Dryer Vent?
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Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2003
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From: Sarnia, Ontario, CANADA!
Dryer Vent?
I ws just wondering the whole purpose of the vent that blows the warm air out of the back of your dryer that goes through a hose to outside your house. I have heard that you can put a nylon over the end of the hose instead of putting in the hole in the wall then you can heat up your house. Is this true. There must be some reason you have to hook it up to the vent. Thanks for any help.
-Matt
-Matt
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From: I'm lost somewhere in NJ -- can someone please find me?!?!?!?
Dryer Vent?
If it's a gas dryer, I assume that the venting is also getting rid of gasses resulting from the combustion process. Doesn't sound like something you would want to introduce to a closed environment and breathe. Also, the vented gas is very high in humidity (wet clothes, remember?). Doesn't make for confortable heating. One home my family rents did not have a vent for the dryer. Our tennant never complained (these people were too nice), and I just plain never noticed. Then one day I came by because they told me the dryer stopped working. That's when I realized the lack of a vent, which also explained why the walls in that area were damp and were beginning to form a mold. Needless to say, I immediately rectified the situation. Thus, from my experiences, I would say that trying to heat your home from the dryer vent exhaust is not a good idea.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2003
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From: Sarnia, Ontario, CANADA!
Dryer Vent?
It is an electric dryer. Would you recommend it? The dryer is in the laundry room which only consists of a water heater and a laundry tub. The room is about 10 feet by 15 feet.
-Matt
-Matt
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From: Oak Harbor WA
Dryer Vent?
Personally, I wouldn't do it. If anything goes wrong, the heat could light the lint on fire, then you would have a huge mess. If you do it, you would probably have to get a permit. If you just went ahead and did it, and it catches on fire, the insurance may not cover it. My view is - you want to get that dryer exhaust out as soon as possible. Not to mention the humidity factor...
Post Fiend
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From: Central Kali
Dryer Vent?
IMPORTANT: Clean out the line once in awhile. I blow out mine with my compressor. There have been fires caused by lint build up. I was surprised by how much came out.
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Senior User
Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Anderson, SC
Dryer Vent?
FWIW-
the hose on our dryer worked loose from the back of the machine one night. it made ahelluva mess blowing lint. as others said, there is alot of lint that makes it into the hose, and i believe the nylon cover you spoke of would completely stop up in no time.
if the hole in the wall is your concern, i have in the past cut out part of a foundation vent and mounted the flap assembly in it.
the hose on our dryer worked loose from the back of the machine one night. it made ahelluva mess blowing lint. as others said, there is alot of lint that makes it into the hose, and i believe the nylon cover you spoke of would completely stop up in no time.
if the hole in the wall is your concern, i have in the past cut out part of a foundation vent and mounted the flap assembly in it.
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Joined: Oct 2002
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From: NJ
Dryer Vent?
i would have to agree... the fumes from a gas dryer need to go outside...
and the last apartment i lived in the electric dryer vented into the room the dryer was in... humid. and enough lint to make another set of clothes.
the hose had a lint catcher on it, but it would clog about every 2 loads, and spew lint all over the place anyway....
it is easy enough to vent it outside, and with a flapper, you don't have to worry about anything coming back in....
i have often thought about an heat exchanger that uses the dryer heat radiated from the flex line without actually venting into the house....
and the last apartment i lived in the electric dryer vented into the room the dryer was in... humid. and enough lint to make another set of clothes.
the hose had a lint catcher on it, but it would clog about every 2 loads, and spew lint all over the place anyway....
it is easy enough to vent it outside, and with a flapper, you don't have to worry about anything coming back in....
i have often thought about an heat exchanger that uses the dryer heat radiated from the flex line without actually venting into the house....
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From: Central Kali
Dryer Vent?
Hey, the heat exchanger is a good idea! How many feet of say 4" copper tubing could you install before the far end would not produce any heat? I would come out of the dryer and run it down the hallway then go out the wall. 
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From: Oregon
Dryer Vent?
Wet cloths hold a lot of water. When you dry them, the water goes someplace- like in your house. I tried the stocking over the hole trick on the dryer out in the garage. It got the sheetrock all wet behind the washer/dryer. Also made my tools rust. Maybe a dry desert area would be OK- don't know.
Postmaster
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From: So Cal
Dryer Vent?
They actually sell kits to allow you to vent the hot air into the house during the winter and switch the vavle for summer.
I tried it in my house and it worked OK but it was a hassle to clean the vent filter all the time so I quit using it. If the vent was placed in an easy to reach place maybe I would have kept using it. We have an electric dryer by the way.
They will generate a lot of moisture so you need to circulate air around the house. We had a furnace vent in the utility room so I guess that forced the moist air around the home. In cold climates the air can actually get pretty dry so it helps if you put some moisture in the air. Humidty also makes it feel warmer.
Good Luck,
Jim Henderson
I tried it in my house and it worked OK but it was a hassle to clean the vent filter all the time so I quit using it. If the vent was placed in an easy to reach place maybe I would have kept using it. We have an electric dryer by the way.
They will generate a lot of moisture so you need to circulate air around the house. We had a furnace vent in the utility room so I guess that forced the moist air around the home. In cold climates the air can actually get pretty dry so it helps if you put some moisture in the air. Humidty also makes it feel warmer.
Good Luck,
Jim Henderson
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Dryer Vent?
Here's what I do every winter. I take a 4' piece of aluminum duct to extend the the outlet above the dryer. On top of this duct, I place a plastic hood that nomally goes on the outside of the house. I remove the little flapper door since it's not needed. The hood I use has a removable plastic screen. Before each load, I place a used dryer sheet behind the removable screen to catch any lint that escapes the dryer trap. I change the dryer sheet with every load. They're cheaper than nylons and won't melt. I've been doing this for 6 years and it works great. It helps to bring the humidity levels back up as well as pumping heat back into the house that I've already paid for. No sense wasting it.
Don't ever try this with a gas dryer. The exhaust from combustion vents thru the outlet hose too. You don't want to pump CO into the house or you'll have problems.
Don't ever try this with a gas dryer. The exhaust from combustion vents thru the outlet hose too. You don't want to pump CO into the house or you'll have problems.
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