

Check it yourself: stand outside during a cycle. Feel the hood. Weak, cool, or no flapper movement is your answer.