Dryer Vent Inspection in Alhambra, CA

What a dryer vent inspection actually involves

The dryer gets pulled out first. We look at the transition hose behind it before anything else. Then the duct is opened at an accessible joint. A camera runs the length of the line. We watch airflow at the termination while the dryer runs on a timed cycle, no heat needed. Lint depth, joint direction, crushed sections and screws driven through the duct all get noted. We finish outside, at the cap.

Alhambra turns up the same faults repeatedly. Foil flex crushed flat behind a dryer shoved against a garage wall. Louvered caps where an owner added mesh against birds, now packed solid. Roof-jack terminations on second-floor laundries holding lint, roof grit and leaf litter together.

Pre-war bungalows are the harder find. Some were never ducted to daylight at all, venting into a crawlspace or under an eave. Joints taped instead of clamped pull apart slowly, and lint drops into wall cavities and garage framing. Moisture staining on a garage ceiling usually means that.

Gas dryers dominate this housing stock. A blocked vent is a combustion and CO question, not just a lint question. Condo stacks sharing a run lose airflow gradually, so inspect those closer to every 8–12 months.