Dryer vent cleaning in Delaware County, PA: older houses, gas dryers and what to check
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What should Delaware County homeowners know about dryer vent cleaning?
That in this county the vent is as likely to need looking at as cleaning. Delaware County's houses are the oldest of the four suburban counties around Philadelphia, very little of its housing is new, and more of its homes burn gas than anywhere else in the suburbs. The national advice is the starting point for all 229,715 of the county's housing units: the U.S. Fire Administration says to clean the dryer vent ductwork every year.
How old is Delaware County's housing?
Old by suburban standards. The Census Bureau estimates that 22.1 percent of the county's housing was first built in 1939 or earlier, well above Montgomery County's 16.0 percent, Chester County's 12.6 percent and Bucks County's 9.9 percent. At the other end, only 3.5 percent has been built since 2010, the lowest share of the five counties in and around Philadelphia.
The county's own history explains the pattern. It describes considerable residential development after the First World War in Upper Darby, Drexel Hill, Havertown and Springfield, continuing after the Second World War in communities such as Westbrook Park and Marple Township. Those neighborhoods were built out long before anyone wrote today's rules for dryer exhaust.
Why does the age of the house matter for a dryer vent?
Because the building code looks forward, not back. Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code applies to construction, alteration and repair on or after April 9, 2004, and allows the legal occupancy of a structure that already existed to continue. With so little of the county's housing built since 2010, a large share of its dryer vents went in before the code applied, unless someone has replaced them since.
So a cleaning visit to an older house in Upper Darby or Springfield is also a chance to find out what is actually there. Ask the technician to show you three things.
- What the duct is made of. The appliance makers' association, AHAM, says to use rigid or semi-rigid sheet metal venting, never plastic.
- Whether it is connected and uncrushed. The home inspectors' association tells its members to check that the duct is actually connected behind the dryer, and says flexible ducts are easily kinked or crushed there.
- Where it ends. The same association says inspectors see many dryer vents that end in crawl spaces or attics, where they deposit moisture that can encourage mold and wood decay.
An old vent that fails one of these is a repair to plan, not automatically a violation.
What does gas heat have to do with a dryer?
It tells you how likely the house is to have a gas line. The Census Bureau does not count dryers, but it estimates that 62.6 percent of occupied homes in Delaware County heat with gas. That is the highest share of the four suburban counties, ahead of Montgomery at 56.0 percent, Chester at 47.7 percent and Bucks at 43.1 percent. Only Philadelphia, at 71.3 percent, is higher.
Where there is gas in the house there may be a gas dryer, and a gas dryer's vent carries more than damp air. The fuel gas chapter of the residential code says its exhaust must carry the moisture and any products of combustion to the outside of the building, and must not be connected to a vent connector, vent or chimney. In an older basement where a furnace, a water heater and a dryer share a corner, that last rule is the one to check.
Pennsylvania's emergency management agency lists clothes dryers among the fuel-fired appliances that are sources of carbon monoxide, and says to have a carbon monoxide detector on each floor.
Who is responsible where the home is rented or shared?
More households face this question here than in the outer suburbs. The Census Bureau estimates that 30.4 percent of occupied homes in Delaware County are rented, and that 24.0 percent of housing units are in multi-unit buildings. Both are higher than in Bucks or Chester County.
No state source read for these guides says who must keep a rental's dryer vent clean, so the lease is the first place to look. The county's history page counts forty-nine municipalities, and any local rule on property upkeep would be found at the borough or township office. That office is also where to ask whether rerouting or replacing a vent needs a permit.
Where do Delaware County residents take a dispute with a contractor?
Start in Media. The county's Office of Consumer Affairs runs a voluntary mediation service and accepts complaints on home repair and remodeling, among other subjects. Anything that looks criminal or fraudulent is passed on to the Delaware County District Attorney or the state Attorney General. The office is at 201 West Front Street, in the Government Center Building, and answers on 610-891-4865.
Before signing for anything beyond a cleaning, check registration. Repair or replacement of a vent priced above $500 is home improvement work under state law, and the Attorney General's contractor search can be narrowed to Delaware County. What Pennsylvania requires explains the rules, the cost guide gives the published prices, and businesses serving the county are on the Delaware County dryer vent cleaning page.
Sources
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Delaware County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Chester County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- Your County at a Glance: History, Delaware County
- Consumer Affairs/Weights & Measures, Delaware County
- 34 Pa. Code § 403.1. Scope., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)
- 2021 International Residential Code, Chapter 24: Fuel Gas, International Code Council
- Safer Homes, Ready PA (Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency)
- Basement and Garage Fire Safety, U.S. Fire Administration
- Clothes Dryer Safety, Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM)
- Dryer Vent Safety, International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI)
- Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General