Another question on cloths dryer

john in la · Jun 25, 2013

I enlarged the kids bath room and moved my washer and dryer in the room. Problem is they are on a interior wall now. So I cut a hole in the floor and routed the dryer vent out this hole.
This is right next to where I use to have a gas central heat/ac unit.
Since I switched over to a heat pump the old exhaust stack for the gas unit is no longer used.

Jump to today.......
I was going to remove the old heater vent and repair the roof but got to thinking......
Could I....Should I.... have used this old vent through the roof for my dryer.

Pros...
It would cut my dryer vent tube length in more than half.
It would get my vent tube from under house where it is always damp; never wet but damp/humid because the sun never hits this area. Remember we get over 60 inches of rain a year every year.

Cons...
The tube would now run straight UP for several feet. This is a stacked unit and the dryer is on top so it may be 5 or 6 ft from the dryer to the roof line.
The dryer would vent on my shingle roof maybe causing lint to dirty the shingles.

Your comments welcome...................

bjb in TX from Ne · Jun 25, 2013

My house has the vent running up through the roof (Houston, Tx). Don't notice problems with lint on the shingles. Sometimes the clothes are still damp (?humidity?), even after I cleaned 30+ years of lint from the 4" duct. My dryer is an LG High efficiency electric dryer. Dryer sits on the floor (probably 8' from outlet to roofline.

slim · Jun 25, 2013

You have to be very careful with the vent through the roof. My previous home had a vent through the roof. The vent on the roof got clogged with lint. It could have burned the house down if we had not noticed it quickly. There's no way to easily inspect the vent if your roof is steep like mine was. It was a royal pain to get up there and clean the mess out.

Also, any hole through the roof is a potential leak.

JMHO.

slim

Nancy Howell · Jun 25, 2013

ALL dryer vents should be periodically checked for lint build up.

My dryer vents to an outside wall - maybe 3 ft.

Dryer was running, just happened to notice the outside vent louvers were not open. Checked it and it was clogged with very hot lint. Pulled a softball sized wad from the vent. Lesson learned the easy way.

notjustair · Jun 25, 2013

In cool weather I would worry about condensation running down the inside of the pipe. Where it ends up determines the mess, especially if you do laundry all on one day. It seems like maybe that's something done where the weather is always warmer? Wouldn't do it in KS.

ss55 · Jun 25, 2013

Most dryer vents have a door or louvers to close off the vent when the dryer is not in use.

A chimney creates a natural draft than will always be drawing air through your dryer. That draft will pull outside air into your house. Are you sure you want a constant draft? It will draw warm air our of your house in the winter and also drawn to cool dry air conditioned air out during the summer.

I think I would try to install a conventional dryer vent and leave the old chimney plugged off. You should save enough in heating and cooling costs to more than pay for the dryer vent, even if you have to hire a professional to install it.

504-1 · Jun 25, 2013

Mine vents through the roof, about 15 ft straight up. Keep the dryer door shut or you will have a draft up the pipe. Once a year just before winter sets in, I check the vent door to make sure it is sealing, and not blocked open by lent build up. Do use a one piece metal door not the cheap plastic multi flap doors.

Another question on cloths dryer

john in la

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bjb in TX from Ne

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slim

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Nancy Howell

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notjustair

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ss55

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504-1

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