Venting a dryer

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luvnaz
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2009 11:02 am

Our dryer vents through the floor under the dryer and into the crawlspace. The previous owners did not have a lint collection system or route it to the outside of the house. They just had the hose hanging down in the crawlspace. The crawlspace has quite a bit of lint on the ground and walls and it isn't a good thing!

I have made a lint collection system to collect the lint, but I want a better venting system.

We want to cut a hole in the side of the house where the laundry room is and vent the dryer there.

Is this a good idea? What if any are some concerns we might have by cutting a hole in the side of the house for the vent?

Thanks,
Mary
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Greg
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Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

Mary, The venting needs to be changed for two reasons. First you are creating a fire risk by allowing lint to accumulate under the home. Second, you do not want moist air under your home. This can lead to mold & rot problems.

The easiest and cheapest way to solve the problem would be to simply extend the vent through the skirt. Remember, you want no more than 3 90* elbows, keep the runs as short as possible. If possible use smooth metal dryer vent pipe, supported and tape all of the seams. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
DecoratingChallenged
Posts: 30
Joined: Sat Jan 16, 2010 9:27 pm

Our vent just goes through the floor, but I don't know that it goes all the way through the insulation under the house.

I'll have to check it and make extending it a priority! I know that it doesn't vent out from under the house.
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JD
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Just going into the floor above the underbelly would be a worse situation. You do not want to send moisture into this area. I am thinking that it does go all the way through the floor as that is the way it was set up at the factory and if the dryer was venting into this area. It is up to the set-up crew or home owner to vent the exhaust to the outside of the home. Venting the dryer into the underbelly would certainly damage subfloors.

Going directly through the utility room wall sounds like a good plan to me, as long as it is not venting onto the steps or landing. That would be a mess to clean up. Just be sure you are not opening up into an area where wiring will be in the way. If you have wood siding, a standard dryer vent hood would work well. Vinyl siding has a special trim vent hood part. With aluminum siding, you may need to reinforce the wall cavity around the opening to keep it rigid. Usually you can use fasteners and foil tape with a standard dryer vent hood and caulking to keep the wall rigid enough.

JD

PS, This question should be asked in the Repair Forum as it is not really a decorating related question. You may also get more responses there as well.
☯JD♫
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All information and advice given is for entertainment and informational purposes only. The person doing the work is solely responsible to insure that their work complies with their local building code and OSHA safety regulations.
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