Dryer Vent Cleaning Certification

I need to light the world on fire this spring. I have documented the miserable winter here in the North East. Every dollar will count. I need to diversify to offer more profit centers. Dryer vent cleaning! Saw the post a page back or so and it got me thinking. I was on a job at a good customers home when up pulls the Sears Van. 2 Vapidiots where there to clean the dryer vent. Long story short- they pissed the customer off, tried to convince her to use them for carpet cleaning, told her I sucked, tracked mud all over her kitchen. Had her sign a release for the DVC ( dryer vent cleaning), charged her $100 for ten minutes of work and laughed at her on the way out. Back to the release. They confided in me that their boss had one drawn up after one clients home burned to the ground after they serviced it and massive law suit ensued. If I am going to offer this service I am going to cross the T's and dot the I's. A release is a MUST! I will check out the Sears release and proceed as necessary. I will also get certified by the CSIA, the only place that I can find that certifies specifically for this. This is not cleaning carpets the liability is not to be understated. Has anyone one completed this certification?

http://www.csia.org/certification/earning_the_csia_c-det_credential.aspx

First time I've ever heard of that.

I bet starting your own "dryer vent cleaning certification" class would be more profitable than just cleaning them.

first I would call my insurance company to find out what they think of you adding on dryer vent cleaning? $$$$$$$$

If the certification isn't ANSI approved, it really isn't going to help much in a court case. It does show that you made the effort to educate yourself and that is a good step, but I think that if your work caused a house fire...you would be flipping burgers pretty quick.

There are a lot of mold contractors out there that are "certified", but should be flipping burgers already for the damage that the have caused. Same goes for some of those air duct cleaners, but that is a different rant for another day.

Not much for the certification... Having a waiver is a good idea, I may look into that. I think the only way you will be covered if a house burns down is if you have a "workmanship" endorsement on your policy. Hartford Insurance is the only company I know of that will add a "workmanship" endorsement and I believe it will double or triple your premium. Years ago when I was with an unnamed franchise we had to carry that endorsement and it was very expensive. Your general liability policy basically only covers you if you hurt someone or damage someone's property while you are doing your work. For example: if you or your techs are cleaning a carpet and scratch the customer's brand new tables by standing chairs up on them you are covered (I know this because it just happened to me $675 out of pocket - would have been covered 100% but did not want to take the risk of premiums increasing...   ). If you were actually doing work on those table - ie. refinishing them - and left scratches your not covered. That would be a workmanship claim. Likewise if you put a hole in someone's carpet when you are cleaning it - it's on you unless you have the "workmanship" coverage.

Disclaimer: I am not an insurance agent, and I don't even play one on TV. However if you are not aware that your GL policy works like I explained - call your agent.   

Great advice! I feel certification would be a great thing if you are selling whole condo complexes. It's now required by most apt. complexes and condo developments. They usually give you a choice of 1 or 2 firms that you can use. Certification would help get your foot in the door. Insurance/ I thought of that after I wrote the 1st post. I guess you would have to let them know. It gets more complicated as I look into it. But anything worthwhile is worth the effort. The release form might go along way to protecting yourself, anybody got an opinion on release forms and their worth?

release forms don't protect you from a screw up on your part. Real or imagined.

I am not a fan of them. Would you sign a release of liability that basically said "If I screw up you agree not to hold me liable"? Because that is what a release form really does.

This service is not for me.

After thinking this service over a bit, it would seem to me that you are targetting the wrong customer. Residential customers are very cautious and might run from that liability waiver, but a commercial customer is a little different.

Instead of targetting the home, go after dryer vent cleanings at the local laundry mats. If someone tried to sell me on cleaning my dryer vent, I would require a lot of convincing and would end up just doing myself. The owner of the laundrymat really understands the need for vent cleaning and would be far more interested in that service....ever drive by a laundrymat after it snows? The snow is covered in dryer lint from top to bottom!

Once you park the van outside a commercial laundry and start sucking up those hair balls, the neighbors will start to consider cleaning their own dryer vents. Hand out a few cards or hang up a few flyers and those residentials will start booking work.....confident in your skills after watching what you did for the laundrymat. That would prevent the "waiver fear" that might otherwise exist.

just a little fine print in the work order you have them sign can go a long way.

this service is also not for me

I just cleaned my own dryer vent this morning was not so bad used my air compressor and a shop vac and some brushes I got from lowes

I don't think I would want to do this for customers
I am going to leave it to the HVAC guys

yup, leave it to the hvac guys.. same with air duct cleaning for me.

when someone gets a system installed they are usually sold the maintenance at the same time, around here at least.

plus komo news problem solvers and other 20/20 type programs have aired lots of info about "beware" of duct cleaning scams by non hvac companies

I know its an easy add on, but I just think it doesnt match our industry that directly other than if the ducts are clean it will help indoor air quality and keep things clean longer.

I think sticking to carpet, upholstery, tile, wood floors, area rugs, and other flooring is better

I would hire some cleaning ladies and start regular house cleaning before I got into air ducts

i agree on duct cleaning. It is a specialized skill that is best left to hvac guys. Even they should think twice as it rarely offers any benefit. It doesn't reduce dust build up in homes nore does it improve system efficiency. Only in rare situations would I see any benefit...even then I would opt for replacement.

I am still not sure about dryer vent cleaning...could be a great commercial service.

Appreciate all the advice, we'll see......