By Andy Furman
NKyTribune Reporter
Take a former teacher, put her together with someone who moved to the area because of family illness. And what do you get?
A most unusual business – run by two females.
Dryer Vent Squad was born in 2020 and life is good for owner Lisa Yutz and her sidekick – Kari Craven.
“We started Dryer Vent in 2020, and our first cleaning was in early 2021,” Lisa told the Northern Kentucky Tribune.
“My husband did consulting work,” said the native of Georgia – and she sounds every bit of it – “and when his dad got sick, we decided to move here to Walton to be with family.”
As for Kari, she taught English as a Second Language and moved to Walton with her family in 1989.
“I taught kindergarten at St. Joseph’s Academy,” the Newport native said, “and E.L. at Ockerman Middle School.”
When COVID hit, well, she was finished – with teaching.
“The scheduling and virtual learning didn’t cut it for me,” she said.
Apparently cleaning dryer vents was a better option.
As for Lisa, COVID proved an end to her GAP Transportation work. “I was laid-off during the pandemic.”
So, it was Lisa’s husband who pitched ideas her way.
“Dryer vent seemed perfect,” she said, “I mean every home has a dryer.”
There was one big problem.
“I never cleaned one before,” she laughs now. “But I figured everyone would want to pay for this service. I mean they probably couldn’t – and wouldn’t want to do it.”
Off to Nashville Tenn. to the Dryer Vent headquarters for training.
“They check to see if you’re financially fit to run the company, and we had some training courses as well,” she said.
Lisa hired a technician – Michael Short – the Senior Technician. And their office in Mt. Zion is just about complete.
They have three vans operating in Northern Kentucky.
Business was developed with ads on Facebook, Google and some billboards.
Dryer Vent Squad – the one-two punch of Lisa Yutze and Kari Craven – promise to:
• Tell you want you need when they arrive
• Don’t steal from you
• Do people right.
“We believe if we do people right, you’ll do us right,” she said.
No surprise, but the gals claim their business is well, mostly female.
“In fact, many of our first-timers are both shocked and impressed when we show up,” she said. “I believe it even makes them feel comfortable.”
And should a man answer the door, what might be the response?
“Oh,” they usually say, says Lisa, “We have ladies today.” They both admit some men feel somewhat intimidated when we show up. “I think they feel like, wow, they should’ve done the work themselves,” they both agreed.
When asked, ‘Who’s going up on that ladder,’ We reply, “We are, and there’s a bit of shock after that.”
Dryer vents should be cleaned every year, according to the ladies.
“If you have to run two-to-three cycles to get your clothes dry, or if the dryer is hot-to-the-touch, you should get it cleaned,” Lisa said.
“And if there’s dust outside your home, or if there’s no air-flow, and your flaps (louvers) are not opening, it’s time for a cleaning,” added Kari.
“In fact,” she remembered, “there are some new dryers with a code to let you know you an air-flow restriction.”
Just for curiosity, wouldn’t you want this team cleaning your dryer vent?
Dryer Vent Squad, Hours- 8-5 Monday through Friday, 513-550-3595, dryerventsquad.com.