Dryer Vent is Way too High Up So Gravity Works Against It

Appletax

Appletax

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I just installed a new vent on my friend's dryer, but the problem is that the vent is 7-8 feet long vertically before it bends and goes out the side of the house. It's in the basement. So gravity is working against it and will cause it to clog much faster. Is it possible to have the vent go inside of perhaps a small wooden box so that the vent is completely horizontal?
 
I'm confused. If the dryer vent connection is 8' below grade how can it be made horizontal?

Yes, you could build a box, not of wood of course, in between to act as a lint trap of sorts. But I'd make sure to put in a goose neck up at the exit. Thinking at least 12" above the exit. Those dryer exit vents are not even close to airtight. With a straight run going up one will be getting condensation running down the full length without that.
 
Never exhaust even an electric dryer into the house. The moisture load is incredible and will start mold and mildew in between walls, ceilings and attic. Seen it a few times especially in the cooler weather when the moisture condenses so fast.

My dryer vent hose goes straight out the back of the dryer at floor level in the basement and straight up 8' before turning 90° and through the wall vent. I take the hose off at the bottom every 10 years or so and there is no real lint build up. All that is caught by the dryer's lint screen.
 
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Diggs is right on. Never vent a dryer or a bathroom exhaust fan for that matter into the living area, crawl space or attic.Too much moisture in the exhaust. It must be exhausted to the outside.

Occasionally clean the vent. I use my shop vac.

Never use the 4" flexible plastic hose even though they sell it and it's convenient. Even the flexible aluminum is a fire hazard as it traps lint. The pros use 4" smooth bore aluminum.
 
I just Googled it after reading Larry's post. You can have 14' of vent with two 90 degree elbows before needing a booster fan. And use the type of fan designed for a dryer vent like Larry posted not the typical booster fan made for heating system ducts.
 
Be careful with that vent. I will never forget how when I was 6 years old. I was across the street from my house in neighbors backyard playing. I heard all these sirens blasting. I was shocked to see all the firetrucks pulling up to my house. The garage was engulfed in flames. The dryer was in the garage and was not vented properly. They extinguished the flames in the garage and were pulling my little sister's flaming diapers out of the dryer. The firemen said static electricity sparked a fire within the lint. The garage was damaged pretty bad, but fortunately they got to it before the rest of the house was damaged. My mom was going to check on the dryer and the handle of the door burned her hand and she did not open the door. That is what saved the rest of the house and maybe her too!
 
mraikes said:
If it's an electric dryer, sure. You can use something similar to this: https://www.amazon.com/BetterVent-ADR1BVC-Indoor-Dryer-Vent/dp/B00Q4X2FSM

But gas dryers shouldn't be vented indoors.
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Wow, lots of great info from everyone! This seems to be the best solution unless even this will still cause moisture to occur from the heat (cold basement + hot exhaust = condensation).

Diggs said:
Never exhaust even an electric dryer into the house. The moisture load is incredible and will start mold and mildew in between walls, ceilings and attic. Seen it a few times especially in the cooler weather when the moisture condenses so fast.

My dryer vent hose goes straight out the back of the dryer at floor level in the basement and straight up 8' before turning 90° and through the wall vent. I take the hose off at the bottom every 10 years or so and there is no real lint build up. All that is caught by the dryer's lint screen.
Click to expand...

This one goes up 7-8 feet and turns 90 degrees to be sent out the wall vent. Sounds like we should just leave the vent alone and check the lint levels every so often and use a shop vac.

mr m said:
I just Googled it after reading Larry's post. You can have 14' of vent with two 90 degree elbows before needing a booster fan. And use the type of fan designed for a dryer vent like Larry posted not the typical booster fan made for heating system ducts.
Click to expand...

Shouldn't need one of these as it is 8' max. Those fans are pretty pricey.
 
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BTW - I occasionally use a 6" inline "fan" like shown. It's really not a fan, but a radial blower and used to exhaust a room. Even set down on low mine will blow your hair back......
 
8 feet vertically is not a problem run, and if the dryer's lint filter is present and cleaned for each load you shouldn't have a lot of buildup. One thing that's going to make a huge difference: use hard pipe not that crinkly tube stuff. For only an 8' run you could probably just connect sections using the aluminized tape instead of screws unless there's going to be a lot of stress on it, and if you're concerned about buildup in the lines take off the cover at the exit once a year and run a shop-vac tube down it.
 
Appletax said:
Wow, lots of great info from everyone! This seems to be the best solution unless even this will still cause moisture to occur from the heat (cold basement + hot exhaust = condensation).
Click to expand...
If I were to use one of these, I'd be sure my de-humidifier was up to the job of removing the moisture from the dryer exhaust. Otherwise, you are sure to end up with mold in the basement/house, especially living in Michigan with its cold winters.
 
fencepost said:
8 feet vertically is not a problem run, and if the dryer's lint filter is present and cleaned for each load you shouldn't have a lot of buildup. One thing that's going to make a huge difference: use hard pipe not that crinkly tube stuff. For only an 8' run you could probably just connect sections using the aluminized tape instead of screws unless there's going to be a lot of stress on it, and if you're concerned about buildup in the lines take off the cover at the exit once a year and run a shop-vac tube down it.
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Excellent info :) The new stuff being used now if the aluminum pipe that is like an accordion.

Larry Sabo said:
If I were to use one of these, I'd be sure my de-humidifier was up to the job of removing the moisture from the dryer exhaust. Otherwise, you are sure to end up with mold in the basement/house, especially living in Michigan with its cold winters.
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Just the info I was hoping to get! You are so smart!

The heat that comes out of the dryer should be very dry, correct? Moisture would occur when the cold basement meets the heat of the dryer's exhaust, thus creating condensation, correct?
 
Appletax said:
Just the info I was hoping to get! You are so smart!

The heat that comes out of the dryer should be very dry, correct? Moisture would occur when the cold basement meets the heat of the dryer's exhaust, thus creating condensation, correct?
Click to expand...
If I were so smart, I'd be rich. :) The exhaust from the dryer is not dry, it's very humid. Because the air is warm, it can retain that humidity as vapor. Colder air cannot, which is why humid air precipitates against cool window panes and basement walls. The de-humidifier removes the water content from the air by passing it over cooling coils, causing it to condense and drop into the collection pan or drain through a drain hose (highly recommended).
 
Larry Sabo said:
If I were so smart, I'd be rich. :) The exhaust from the dryer is not dry, it's very humid. Because the air is warm, it can retain that humidity as vapor. Colder air cannot, which is why humid air precipitates against cool window panes and basement walls. The de-humidifier removes the water content from the air by passing it over cooling coils, causing it to condense and drop into the collection pan or drain through a drain hose (highly recommended).
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:p

The dryer exhaust must be very humid from the moisture from the clothes. If the dryer ran empty it would be very dry air.

We are looking at getting a dehumidifer. There's a hole in the basement with a sump pump in it that can be used to drain it into. Cheaper than purchasing the special equipment designed to suck out the water and send it down a pipe just like the sump pump does.
 
Appletax said:
The new stuff being used now if the aluminum pipe that is like an accordion.
Click to expand...

I'd rephrase that as "The new stuff is the aluminum tube that's got a really rough interior to catch everything possible, but wow does it pack down small for cheap shipping to the store!"

When you go to the hardware store for the hardpipe you're going to want the aluminum stuff; if you want to get fancy you can get double-wall but it shouldn't be necessary. IIRC it generally comes in 3-foot lengths, so you'll need 3-4 (just in case) and 2-3 aluminum adjustable elbows. You can determine if you'll need 3 based on whether the tube has to go horizontal at the back of the dryer (e.g. to clear a gas line) before it goes vertical. It's been quite a while since I did this with our MUCH LONGER run, but I suspect you'll pay less than $20 for everything including a roll of the aluminized tape - a little over 20 if you also need to buy metal snips and short sheet metal screws.
 
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