Condo Dryer Vent Cleaning

Having looked through the old postings, I'm not seeing what I'm looking for. Our Condo docs have a Maintenance schedule that details who pays for what in terms of maintenance, but it's a little vague in this area. A dryer vent is a limited common element that is located outside the boundry that deliniates the unit from common areas and I thought that the listed maintenance chart in the docs was very clear. Apparently the BOD and PM don't agree. From what I can see, it appears that it's the COA's responsibility to pay for the duct cleaning. These ducts come out the back, side and rooftop on these 3 level contempory buildings and they really need to be consistantly cleaned by a professional that specializes in this area(not a handi-man). They already had one fire (as a result of this) several years ago, so I'm surprised that they are trying put the expense on the unit owners. They either ask for the unit owner to have it done and submit proof, so there is not consistancy. There are several ways that the ducts can be cleaned. After I had contracted for this service for several years, I had the HVAC ducts cleaned and then I had them clean the dryer duct vent at the same time. They blew out 1/2 of a large black trash bag full of the lint, which tells me that this job is best left to the specialist that clean ducts as a routine.

I'm just wondering what most Condo Associations do in terms of this process. Do they bill the homeowner or pay for this out of General Operating Expenses?

MikeS1,

For our Condo, under 100 units, the Association arranges Dryer Duct cleaning directly with a professional “Dryer Duct Cleaning Company” once every 3 to 5 years.

We negotiate and get a “special price” per Unit, and all our Unit Owners are required to have the cleaning done when scheduled.

Details vary – but typically the Association pays the “one way transportation charge” the duct cleaning company charges for each day they are here. (They send a small crew, so cleaning is typically spread out over a number of days).

The Association also pays for any exterior duct hoods or flappers, etc that need to be replaced, that might be found damaged or missing, during the “cleaning”.

However, each Unit Owner is required to individually pay for the actual duct cleaning and vacuuming of the duct work for their Unit.

The reason we have each Unit Owner pay individually, is because there may be “add on” costs specific to a Unit.

For example, the first time we had a “cleaning” done, because many of the Dryers had been installed “years ago” the dryer duct running from the Clothes Dryer to the wall (Owner responsibility) was “old style” and did not meet current code, and so it had to be replaced, which the Duct Cleaning Company was required to do “by law”.

Since some ducts from the Dryer to the wall, needed to be replaced, and some did not – billing the Unit Owner directly simplified billing.

Even though we have each owner pay individually, we consider it Condo Association responsibility to “set up” the cleaning because it benefits ALL Owners.

FYI, based on what you posted, our documents read basically the same as yours re Common, Limited Common, and maintenance responsibility, etc.