I have had a very dangerous and horrible experience with this company cleaning my dryer vents. I absolutely DO NOT recommend them. The owner, John Pollard, sent out poorly trained, unqualified workers who spoke no English. That should have been my first red flag. The second red flag/concern that I had with his workers is they clearly had never encountered a dryer booster fan before which many homes have. They were completely confused by the one in my home. It was clear that they had never seen one before or been taught or trained about them. The fan was making a horrible, loud noise while they were here and the noise continued after they left. I also noticed after they had left that some of my lights were now flickering when my washing machine was agitating. That had never happened before either. I had witnessed his workers hitting my dryer fan a couple of times which probably loosened some wires in the ceiling to the lighting. I still need to get an electrician out to confirm and assess that damage.
But what upset me the most is John's workers were only suppose to clean the dryer vents out but WITHOUT my permission and without talking to me first, they just took down the venting that came directly out of my dryer. And they did not replace it as it was. I had a very bad feeling about it and wanted it put back how they had found it. Of course, this was very hard to communicate with them as they spoke no English at all.
After his workers left, I called John with my concerns and complaints. He said that the loud noise my dryer fan was making was normal and that I should try googling dryer fans to learn more. He clearly didn't understand them either. Regarding the venting that his workers took down, John just kept saying that it was broken. His workers never explained or showed me how it was broken. They just took it down without my knowing. The dryer venting was working fine before they took it down. John never took any accountability for his workers actions but he did end up waiving his fee because of my complaints. But that was not the end of my nightmare with this horrible company.
After I used my dryer a few times the loud noise that the fan had been making stopped but then I started to notice a BURNING smell when my dryer was running!!! I called John very upset about the burning smell. He didn't seem to care. He took no accountability for it even though everything was working fine before his workers touched my system. He never advised me to stop using my dryer either. But he did offer to pay if I had another company come to my home and look at the venting. He directly told me and my husband that he "would pay every red cent" of that bill. When I said that we would take him up on that, he started yelling at me that I would never find a company that would come to my home in Philadelphia and that it would cost hundreds of dollars (which of course he had already said he would pay.)
I did indeed find a very professional and reputable company to come to my home. The owner of this company immediately told me NOT to use my dryer as it was dangerous to do so. He also wanted pictures of the venting that John's workers had installed. He had the following to say about their work:
"Thin flexible foil duct - has to go.
It is disallowed by all dryer manufacturers (see warning label on the back of yours, and every dryer sold in the US).
It violates IRC2003-2024 Section M1502 building code.
It is flammable, creates back pressure, airflow resistance, and lint loading into the dryer."
So John's workers used inferior materials that were not to building code and put my life, my family's life and my home in serious danger.
Once the new company was able to come to my home, they also discovered that John's workers had clogged my dryer fan with lint. That is why it was making the loud sound because it was out of balance by the lint clogging it, then it eventually stopped working completely because of that clog. They were able to repair the fan and all of the other shoddy work that John's workers had done.
John Pollard is now refusing to pay the bill (that he offered to pay) from the other company. It's a bill I never should have had to pay if not because of his poorly trained workers. He is now also harassing me daily by sending a bogus bill for a gutter drain that his workers unclogged for me that day. He told me at the time they unclogged it that it was free of charge. So now, I have to pay a lawyer, a filing fee to take John to small claims court plus the bill when my electrician comes over. And on top it, he is harassing me with daily emails for the bogus bill for the drain. John Pollard is not a man of his word. He has no integrity and he employs poorly trained unqualified workers. Do not let this company touch your dryer venting system. read more
