Cold Air!!!

[Spongebob123456789]

Help!! In my MH I have the vent for the hood above the stove and the dryer vent on the west side of my home. When the wind blows cool air comes in through them and tries to freeze us out!!! And trust me the WIND blows all the time here!!!! All the bedrooms stay warm except the kitchen and living room. In fact the master bedroom turns into an oven when the heat comes on.

Any suggestions???

thanks.

[Yanita]

Hi,

The range top vent as you know vents through the roof, have you looked to see if the little cap is still on the vent on the roof. If it has blown off this can cause cold air to come down.

As for the dryer vent I am not sure why or how you could get cold air into the home from that. Have you pulled the dryer away from the wall and made sure the vent is attached to the dryer. Where it goes through the floor/wall is all that sealed as well? Is your dryer vented to the outside of the home or just to underneath the home?

Yanita

[Spongebob123456789]

Actually the vent above my stove goes out the wall. I even looked out side to see if I was correct and sure enough there is a vent outside.



When the wind blows you can here it.

[Yanita]

Hi,

Yup, my last home was like that, I ended up buying a little hood to go over the vent outside. (Forgot that, was thinking of the type I have now)

I honestly do not know if there is another way to fix this, certainly another will chime in.

Yanita

[Robert]

You can make sure you have hoods or make one to divert air away.

If still a problem, install a damper in ducting.

Otherwise, you would have to modify/make a cover of sorts to

cover and remove when you use either.




Thanks,
Robert

[garrett_reukauf]

I was just at Lowes last night as a matter of fact and saw a few range hood vents, there was one there that had a "cover/hood" that came down over the vent, there was an opening in the bottom to allow the vented air to escape, but keep air from blowing in so much. If you go to a kitchen supply center they may have more options for you.
As for the dryer. I had that same problem in the stick built house I moved out of a few months ago. Dryer vents are pretty easy to change or install, piece of cake for DIY'er. I purchased and installed a Lambro Industries 4" Dryer Vent from Lowes (I's sure you could also find this at Home Depot)

It was only about $20 and VERY VERY simply and quick to install. This sovled my drafty problem, I lived in that house for almost 2 years after I installed it and never had another issue.
Hope that helps.

[Barb P]

You might want to go outside and check the flap inside the dryer vent, when it seems colder than usual.
Mine will sometimes get stuck in the open position, maybe because it's damp and freezes open.
It faces west, and blows into the dryer also.
I also keep a heavy quilt over the dryer when it's not in use, because its cold in that room.

[oldfart]

Bob I'm gonn'a offer up some thoughts here. Some have already been posted so bear with me. Any dryer vent should have a "flap" to prevent just such a problem. If it doesn't... install one. Check the old one to make sure it's not clogged up with lint before ya buy one! Lowes/HomeDepot sell them for under $20. Installation is simple and easy. The most common problem with dryers/vents is lint. Clothes won't dry? Clothes take forever to dry? Smell clothes burning? Electric bill sky-high? Pull the lint-trap every time you start the dryer and clean it. Pull the dryer out every year (at least!) and vacume the back, remove the vent-pipe and clean/clear everything. Learn how to disconnect your dryer and remove the panels and clean it properly to get ALL the lint out. (once a year) Check out doityourself.com and several other websites. You wouldn't believe how many fires are started by lint-filled dryers! Lowes and Home Depot also sell a thinga-ma-jig so all that heated air isn't blasting outside. You can actually heat yer home every time you run the dryer in the winter! Ask and ye shall know. Now, range hood vents. My home is an old 1970 unit and the range hood only worked when you pulled a chain to open up the flap to allow the heat/smoke etc. to exit. The fan wouldn't run otherwise. Simple and effective. Probably not allowed today. What I did was to remove the outside exhaust unit and installed a new Nu-Tone range hood that requires NO outside exhaust. As I recall it cost under $30. (Lowes/ Home Depot) Installation was simple and it only needs to have the filter run thru the dishwasher about once a month. More if yer cooking for a large family. No outside exhaust..block the old exhaust vent..problem solved. Even better (quieter) units are available. The price goes up accordingly. I've seen them as inexpensive as $19 and as high as $250. How quiet do you need? Audie..your frugal friend..the Oldfart..