Product review (4 stars): Overall a fairly good item
Overall I like the the cleaning system, but next time I would do it a little slower and sooner. I had not cleaned the dryer vent since it was installed over eight years ago, and should have done it at least once a year. I had about a 20' run with two elbows. Because there was so much lint, apparently the shop vac did not suck all the lint out and caused a big build up at the first elbow, which I did not realize. I used a 19 volt drill and started on the outside with the shop vac inside. When I put some pressure on the drill, the shaft twisted like a pretzel. I was able to stop right away, but had I not, it would have ripped the duct. I was able to slowly untwist the shaft by hand and pull it out. I could not reverse the drill because the shaft would ripped the duct and might have detached at the various extensions even though I had used duct tape. I figured it twisted because I had such a long run to the first elbow. I then started on the inside with the vaccum outside. As soon as I reached that same elbow, the shaft twisted like a pretzel again. I turned on the dryer and noticed no air was going through. I then used a leaf blower from the inside to force the blockage out. The ball of lint was fairly large and compact, and wet too, and that was probably why it didn't get sucked out. After that, I ran the brush thru again and the vent pipe looked spotless. Next time I will clean it at least once a year!