We recently built a new home. It’s a two story walkout. We have a second floor laundry room near the kids bedrooms (my wife wisely assumed they’d be the ones creating most of the dirty laundry). We have brand new, very nice, washer and dryer in the laundry room. However the dryer is not drying nearly as well as it should. After calling Maytag and the local appliance store, they confirmed over the phone what I’d been thinking. That the problem is not the dryer – it’s the vent. Even though we religiously clean out the lint screen after every load, somehow the exterior dryer vent “port” appears to be clogged with stuff.
Normally of course I’d just walk out there and yank the stuff out and life would go on. However, from the back of the house, this vent is three stories up. The exterior vent is actually located in the soffit, or the underside of the roof overhang. I think it’s in an odd spot, and has to take at least three turns to get there. And it’s cold and rainy here in southeast Michigan. And I like my wife and kids a lot…so I’m not climbing up there (every three months?!) to clear it out. I have two questions:
1) What do you suppose is causing this? If we’re properly clearing the lint screen I can’t imagine how it’s building up.
2) Have others heard of placing a dryer vent in such a spot? If not, where in the heck DO you put an exterior dryer vent on a second floor? I can’t be the first homeowner that said he didn’t want to clean out a second or third floor dryer vent every three months.
Thoughts?
Thanks, Rob
Replies
I just replaced a full duct. The screen doesn't catch all the lint.
Soffit = bad location.
Punch it through exterior wall with a baffle or Move utility room to lower altitude.
Either one sux.
Troy Sprout
Square, Level & Plumb Renovations
Maytag venting rules used to say that 32 feet was the maximun length of the vent and you deduct 8 feet for every 90degree angle.
If it is venting out the soffit then does that mean the rest of the vent is in the attic? I have seen on several occasions where a vent in the attic becomes completely blocked with ice because the vent wasn't insulated all the way, As you might know or not know that when drying you want to remove the moisture from the clothes and warm air carries more moisture than cold air and the that you want this warm moist air to leave your clothes and the building. IF the warm moist air cools down too much BEFORE leaving your vent it condenses back into water and will freeze any place along the vent.
There are a number of things that can cause what you have. One is that it could be your washing machine. If the washer isn't coming up to high spin then your clothes are coming out wetter than they shoud therefor your dryer must work twice as hard..
See. Lots of interesting things can go wrong.
roger
Thanks guys. I just figured out that we have five 90-degree turns leading from the dryer to the soffit vent. I just talked w/my builder and we're going to have the HVAC guys come over and take a look at how to take some of these turns out. I included some pics.
My builder is thinking it might be easier to shoot this thing straight up through the roof so I can get in the attic to easily disassemble it and clean it out. Plus we're thinking that by eliminating two 90-degree turns we'll have a little more "oomph" in the air flow.
Putting the washer/dryer on the first floor isn't an option unfortunately.
Thanks, Rob
Remember to insulate it even if it goes straight up because the water will come..........straight down..
roger
This is not a proper dryer vent!! It is designed for some other use; the cross pieces are catching lint that a proper dryer vent lets pass out to the air.
This is a poor location since with wind going against the house moist air can be blown up into attic through the vents!!
Can you run the duct down to the floor joists and then with a straight run out to a side wall with a proper vent. Easier to clean when necessary plus only 2 elbows and maybe a shorter run.
I think that vent is for either soffit to ridge ventilation or for a make up air unit on a furnace. We used to sell those at the HVAC house.
I'm dealing with a similar problem (relating to condensation in the attic issue) with a client right now. Four year old addition (inspected?), ridge vent, no soffit, let alone soffit vents. They have some turtle vents installed low but there is so much ice on the roof that they are blocked.
This guy has a problem with mold in the attic, lets see why...... The mold is mainly right above the uninsulated shower recessed can and there are two bath fans. One they tried to vent outside through the fascia and in doing so they tore the uninsulated flex duct. The second fan simply blows into the attic area. Finally there is an uninsulated dryer duct also exiting through the fascia.
I cant believe the attic passed any inspection.
Stroke:
To Roger’s point, If the vent is re-routed to the roof, make sure that they/you insulate the outside of the dryer pipe going through the untreated attic area. Why? Think how the outside glass of a cold beer sweats on a hot humid summer day. Well you have the opposite effect going on inside that dryer pipe; i.e. hot humid air on the inside hitting the cold outside wall of the dryer pipe = “mucho” condensation. On top of that, there’s minute particles of lint blowing through this passage. Over time the lint build up is like wet paper mache. I know because I’ve cleaned out a lot of condo dryer vents vented through untreated attic areas. Insulate it and you'll be cleaning it out less frequently.
Also, I'm not sure whether it’s “urban legend material" or not (sure someone will voice an opinion), an HVAC guy once told me that two 45 degree elbows are more effective for air flow than one 90 “degreer”.
Rookie
at least you have a builder interested in making it right!
the grille pattern is what is the trouble. The in-machine filter only catches so much of it. The end neeeds to be wide open when machine is running. Flaper can help, but it is hard to balance the spring action to close when necessary and still be able to open based on the pressure/flow of air coming out when machine is running,which will vary according to each installation. The roof is easier location and with right flapper should not need cleaning
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I lived though this one. Second floor laundry room that DW loved, but it was located in the center of the house. After several failed attempts to cheaply solve the problem I ended up cutting a hole in the roof and installing a hooded vent. I then ran 6 in. galvanized duct up through the ceiling, into the attic and out the vent. The posts here are correct; you must insulate outside of the duct or you will have a wet, lint paste in the duct and it will clog. Also, don't bother with the 4 in diameter duct, it will clog. Avoid sheet metal screws as they tend to catch lint on the tip that protrudes the metal. I clean mine out about every year. Good luck.
Mike, what about snow on the roof? Won't I have melting snow sliding back in through the vent?
I think I'm going to start with having the exterior vent cover changed - start with the simple stuff.
- Rob
The vent has a gooseneck that keeps snow and rain out. The dryer exhaust keeps the area clear when it snows. I've never had a problem with it."With every mistake we must surely be learning"
Rob,
I have a first floor laundry which has no exterior walls, two story house.
Our dryer vent goes into the wall and straight up through the roof via a fitting called a roof jack (I think), same sort of sort of fitting as a bathroom exhaust vent. Has a flapper in the fitting to reduce heat loss. Works well.
Came with a coarse screen which was friction fit into the opening - screen would clog with lint - PITA. Removed screen and have no problems. Although I have to put the screen back in place for about a month each spring to keep birds from building a nest in the fitting.
Jim
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