The Seven Weirdest Things Found During a Dryer Vent Cleaning

As a professional cleaning company, we often find things that are a little funny during our cleanings, and there seems to be no limit to what we have seen. Now, these items are going to stay private for our amazing clients, but we scoured the web and found the seven craziest things that people have found during a dryer vent cleaning. We are going to add a bit of a caveat, we cannot vouch for the validity of any of these stories, but if it is on the internet, it has to be true, right?

$5,000 in cash

According to local news reports from the time, a Winnipeg dryer vent cleaning company found a large cache of cash from the 1970s in a dryer vent during a cleanout. The total cash count was $5,000. Whether it was a hideaway for the previous owner or a stash spot for a grandparent who once lived in the house, we will never know.

Jewelry

This one is not as crazy, but the team at Edmonton Furnace and Carpet Care, as well as countless other dryer vent cleaning companies, find jewelry all the time. It could be diamond earrings, rings, and even necklaces that have fallen out of pockets and through the lint trap. Luckily, we can return these precious finds back to the owners!

Live Bird

Surprising to some, but for those in the industry, we all have a story about finding a live bird in the vent. Dryer vents are warm, have ample nesting materials and are out of the wind, so if you have an open vent, it is the perfect place for a bird to call home. On these rare occasions, we either re-home or call in a pest control company to deal with our feathered friends.

Rodents

Just like birds, mice, rats, and squirrels, they're all looking for a warm place to hole up during the winter, and an open dryer vent is a great spot. We have heard of cleaning technicians finding nests, remnants, and even live rodents during dryer vent cleanouts. In these cases, we would call in a pest control company to handle the rodents.

Contraband

Let's just say dryer vents are a great place, in theory, to hide contraband. We have heard of a few companies that had to contact the RCMP or local law enforcement after discovering a little stache that no one in the house knew existed. From illicit drugs to weapons, and everything else you can imagine.

Hidden Room

When cleaning out behind a commercial dryer, a technician in the United States found a full hidden room behind the machine. The room was set up with a bed, a table, and chairs, and was obviously home to someone after hours at the facility.

Collection of VCRs and Books

In one of the more bizarre finds, a dryer vent cleaning technician found a collection of VCRs and books in the wall beside the vent exhaust. In total, there were 19 books and 45 VCR tapes, but we could not determine which movies were included in the collection.

Dryer vent cleanouts are not about what we find and instead are a great way to improve your dryer's efficiency and ensure that you do not have any fire hazards building up in your home. It is best to book a yearly dryer vent cleaning as part of your annual maintenance. If you are starting to notice that your dryer is not working as well as it used to, and you run the dryer a few times to get those towels dry, a quick clean may be the solution you need and we can help make that happen here in Edmonton, AB.