Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repair
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Fast, Reliable Dryer Vent Cleaning Across Venice
Dryer vent cleaning in Venice, CA typically costs $129 – $219 for a standard single-story bungalow, with most jobs completed in under an hour and a half. We work throughout 90291 and 90294, from the walk streets west of Abbot Kinney to the canal-side homes near Dell Avenue. Call (833) 805-3229 for a free estimate, and we’ll schedule a time that fits your week, not ours.
Why Ashwood Chimney Sweep Is Venice’s Preferred Dryer Vent Cleaning Company
Venice homes throw a specific set of problems at dryer vents, and we’ve seen most of them twice. The marine layer that rolls in off the Pacific each evening doesn’t just fog your windows. It carries salt and moisture into exterior vent terminations, corroding aluminum vent hoods and dampers years before the same parts would fail inland. Our Dryer Vent Cleaning team works in Venice every week, so we know which vent configurations on the 1920s bungalows and 1960s canal remodels tend to trap lint behind the wall, which exterior hoods seize shut from salt corrosion, and which flex runs were never up to code in the first place.
We carry Famco vent hoods and dampers on the truck, which means a corroded exterior termination gets replaced during the same visit, not ordered and rescheduled. When a Venetian homeowner calls about a dryer that’s suddenly taking two cycles to dry towels, we show up prepared. The repair uses trade-grade ventilation hardware, the same components a commercial laundry would specify. We do not improvise dryer vent fixes with bargain-bin parts.
Styles & brands we work with
Our Dryer Vent Cleaning Services in Venice
Dryer Vent Cleaning
A standard Dryer Vent Cleaning in Venice runs $129 – $219 depending on the run length and how many elbows the original builder tucked behind the wall. Coastal homes here often have short, direct vent runs, which helps, but the salt air creates a different issue: lint binds to the residual moisture inside the pipe, forming a crust that brushes off in chunks rather than dust. We clean the full run from dryer to exterior termination, and we photograph the inside of the vent before and after. You’ll see what came out.
Chimney Crown Repair
Venice’s exterior masonry absorbs salt spray and marine dampness year-round. Chimney crowns, the concrete cap that seals the top of the chimney, spall and crack faster here than almost anywhere else in LA County. A cracked crown lets water into the flue chase, where it rusts dampers and eventually wicks into wall framing. Inspections in Venice reveal crown damage on fireplaces that haven’t been used in decades, because the damage isn’t from heat. It’s from salt. Crown rebuilds in Venice typically run $450 – $900, and we use a salt-resistant mortar mix specified for coastal exposure.
Damper Replacement
We replace more seized, rusted dampers in Venice than in any other city we serve. The mechanism sits at the top of the firebox, where marine-layer moisture collects and sits for months. Rust welds the hinge, the handle snaps, and the damper freezes either open or shut. A frozen-open damper lets salt-laden air pour into the smoke chamber every single day, year after year. A frozen-shut damper means the fireplace can’t be used at all without backdrafting smoke into the living room. We replace failed dampers with stainless steel models, typically $320 – $580 installed, that shrug off the coastal moisture a galvanized part cannot.
Dryer Vent Repair and Termination Replacement
Exterior dryer vent hoods on Venice homes corrode quickly. The flap damper on the hood is a thin piece of aluminum or galvanized steel that gets hit with salt fog every night. Once it rusts through or seizes, the vent no longer closes against outside air, and birds, rodents, and cold damp air find their way in. We replace failed terminations with Famco vent hoods during the cleaning visit when needed. The part is usually included in the service if replacement is straightforward; if the termination requires reworking the exterior wall penetration, expect $80 – $180 additional.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees — you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Venice
Our trucks are stocked with components from Famco, Copperfield, and DuraFlex, professional-trade brands that don’t sit on retail shelves. That matters in Venice, where salt exposure forces replacement parts more often than in inland service areas. We fit DuraFlex liners when a flue needs relining as part of our Venice DuraFlex service, and use Copperfield masonry products for crown and shoulder rebuilds. The materials get specified for the coast, not whatever the nearest hardware store carries. We repair with the same materials professional contractors specify.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Dryer Vent Cleaning Problems We See in Venice Homes
- Salt-corroded exterior vent hoods. The flap damper on the outside wall rusts open or seizes shut within a few years of coastal exposure. A seized hood means your dryer pushes against a closed door, which burns out heating elements and doubles drying time.
- Lint binding inside the vent run. Venice’s marine layer keeps the inside of the vent pipe damp. Lint absorbs that moisture and turns into a hardened crust that a consumer-grade brush can’t pull through. This is a ventilated-dryer problem made worse by location.
- Unlined flex runs behind walls. Mid-century remodels in the Oxford Triangle and canal district often used foil flex or semi-rigid aluminum run directly through wall cavities. Foil flex traps lint at every accordion fold, and in a damp climate, that trapped lint becomes a dense, hardened plug.
- Backdrafting and clogged terminations. When salt builds up on the vent hood’s louvers, the opening narrows over time. A 4-inch vent becomes a 2-inch vent. Static pressure builds, the dryer overheats, and the high-limit switch eventually kills the machine.
Pricing for Dryer Vent Cleaning in Venice, CA
A standard dryer vent cleaning in Venice runs $129 – $219, with the final number set by vent run length, number of elbows, and roof versus wall termination access. Rooftop terminations common on two-story canal-side homes add $30 – $60 for ladder work and safety setup. If the exterior vent hood needs replacing due to salt corrosion, expect $80 – $180 depending on the wall material and hood style. If the run includes foil flex that cannot be properly cleaned, we’ll quote replacement with rigid or semi-rigid aluminum on the spot and you decide before we touch anything. Estimates are free. Call (833) 805-3229 and we’ll give you a fixed number before we schedule the appointment, not after.
We Also Serve Cities Near Venice
Beyond Venice, we work regularly in Santa Monica, Culver City, Ladera Heights, and Century City. If you’re on the border or just outside 90291 or 90294, call anyway. Our service area covers the westside coastal corridor, and we route Venice appointments together to keep response times short without charging travel fees.
Serving Venice, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Venice 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 – Dryer Vent Cleaning in Venice
Because ocean air, not fire, is the active agent. Salt spray and marine-layer dampness keep exterior masonry and metal dampers wet and corroding year-round. A fireplace that hasn’t been lit since the 1990s can still have a rusted-out damper and a spalling crown, we see it constantly in Venice. The damage comes from salt and moisture sitting on surfaces for decades, not from creosote or heat. Call (833) 805-3229 if you want us to inspect what’s actually happened to your flue.
Annually, even if you never burn wood. In Venice, the inspection is watching for corrosion progression on the damper, crown, cap, and flashing. A Level 1 inspection runs about $150 – $250 and catches spalling crowns and seized dampers before they let water into the smoke chamber and wall framing. Near the beach, the interval is not negotiable based on usage. The salt is working whether you are or not.
Stainless steel, without exception. Galvanized dampers corrode in Venice within a few years. A stainless top-mount damper or a stainless steel throat damper will outlast the galvanized originals by a wide margin, and the extra cost is modest compared to replacing the damper twice. We install either depending on the fireplace configuration, typically $320 – $580 for a throat damper replacement.
Yes, and it does so faster here than almost anywhere in Los Angeles. Galvanized chimney caps on Venice homes start showing rust bloom within two to three years. Flashing where the chimney meets the roof is another common failure point. Once flashing fails, water tracks into the attic and along the flue chase. We replace caps with stainless steel models and rebuild flashing with copper or lead-coated materials that tolerate marine exposure. Call (833) 805-3229 for a free visual assessment.
Check the damper and the chimney crown, in that order. On a walk street in the Oxford Triangle, we found a rusted-out damper and a spalling chimney crown on a 1940s bungalow fireplace that hadn’t seen a fire since the 1990s. We replaced the damper with a stainless steel model and rebuilt the crown with a salt-resistant mix, then recommended an annual Level 1 inspection to catch corrosion before it reached the flashing. Your decorative fireplace is still a hole through your roof, and salt air is using it. Call (833) 805-3229 for an inspection. Estimates are free.
Written by Norm Castillo, Owner at Ashwood Chimney Sweep, serving Venice since 2012.