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 Running Springs
Dryer vent cleaning in Running Springs typically runs $160 – $260 for a single-family cabin and is usually completed in 60 – 90 minutes, though many homeowners also ask about our Running Springs HeatShield service when we inspect their venting system. But the real question isn’t the price. It’s whether your dryer is venting somewhere it shouldn’t be. In Running Springs, that question comes up more than almost anywhere else in the San Bernardino Mountains, because so many older cabins vent dryers into masonry chimneys that were never built for lint. We’ll scope the run, show you the footage, and tell you honestly whether a cleaning is all you need or something is actually failing. Call Ontario Chimney at (833) 467-7685 and we’ll get you on the schedule before the next snow.
Why Ontario Chimney Is Running Springs’s Preferred Dryer Vent Cleaning Company
We work in Running Springs constantly, from the 92382 zip code up the winding roads toward the Arrowbear area and down toward Highway 18. We know the housing stock. A good share of homes here were framed between the 1940s and 1970s, and the framing decisions from that era include some genuinely creative venting choices. Dryer exhaust routed into old stove flues. Crushed flex pipe pushed through a wall that was never framed for it. Terminations that disappear into a masonry stack and never got checked because no one wanted to climb the roof in February.
That’s exactly why Running Springs homeowners call us instead of a general handyman. Al Vickers built Ontario Chimney around one principle: we don’t recommend anything we can’t show you. That applies whether we’re cleaning a dryer duct or quoting a liner job. If your dryer terminates into a chimney, we bring the camera. If the run is obstructed, you’ll see the obstruction on screen before we talk about next steps.
Styles & brands we work with
- Sweep & inspection
- Caps & crowns
- Flue relining
- Masonry repair
- Gas fireplace service
Our Dryer Vent Cleaning Services in Running Springs
Our Dryer Vent Cleaning crew handles the full scope in Running Springs, from standalone duct runs to dryer vents that tie into chimney stacks. Here’s what that looks like in practice.
Dryer Vent Cleaning
The core service. We clean the entire run from the dryer exhaust to the exterior termination. On a Running Springs cabin, that run might be short, or it might climb eight feet into a masonry stack built in 1962. We pull the lint, check airflow, and verify the termination is actually open. A drying cycle in a mountain cabin shouldn’t take 90 minutes. If it does, the vent is usually the reason.
Level 2 Camera Inspection
When a dryer vents into an old chimney, cleaning alone doesn’t tell you the whole story. A Level 2 camera inspection lets us see the interior of the flue, the smoke chamber, and the termination. In Running Springs, that matters because many of these stacks are unlined or have clay tiles that have spalled after decades of heat cycling. The camera footage is yours to see. We won’t recommend a liner or rebuild unless the evidence is right there on the screen.
Chimney Cap and Termination Check
Snow, wind, and the occasional curious marmot all take a toll on chimney caps and vent hoods up here. If your dryer terminates into a masonry chimney, the cap or hood at the top is a common failure point. Rusted hoods, packed lint, bird nesting inside the flue, caps that have shifted and let water in. We use Gelco and Famco components when we replace these, because the hardware-store versions don’t hold up to a Ridge winters.
Dryer Duct Rerouting and Repair
Sometimes the safest thing we can do is get the dryer vent out of the chimney entirely. Not every old cabin in Running Springs should keep venting a dryer into a masonry stack, especially if the flue is unlined and the mortar is failing. If a reroute through a side wall is possible, we’ll tell you. If it isn’t without tearing out framing, we’ll show you why the current setup can work safely with the right termination and regular cleaning. The goal is a dryer that vents efficiently without turning a chimney into a lint trap.
Trusted Brands We Service in Running Springs
Old vents fail, and when they do, we replace them with components built for the job. Our Running Springs work uses Copperfield and Olympia Chimney supply line parts, Famco hoods and termination caps, and when a liner is actually needed, DuraFlex stainless steel systems. These aren’t clearance aisle parts. They’re the same materials certified chimney professionals specify for mountain installations that face snow load, wind, and real temperature swings. We’re not going to install a universal fit cap from a big-box and call it done. At 6,000 feet, the cheap stuff fails fast, and you’ll be climbing up there to look at it in six months.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Dryer Vent Cleaning Problems We See in Running Springs Homes
- Dryer vents routed into 1940s – 1970s masonry stacks. This is the single most common configuration we see in Running Springs, and it creates a compound problem. The lint accumulates inside a flue that also carries combustion gases from a fireplace or wood stove. The lint becomes fuel sitting inside a chimney that wasn’t lined for this kind of use, and that’s a fire hazard regardless of what the previous owner said about the cabin ‘barely getting used.’
- Crushed or disconnected flex duct behind cabin walls. Mountain cabins get renovated, sometimes by owners who didn’t plan for dryer venting. We find flex pipe that was crushed against studs or the whole run disconnect at the first elbow, pumping warm, lint-laden air into a wall cavity. That’s the hidden failure mode that can smolder for years before anyone notices.
- Rusted or snow-damaged terminations at the roof line. High elevation winter will test any exterior fitting. We regularly find Famco hoods rusted through or bent by snow sliding off the roof, which means the termination is partially or fully blocked. The dryer still runs, so the homeowner assumes everything’s fine. It isn’t.
- Part-time cabins with severe lint compaction. A vacation rental that sits empty from November to March develops a particular pattern: the owners don’t run the dryer, but they don’t clean the vent either. Then the family arrives for the holidays, runs laundry daily for two weeks, and pushes a year’s worth of accumulated lint into a duct that’s already compromised. That’s when the dryer overheats and the smoke detector starts arguing with the dinner bell.
Pricing for Dryer Vent Cleaning in Running Springs, CA
A standard dryer vent cleaning in Running Springs runs $160 – $260 for a single-family cabin with an accessible exterior or roof termination. If the vent ties into a masonry chimney and we’re also running a camera to inspect the flue, expect $300 – $450 for the combined cleaning and Level 2-style inspection. If we find a damaged termination and need to replace a hood or cap, that usually adds $80 – $180 in parts, depending on what’s there and what it takes to reach it. Steep roofs, snow on the ground, or a termination that requires a ladder extension will shift the labor portion, but we quote the price before we start, and the estimate is free. Call (833) 467-7685 and we’ll give you an honest number for your cabin, not a generic range you’ll circle back to later.
We Also Serve Cities Near Running Springs
Our Dryer Vent Cleaning in Running Springs routes often include stops in Lake Arrowhead, Highland, Mentone, and Crestline on the same day. If you own a vacation rental in Running Springs and a primary home down the hill, we can schedule both. It keeps you from juggling two companies for the same kind of work.
Serving Running Springs, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Running Springs 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 Running Springs
It depends entirely on the condition of the flue and how the dryer connects to it. Venting a dryer into a chimney can be done safely if the flue is lined, the connection is sealed, and the termination is clear, but most 1940s – 1970s cabins in Running Springs have unlined or clay-tile stacks that were never designed for lint. We’ll run a camera through the flue and show you exactly what’s inside. If the mortar is spalling or the firebox shows signs that the dryer has been venting directly into it, we’ll tell you that plainly and walk you through your options. Call (833) 467-7685 and we’ll schedule the inspection.
Because we won’t quote a liner replacement, a flue rebuild, or a reroute based on guesswork. Running Springs has a lot of older cabins with compromised stacks, and the industry has a bad habit of quoting expensive chimney work from the driveway. We run a camera so you can see the actual condition of the flue, the smoke chamber, and the dryer run. If it’s just lint, the footage shows that. If it’s spalling mortar or a crushed duct behind a wall, the footage shows that too. Nothing gets recommended until you’ve seen the evidence.
Not when both systems share the same stack. In Running Springs, a lot of dryers terminate into chimneys that also serve a wood stove or fireplace. Cleaning the dryer run without looking at the flue it feeds into means you’re only seeing half the problem. We handle both on the same visit because they’re physically connected in these older cabins. If your dryer vents outside independently and your chimney is separate, we can still do both in one appointment and give you a clearer picture of the whole venting system.
Once a year, minimum, even if the cabin sits empty half the time. Empty doesn’t mean clean. Rodents and birds move into exterior terminations when a mountain house is silent, lint from the last family’s visit compacts in the duct, and then the next renter runs the dryer for five days straight and overheats the whole run. Part-time cabins in Running Springs actually need more consistent maintenance than full-time homes because the off-season lets small problems turn into packed vents and nesting. Call (833) 467-7685 and we’ll set you up on an annual schedule, like clockwork, before the winter guests arrive.
Yes, and it’s not just about the thinner air. At 6,000 feet, dryers run longer to get clothes dry, which means more lint moving through the system. Long, vertical vent runs climbing to a roof termination have to work harder against gravity and snow load. A vent that was marginal at sea level will struggle here. That’s why we check airflow at the termination, not just at the dryer, and why we verify the cap isn’t buried under ice or debris during the winter months.
If you own a cabin in Running Springs and you don’t know where your dryer vents or what’s inside the chimney it might be feeding into, call Ontario Chimney at (833) 467-7685. We’ll send a tech who knows the mountain, knows the old cabin stock, and won’t tell you to spend money you don’t need to spend. Free estimates, honest answers, camera footage you can see with your own eyes.
Written by Al Vickers, Owner at Ontario Chimney, serving Running Springs and the San Bernardino Mountains with chimney, dryer vent, and repair services.