Clothes dryer exhaust vent & screening questions & answers:

Frequently-asked questions, FAQs, about clothes dryer venting: vent distances, terminations, location, routing, draft boosters, lint filters, fire safety, vent booster fans, vent length, diameter, materials, cleaning, and other dryer vent questions, answers, problems, solutions.

Clothes Dryer Exhaust Vent FAQs

These questions and answers about how to vent a clothes dryer including fire codes, materials, routing, vent terminations, etc. were posted originally at CLOTHES DRYER VENTING - please see the guidance given there.

On 2018-12-07 by (mod) - Best Buy won't install a dryer that vents "up" ?

Really? What a strange claim, Kathy.

A review of a typical clothes dryer manufacturer's installation recommendations for the exhaust vent certainly includes and even recommends routing the dryer vent up and outside through a building wall.

Perhaps there is something in your arrangement of dryer location and venting that's not clear.

See details and some example manufacturer's recommended vent installation instructions

at CLOTHES DRYER VENT INSTALLATION

Take a look at the installation manual for your dryer - or if you don't have the manual

see DRYER INSTALLATION & OPERATION MANUALS

and if you don't find your dryer there let me know and I'll help track that down.

On 2018-12-06 by kathy

Best Buy installer would not install our new dryer because they said their policy does not allow them to install when the exhaust position is elevated and not below the dryer. Is there something inherently difficult or risky about installing to an elevated exhaust that we should pay attention to?

On 2018-11-05 by (mod) - re-posting without disallowed ad

Miantenance Renewal said:

Improper dryer vent installation configuration or materials can result in many problems including dryer fire, carbon monoxide poisoning, mold growth, and wasted time and energy.

On 2018-01-01 by (mod) - where does lint clogging occur in the dryer vent?

Gavin

If an inspection of the entire vent passage inluding the outdoor vent termination louvers shows absolutely no clogging or blockage then I suspect either a too-long vent run with too many elbows, or a problem with the dryer lint filter, or a bad sensor inthe dryer.

On 2017-12-31 1 by Gavin Coyle

What can I do we have a Whirlpool tumble dryer which works perfectly when the vent is disconnected but stops and shows a red light shortly after we attach the vent we have cleaned every vent that we can think of and it's still a problem but once you disconnect the vent again it works perfectly again! The dryer is not 3-4 years old

On 2017-06-28 by Stephen B. King

Can you run a dryer vent to the exterior wall through the toe kick space of a base cabinet if the space provides a 4" height clearance for the vent duct to fit. The duct would not be readily accessible once the cabinet is installed.

On 2017-01-05 by (mod) -

Actually if drywall was wet most likely it's going to need to be removed and the wall cavity checked.

Having done a lot of field investigations I'm pretty confident that a dehumidifer cannot ever dry out wet drywall and the cavities behind it in the requisite time required 24-48 hours.

I've pulled off floor trim weeks after a dehumidifer and fans and heat were applied in such a dryhout attempt only to find still-wet and rathe rmoldy drywall that in turn led us to find more severe mold in the cavity.

On 2017-01-04 by Dana

Thanks Dan. I've had a cleaning company leave a dehumidifier and fans running for days afterwards to make sure the drywall dries out.

I get so stressed out that I wake up in the middle of the night when I hear rain outside. I also worry about cords from my entertainment center laying in the water and me or my pets getting electrocuted.

This has been ongoing for almost 9 months - thankfully this is the dry season with little rain. I basically threatened to sue and report them for code violations to the county. I hope that puts some fire under their butts.

On 2017-01-04 by (mod) -

Dana

Water should not be leaking in nor out from a dryer vent. The vent sounds to me as if it is not properly installed: not sloped perhaps, or wrong material, perhaps.

The risks are worse than flooding. They include a building fire if the vent becomes blocked with water, ice, sodden lint, etc.

You need an inspection by a competent expert or by a local building official.

There are also risks of hidden and costly mold contamination from leaks into the building.

On 2017-01-04 2 by Dana

The condo I rent continues to flood with water leaking in from the dryer vent.

The vent is positioned maybe 4-5 inches above the ground in an area where water builds up. I live in central FL and it rains like a monsoon.

My whole place floods with an inch of water within minutes. I've tried telling the management office that the source of the leak is the dryer vent and they should move it up at least a foot or two. Is it a code violation having it so low to the ground?

On 2016-06-25 by (mod) -

Thanks, Lee.

On 2016-06-25 by Lee

Dan,

That makes perfect sense. Thank you very much for your prompt answers! It is greatly appreciated. Thank you for helping those of us that want to do things ourselves and don't have the experience you do. I know that I greatly appreciate your assistance!

Sincerely,
Lee

On 2016-06-24 by (mod) -

Perhaps, except that you want the air to blow out through the wall not up to upstairs; if you have access from the basement just cut and remove enough old vent to install the bend you need to get outside.

On 2016-06-24 by Lee

Dan, thank you for your reply. So, the utility room where the dry currently is, vents down the wall and into the basement and out the side of the house.

I am turning that area into a pantry (leaving all the water, electric and dryer vent in place). I have framed and already run electric and water to the new utility room in the basement exactly below the location where the current utility room is upstairs.

What I want to do is use the existing dryer vent in the basement, however, "T" into it, instead of disconnecting the one from upstairs, in the case my wife has to have it moved back upstairs. Does that make better sense?

On 2016-06-24 by (mod) -

Lee:

I'm not clear on what you're attempting; if you mean "can I vent the basement dryer out the same throug-wall vent as was used when it was upstairs, I think the decision depends on distances and number of elbows you'd need.

On 2016-06-24 by (mod) -

Beverly

A 90 degree turn is a right angle in the vent duct that occurs in a single fitting or radius. To be strict you'd count every 90 degree bend; certainly it's just about impossible to avoid the first 90 at the dryer exit.

On 2016-06-24 by Lee

Good afternoon, I am finishing my basement and the dryer is going to be directly below where it was upstairs.

Can I safely tie into that dryer vent once it is capped off upstairs with a T section or a "box"? I have been searching for a solution and cannot find anyone that seems to have done this before, which shocks me greatly.

...

Continue reading at CLOTHES DRYER VENTING - topic home, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

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Article Series

• CLOTHES DRYER INSTALLATION & REPAIR - home
• CLOTHES DRYER FIRE HAZARD WARNINGS
• CLOTHES DRYER FIRE RESEARCH
• CLOTHES DRYER LINT FILTER HAZARDS
• CLOTHES DRYER LINT CLOG RESISTANT SCREENS
• CLOTHES DRYER SAFETY CHECKLISTS
• CLOTHES DRYER VENTING - home

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