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 Chicago
A dryer vent cleaning in Chicago typically runs $145 – $285 for a standard single-family home with a direct metal vent run, and $210 – $390 when the dryer dumps into an older masonry chimney flue that requires camera inspection. Most jobs are completed in under two hours, and we book across Chicago within a few days, not weeks. Wexford Chimney Sweep has worked in Chicago’s brick two- and three-flats long enough to know that a “simple dryer vent” here is rarely simple. Call (866) 361-2607 and we’ll tell you what you’re actually dealing with.
What makes Chicago different from the suburbs isn’t just the venting. It’s the housing stock. In neighborhoods like McKinley Park, Brighton Park, and the Lower West Side, clothes dryers were often added decades after the building went up, and the installer did whatever was easiest, not what was right. That means flexible hoses snaked through walls, transitions taped together, and dryer exhaust tee’d into brick flues that were never designed for lint.
Why Wexford Chimney Sweep Is Chicago’s Preferred Dryer Vent Cleaning Company
We’re not a franchise that sends a different tech to Chicago every visit. Wexford Chimney Sweep is led by Norm Sulecki, and our crews know the difference between a Rogers Park greystone and a McKinley Park workers cottage because we’ve swept and inspected both. That matters when the dryer vent hides inside a 1900s interior brick chimney rather than running straight out a rim joist.
Our Dryer Vent Cleaning team carries push-rod cameras on every Chicago job, not just the ones where something looks wrong. In this city’s pre-war brick housing stock, something is often wrong even when the visible run looks fine. We don’t quote a repair or reline until we’ve put a camera in the stack and shown you what we’re seeing. If a fix can wait, we say so. If it can’t, you’ll know exactly why before you spend a dollar.
Chicago homeowners who call us tend to be the ones who’ve already been told they need a $4,000 reline by someone who never looked past the dryer hose. We hear that story regularly from customers in East Garfield Park and the Near South Side. Our job is to give you the evidence-based version: what’s actually clogged, what’s actually cracked, and what actually needs to happen now versus next season.
Styles & brands we work with
Our Dryer Vent Cleaning Services in Chicago
Camera-Verified Dryer Vent and Flue Inspection
Before we recommend anything, we run a camera up the full vent path. In Chicago’s 60607 – 60609 ZIP codes, that path often includes a clay-tile flue shared with a former furnace or water heater connection. The camera shows us lint depth, tile offsets, missing joints, and whether the vent is even continuous. You see the footage too. Nothing gets quoted that isn’t on the screen. A Level 2 inspection covers the accessible interior flue surfaces and is what we recommend on any pre-war Chicago chimney that hasn’t been camera’d in years.
Lint Removal and Dedicated Dryer Vent Routing
When a dryer is tee’d into an old furnace flue, brush-only cleaning leaves lint packed against the offset tile and the tee itself. We remove the accessible lint, document what’s hiding higher in the stack, and when it makes sense, set up a dedicated metal vent run so the dryer no longer shares a masonry flue with anything else. That often means coring a new exit through a brick wall, and we handle it in-house. A proper dedicated vent with a listed cap is the single best fix for a Chicago dryer that takes two cycles to dry a load.
Masonry Repair of Spalled Crowns and Cracked Clay Flue Tiles
Chicago’s freeze-thaw winters are brutal on brick and mortar. Snowmelt soaks into a chimney crown, refreezes overnight, and pops the mortar loose over repeat cycles. When that happens inside a flue that also carries dryer exhaust, the result is lint collecting against crumbled mortar and cracked tile. We repair spalled crowns, tuckpoint deteriorated joints, and address cracked clay tiles when the camera confirms they’re the problem. This is the part of the job most dryer-vent-only companies in Chicago can’t do.
Disconnected or Crushed Transition Hose Replacement
In older Chicago apartments and two-flats, the visible transition hose behind the dryer is often the wrong material, kinked against the wall, or crushed by the appliance itself. We replace it with the right rigid or semi-rigid metal duct, reconnect it properly, and make sure the termination cap actually terminates. Sometimes the two-cycle drying problem is just a crushed hose behind a dryer that hasn’t moved in five years. We’ll tell you that plainly if it’s true.
What happens when you call
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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 Chicago
We work with the same professional-grade product lines Chicago’s credentialed chimney contractors specify: DuraFlex for relining and retrofit applications, HeatShield for liner repair when a full reline can be avoided, and Copperfield for caps and terminations. When your inspection shows a deteriorated flue that’s still structurally sound, HeatShield can often restore the interior surface without tearing out the old liner system, and we stock those materials locally for Chicago jobs. No hardware-store substitutes, no generic flex hose from a big-box aisle.
Common Dryer Vent Cleaning Problems We See in Chicago Homes
- Dryer tee’d into a pre-war furnace flue. In Brighton Park and McKinley Park two-flats built in the 1920s, the dryer exhaust often shares a masonry stack with a disconnected water heater or furnace. Lint collects at the tee and against the offset tile, and the visible hose looks fine.
- Crushed or kinked transition hose. Chicago laundry rooms are small, closets are tight, and the dryer gets pushed back against a wall until the flex hose collapses. The dryer runs hot, takes two cycles, and the vent path is effectively closed.
- Missing flue tile joints behind first-floor walls. Freeze-thaw cycling opens mortar joints in unlined or clay-tile flues, and the gap is often hidden inside a wall cavity. A camera is the only way to see it, and in 60607 – 60609 those gaps are common.
- Spalling crown letting water into the stack. Snowmelt refreezes on Chicago crowns all winter. Once the crown wash cracks, water gets into the flue, mortar crumbles, and the lint against that crumbled mortar becomes a fire load. Spring inspection after a hard winter catches this earliest.
See the difference
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AfterPricing for Dryer Vent Cleaning in Chicago, IL
We Also Serve Cities Near Chicago
Our crews work throughout Chicago and the surrounding neighborhoods, including Lower West Side, East Garfield Park, McKinley Park, and the Near South Side. If you’re in one of those areas, you’re getting the same camera-first approach and the same team. For the full picture on our Dryer Vent Cleaning in Chicago coverage, give us a call.
Serving Chicago, IL — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Chicago 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 Chicago
My Chicago two-flat dryer shares the old furnace flue – can you clean it, or does it need a whole new vent?
We can clean it, but only after a camera shows us what’s actually in the stack. If the flue is structurally sound with continuous tile and the tee isn’t packed against an offset, we’ll remove the lint and document the setup. If the camera shows a missing joint or crumbled mortar behind a first-floor wall, you need a real decision, and we’ll show you the footage before we recommend a dedicated vent or any liner work.
Why does my dryer take two cycles in a Brighton Park brick two-flat?
Because the exhaust path is restricted somewhere between the dryer and the outside, and in Brighton Park’s Century of Progress two-flats, that restriction is usually not the visible hose. It’s lint packed against an offset clay tile, a crushed transition behind the dryer, or a termination cap that’s never been cleaned. The fix requires seeing the whole path, not just vacuuming the first three feet. Call (866) 361-2607 and we’ll find the actual restriction.
Does my Chicago dryer vent need an annual inspection even if it still works?
Yes, especially if the dryer vents into a masonry flue rather than a dedicated metal run. Chicago’s freeze-thaw winters deteriorate flue interiors and crowns, and the damage happens behind walls where you can’t see it. An annual camera inspection catches cracked tiles and lint accumulation before the dryer starts failing, and it’s cheaper than the reline you’d need after years of neglect.
What does a Level 2 inspection cover on a Chicago chimney that a Level 1 doesn’t?
A Level 2 inspection includes everything in a Level 1, plus camera coverage of the entire accessible flue interior, the crown, and the termination. In Chicago’s 1880s – 1920s brick two- and three-flats, that’s the difference between seeing a clean-looking fireplace and finding a missing tile joint behind a first-floor wall. If your dryer shares a flue with anything else, or the property changed hands recently, a Level 2 is the right call.
Is the lint in my masonry chimney as much of a fire risk as creosote?
Yes, and in some Chicago configurations it’s worse. Dryer lint ignites at lower temperatures than creosote and burns fast, and when it’s packed against cracked clay tile in a shared flue, the fire load sits directly against compromised masonry. The good news is lint is mechanically removable. We pull it, camera the result, and document what’s left. Call (866) 361-2607 for a free estimate, and we’ll show you exactly what we found.
Contact Wexford Chimney Sweep in Chicago
If your dryer is taking two cycles, the vent hasn’t been cleaned in years, or another company already told you the flue needs a $4,000 reline without ever running a camera, call Wexford Chimney Sweep at (866) 361-2607. Norm Sulecki and our Chicago crew will put a camera in the stack, show you the footage, and tell you what actually needs doing. Free estimates, no pressure, and no liner sold just because it’s the expensive answer.
Written by Norm Sulecki, Owner at Wexford Chimney Sweep, serving Chicago since 1994.