# Check your dryer duct



## Kerrylib (Jan 29, 2007)

Just a reminder about something we all know about and yet most of us ignore until we have to address it.

Yesterday my wife was complaining to me about the dryer not working very well, requireing things to be cycled multiple times, etc.

Yep you guessed it, the vent line was almost completely clogged w/ lint.

To make a long story short, I trashed all the old line and redid it to make a shorter, cleaner run.  Also a happier spouse.

If it's been a while since you hooked up your dryer, it may be worth your while to disconnect the vent line and have a peek.


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## jeff1 (Jan 30, 2007)

Good tip!!

Venting system cleaned out every 1-2 years and inside the dryer every 2-5 years depending on useage.



> I trashed all the old line and redid it to make a shorter, cleaner run.



http://www.applianceaid.com/general.html#vent
http://www.applianceaid.com/vent-length.html
Pictured is the dryer before we cleaned it and the danger involved in using the white vinyl venting. If you have the white vinyl venting on your dryer, redo the vent with good pipe and save your self lots of dollars in power savings and maybe even save your life from a burnt house. There are many aluminum semi-rigid, flexible, rigid products that does a good job in venting. Use the white vinyl stuff if you insist, but don't be surprised when problems occur, and don't be surprised if you burn your home down. These folks were lucky!! They were right on the verge of a major fire. Reference model 110.66901690







jeff.


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## Daryl in Nanoose (Jan 30, 2007)

Great post Jeff. Another tip here, use as much solid piping as you can and reduce the amount of 90's you can so the air flows more efficiently and as mentioned find the fastest route out..


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## Hube (Jan 30, 2007)

Very good advice and tips have been given.
I treat a dryer vent the same as any other appliance, they get routine maintenance like clockwork whether they need it or not.Cleaning the dryer pipes is done  every 3 months. It takes only approx 20-30 minutes to do a thorough cleaning job.


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## Daryl in Nanoose (Jan 30, 2007)

Now thats the ticket laddy


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## Kerrylib (Jan 30, 2007)

Hube, I'll bet you are the exception rather than the rule.


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## glennjanie (Jan 30, 2007)

Our dryer is a little over 1 year old and was sticking on 6minutes remaining in the auto dry cycle. I thought  of the vent and checked it, found it was fairly clear.
Then I looked at one of Jeff1's websites and found the exact same dryer with a troubleshooting guide. It said clean the vent so I have ordered a special 27" long brush just for that. Thanks for the site, Jeff.
Glenn


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## inspectorD (Jan 30, 2007)

Last week I had the appliance co out to fix my 1 year old dryer.
It would not run at all. So I check everything with the circuit and venting....pound on the start button a couple of times...kick ,bang nothin.

Turns out as I am getting ready to take the back off to look at the insides...i notice the electrical line going into the dryer is stained. 
So I had unplugged the dryer before I started to look at the back, but not before the roughhousing...

Low and behold I take off the back cover and the neutral is burned off the connector and the entire area is toast...no longer there. 

Moral....
Check your electrical connections to see if they work loose behind the cover....all that banging around you know.


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## Daryl (Jan 30, 2007)

As one who cleans Dryer vents for a living, I have another piece of advice for those of you who use fabric softener. Remove the lint screen often and run it under the faucet to make sure water will flow through it. if water will flow then obviously air will too. Then fabric softener will coat the lint screen with an invisible film thus not allowing air to flow through. Clothes don't get dry and you can't figure out why.............A light scrubbing with a little soap will remove it. By the way, that lint screen will only catch 75 to 80 % of the lint in a normal drying situation, Less if it's heavy towels!  If you have a gas dryer you definitely don't want to be using the flimsy "slinky" type plastic exhuast hose. That exhaust line has carbon monoxide running through it and if there is any splits or holes in it guess where the monoxide is going!! In your home! Use solid pipe and wrap the joints with aluminum duct tape made for duct work, Not Duct tape! if your lint screen is located in the door then you have an exhaust line running the whole length of the dryer front to back. When you take the exhaust hose loose to clean it turn the dryer around and reach inside that long exhuast line and pull out the lint , you'll be surprised how much will build up in there! After cleaning it out by hand use the shop vac or something similar to vacuum it real good. Ever want to know how much of a hazzard these clogged dryer vents can be just google "dryer fires" sometime.


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## jeff1 (Jan 31, 2007)

> I have another piece of advice for those of you who use fabric softener. Remove the lint screen often and run it under the faucet to make sure water will flow through it. if water will flow then obviously air will too.



Good point!






http://www.applianceaid.com/dryertip4.html

jeff.


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## texanator (Mar 15, 2007)

I'm about to redo my dryer duct. The old one runs out thru the roof and
it's just a hassle to maintain properly.

The new duct will be horizontal and only 4' 2" long instead of going thru the roof.

The new duct will run thru a tiny storage closet, which is accessible from 
the outside of the house only.

My question is... can I use 4" PVC pipe instead of the standard sheet metal duct?

The PVC would be strong enough to take minor bangs without me
having to build a box around it to shield it from dings and bangs.
(the part that is exposed inside the storage closet)

Are there safety/Building code/practicality reasons against using PVC?

--Sur


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## jeff1 (Mar 15, 2007)

Hi,

Check local codes, check with local contractor/builders, in my area it is frowned upon. 

-Might- had to do with so many appliances having electronics in them now and some piping causes static electricity ( JMO! )

Galvanized piping is stronger than the aluminim/tin type is and can take most punishment ( or at least my kids haven't broken ours yet  )

jeff.


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## glennjanie (Mar 15, 2007)

PVC would not be safe! Dryer ducts sometimes have fires in them and the normal heat of the dryer would soften the PVC to a point that would allow easy crushing.
Jeff has it right, galvanized metal pipe would work best.
Glenn


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## Daryl (Mar 15, 2007)

Completely a no no on plastic anymore. If you have a gas dryer and have a puncture inside you would be letting Carbon Monoxide in your home. Not saying you do , just good info. Go metal and be safe for sure. Use aluminum (foil) tape at the joints, not duct tape.


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## Daryl in Nanoose (Mar 17, 2007)

Galvinized all the way with aluminum foil tape on the joints. But you know boxing it in is a very good idea.


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## Mike9825 (Mar 23, 2007)

Daryl in Nanoose said:


> Galvinized all the way with aluminum foil tape on the joints. But you know boxing it in is a very good idea.



i 2nd this  -Mike-


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## texanator (Apr 2, 2007)

texanator said:


> I'm about to redo my dryer duct. The old one runs out thru the roof and
> it's just a hassle to maintain properly.
> 
> The new duct will be horizontal and only 4' 2" long instead of going thru the roof.
> ...



Thanks for yalls input. I procrastinated long enough and finally tackled this task.
End result, 49 inch galvanized metal duct thru one interior wall and one exterior wall.
Added a new powertool into my collection, a Bosch rotary hammer, 
which "cut" thru the exterior brick wall like butta. 

--Sur


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## jeff1 (Apr 2, 2007)

Thankx for the update! 

jeff.


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## booft (Dec 17, 2007)

Good thread, many people forget thing from time to time. I try and check mine once a month if I can. Also, mine oddly doesnt clog anywhere in the middle, only the outter end piece that is outside of my house. So a quick spray off the trap (its a rodent trap) and its clean again.


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## learning (Jan 16, 2008)

I moved into my home about 2.5 years ago.  Checking the dryer duct was on the list, but I had about a dozen other "immediate" safety issues.

Anywho, I went down to the crawl space, untied the insulation (yes, I untied the nylon rope holding the fiberglass insulation to the ceiling!) and found that the dryer vent is no more than 2 inches away from the gas line.  In many instances the dryer vent touches the gas line.  Is my house going to explode?  

I certainly don't have anything against explosions.  And at this point I certainly don't have anything against my house exploding.  Its just that all of my stuff is there.


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## glennjanie (Jan 16, 2008)

Welcome Learning:
You didn't mention the material the vent line or gas line are made of. If the vent is galvanized metal pipe and the gas line is black iron pipe, there is no problem. If your vent is aluminum and the gas line is copper they should be seperated because of the electrolisis between those two metals. You could also get some foam pipe insulation to put on the gas line to prevent contact.
Glenn


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## guyod (Jan 16, 2008)

How Dangerous  is this electrolisis thing. I keep hearing about it but the concept is hard to grasp. It seems like something plumbers say to sound smart. (no offense glenn i know youre smart) Have you actually seen the affects of electrolisis. how long does it take. it kind of makes sense if there is  electric going through it but aluminum wires connect to  copper wires pretty commonly with out concern.


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## learning (Jan 22, 2008)

Thanks a lot Glenn.  The vent is galvanized and gas line is black.


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## ToolGuy (Jan 22, 2008)

guyod said:


> ...it kind of makes sense if there is  electric going through it but aluminum wires connect to  copper wires pretty commonly with out concern.



Or water flowing through it in the case of plumbing. That's why a dialectric union is needed to transition between steel and copper, lest the steel will quickly turn to rust.


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## inspectorD (Jan 22, 2008)

We should have started another thread on this, but here goes ...

Copper and aluminum are not connected anywhere, they need separation in electrical. 
Electrical connections need to be UL rated for that specific connection due to moisture which causes an electrolyte issue, they even make wire nuts for this problem. Water lines are separated by a 4 inch or larger piece of brass or a specific connector in plumbing. 
It all depends on what you are trying to do, moisture is the culprit. Have  you realized that new pressure treated lumber can no longer be used with aluminum  because of the copper treatment which is now used .

That is "dissimilar metals" in some of the building arena. 
Google it and you will learn more than you need.


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