Dryer Venting Problems: Tight Spaces

Dryer Venting

• A clothes dryer releases hot, moist air and lint out of an exhaust hole located at the back of the appliance. The exhaust hole should be connected to ductwork that runs through your walls to a vent on the exterior of your home. The air and lint bits are also released into the outside air and can build up inside your laundry room. Ideally your home will have a spacious laundry room placed along an exterior wall of the house, so you can vent the dryer over a short distance.

Issues

• When you install a dryer in a less-than-ideal laundry area, you could have trouble venting it because of tight spaces. In a small laundry closet, you may need to push the dryer close to the wall to make it fit. This compresses the ducts so your dryer can’t vent as well. If your laundry area is in the interior of your home, the ductwork might need to travel for several feet to reach the exterior vent. Tight turns within flooring or walls trap lint, leading to a buildup that is a fire hazard.

Solutions

• For tight spaces behind a dryer, use a section of flexible metal ducting to connect the dryer’s exhaust to the rest of the ductwork. Run the ductwork in as straight a line as possible to reach the exterior of your home. If you must make turns, try to use 45 degree angles rather than sharper 90 degree turns. Support the ductwork so it does not sag within flooring. These steps help mitigate the problems presented by tight spaces.

Considerations

• Don’t try to get around the lack of room in your laundry area by installing a vent bucket or a lint screen on your dryer’s exhaust. These options are not only inefficient; they could also void your warranty. If you must, run the vent ductwork up to the roof to reach an exterior vent there. Roof vents require more cleaning to maintain, but can be used to get around tight spaces if other options aren’t viable.