A properly executed apartment dryer vent cleaning takes roughly 15 to 20 minutes per unit. High-rise riser units take longer. Anyone quoting five minutes per unit is not doing the work — and understanding what fills those minutes is the easiest way to evaluate a bid.
What Happens in Those Minutes
Access and disconnection (2-4 min). Pull the dryer forward, disconnect the transition duct, inspect and clean the transition, photograph the starting condition.
Rotary brushing the full run (5-8 min). Drive a flexible rotary brush on segmented rods through the entire duct under rotation, agitating compacted lint along the whole length including elbows and offsets. Longer runs take longer.
Negative air extraction (concurrent). A high-volume negative air machine draws the agitated lint out rather than letting it settle back.
Termination clearing and inspection (2-4 min). Clear the exterior cap, check the damper flap moves freely, inspect for damage, corrosion and nesting, photograph.
Airflow verification (1-2 min). Measure exhaust at the termination with the dryer running. This is the proof step.
Reconnection, documentation and clean-up (2-3 min). Reconnect, photograph the finished condition with unit number, leave the area clean.
Times by Termination Type
| Configuration | Typical Time Per Unit |
|---|---|
| Ground-floor wall termination, short run | 12–16 minutes |
| Upper-floor wall termination | 15–20 minutes |
| Roof termination, low-rise | 18–25 minutes |
| High-rise vertical riser | 25–40 minutes |
| Underground or crawlspace run | 25–40 minutes |
How Long for the Whole Property?
A crew of two working an occupied garden community completes roughly 30-40 units per day, allowing for access delays, no-entry re-attempts and moving between buildings. A 240-unit property is therefore a six to eight day project with one crew, or three to four days with two.
Vacant properties and student housing during turn move considerably faster — access is instant and no resident coordination is required.
What a Five-Minute-Per-Unit Quote Means
It means the brush is not going through the full run, the airflow is not being measured, and the photographs are not being taken. A vacuum at the wall cap and a photograph of the cap takes five minutes. It also achieves very little, because compacted lint sits in the middle of the run, where nothing reached it.
Why the Time Matters to You
Because the crew is inside residents’ homes. Fifteen minutes is a manageable disruption residents accept with proper notice. It is also long enough that resident-facing conduct — uniform, badge, shoe covers, courtesy — is visible and remembered. Your management company is being judged during those fifteen minutes.