Clothes dryer caution

[Rossland]

When we purchased our new to us, ten year old KK, performance of our clothes dryer was very disappointing. When I removed the dryer end of the exhaust hose, I found that it was 80% plugged with lint. The hose is flexible plastic. This is obviously a huge fire hazard, which is probably why building codes for houses requires non-combustable vent hoses.

As much as I could tell, most of the lint buildup was close to the dryer end, but since the outside vent is attached with 5200 as well as screws, the hose is impossible to remove without tearing the outside vent apart. I was able to clean about half the length by inserting the flexible portion of our shop vac hose.

So, can anyone tell me how to clean the entire dryer vent hose, or how to replace it with non-combustible without demolishing the outside vent?

 

[ranger58sb]

Sometimes you can use the "blow" function of a shop vac, too. Vac from both ends (if you can), blow from both ends (if you can)...

If there's a grill of some sort on the outside vent, it can sometimes be removed without detaching the housing from the house (or boat).

-Chris

 

[Rossland]

Sometimes you can use the "blow" function of a shop vac, too. Vac from both ends (if you can), blow from both ends (if you can)...

If there's a grill of some sort on the outside vent, it can sometimes be removed without detaching the housing from the house (or boat).

-Chris

Thanks Chris
I tried to blow it out too, but because I could not remove the outside vent, I could clean only about half of the hose. I am hoping that someone may have encountered the same problem, and could tell me how to clean the whole hose. If all else fails, I can remove the outside vent by cutting it apart into little pieces.

 

[Lou_tribal]

While I agree it is a fire hazard, most of dryer are equiped with a thermal sensor that will broke if the heat is building up because of a clogged vent.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. R. Is there any way to remove most of the hose from the inside thus preserving the vent on the outside? Seems to me that hose should be made to be serviceable/cleanable in an easy fashion at a future date. Is it possible to replace the flex hose with solid ducting which simply slips together (and apart, of course)?

 

[Lou_tribal]

One thing you can try is to replug your dryer, give it a try run, and check the outside vent. If air is flowing correctly I would not worry too much. You will always get some cloth fibers in the vent pipe whatever you do, the important thing is just to check periodically that the air flow is not obstructed.

 

[BruceK]

Thermal safety cut outs on domestic dryers here have not always up to the job, with fires resulting. I would not put total faith in it. Usual cause is the belt driving the drum wears out and breaks, drum stops rotating, if the cut out doesn`t work, dryer gets hot and there is big trouble.
Dryers here have an internal lint filter, check/clean it every use and you should be fine. But imo you need to clear that hose of build up.

 

[CPseudonym]

Agreed regarding trusting thermal overloads, personally I put more trust in farts.

Dryers here have an internal lint filter, check/clean it every use and you should be fine. But imo you need to clear that hose of build up.

Same internal lint traps cleaned with each load here. I still pull the dryer on even numbered years(anal retentive? Guilty your honor) and clean the vent piping with oversized flexible "bottle brushes" and shop vac. Quick job that removes a bit more lint than I ever expected.

Dry subject

 

[Rossland]

Agreed regarding trusting thermal overloads, personally I put more trust in farts.




Same internal lint traps cleaned with each load here. I still pull the dryer on even numbered years(anal retentive? Guilty your honor) and clean the vent piping with oversized flexible "bottle brushes" and shop vac. Quick job that removes a bit more lint than I ever expected.

Dry subject

Thanks Craig. Didn't think of using a bottle brush. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[ranger58sb]

Thanks Craig. Didn't think of using a bottle brush. Thanks for the suggestion.

Maybe a fat bottle brush attached to a snake...



Another thought is to try temporarily almost-sealing the vent -- duct tape, or some such -- to increase suck vacuum and blow velocity.

And couple that with the bottle brush...

-Chris

 

[High Wire]

Extend your shop vac hose with some hose (and a little duct tape) from the hardware store to reach all from one end.

 

[Rogerh]

We had a near fire on our boat last year because of a dryer. It turned out that the heater element stayed on when the dryer shut off. We were nearby at the marina pool that we were at and one of our guest went back to the boat to get some stuff for the grill. When they came back they said they smelled something like burning on the boat. I flew back to the boat and found the wall behind the dryer was so hot I could not put my hand on it. That was through 3/4 plywood. Breaker off and fans, things cooled off as I watched with two fire extinguishers in hand. When we got back from the 7 week trip the washer/dryer came off the boat and I installed shelves. Those shelves are so handy. The washer dryer was not used that much and now we just wash close at the marina. It was a very scary situation that could have easily resulted in fire. We have peace of mind with our shelves now.

 

[Bay Pelican]

I got rid of the original vent and installed a metal clam shell.

 

[IRENE]

Perhaps replacing the current vent with something a little easier to maintain would pay dividends later?

We had a similar problem in a short-term rental condo a couple of years ago. The top of the dryer was extremely hot, and the clothes never really dried. The landlord sent out an appliance tech who confirmed my suspicion that the vent was clogged. The company repairman came out and accomplished nothing by vacuuming the discharge (landlord's husband). The carpet cleaner came and ran a brush though the discharge and vacuumed it again. Then they sent out the appliance tech again, who did a complete disassembly and preventive maintenance. After all of this effort, the top of the dryer would still warm up to just shy of 200 degrees and the clothes remained wet.

Finally, the landlord sent out her "expensive" handyman. He asked what had been done and listened carefully. He went strait to the discharge and removed the louvers, then instructed me to go in and energize the dryer on the no heat setting. When I came back outside, the handyman and his ladder were literally covered in lint, debris, and dryer sheets! No more problems.

He did tell me to avoid the dryer sheets as they leave some tackiness inside the discharge, which subsequently helps lint build up. It's now an annual maintenance item at our house.

Thanks for the words of caution!

Good Luck

 

[Lou_tribal]

You could also put a ferret in your dryer exhaust tube and force him to go up

 

[Rossland]

You could also put a ferret in your dryer exhaust tube and force him to go up

That is the best suggestion yet

 

[BruceK]

Resisting temptation to post Monty Python`s Ferret Song.......

 

[CPseudonym]

Resisting temptation to post Monty Python`s Ferret Song.......

Resistance is futile, be one with the post. Use the force Bruce

 

[HiDHo]

Gets some 1/4" wire rope, bend the strands out 90 degrees with the ends bent back or covered to prevent tearing the hose and sized to match the inside diameter of the vent hose. It should resemble a mini-chimney sweep and the length to match the vent hose.
Replace the vinyl with flex metal hose which doesn't have the corrogations which foul with lint.

 

[Fletcher500]

Sounds like the question was answered, so a little drift. Do these boat laundry washing and dryers work well enough to justify the space?

 

[koliver]

Sounds like the question was answered, so a little drift. Do these boat laundry washing and dryers work well enough to justify the space?

Not the single unit, combined W/D. If you have room for the separate washer and dryer, you will be happier with the results, but of course, twice the space.

 

[HenryD]

You don't say what your vent is? Our vent is a household vent with 5 flaps, and each flap can be removed. For our vent line, I used a flexible metal vent duct.
If you can get it to pass your vent, you might want to try snaking a 1/4" line from the vent to the dryer. Then put a hole through the center of a nerf ball and thread the line through it and tie a knot. Pull the line back to the dryer, with the nerf ball pushing the lint as it goes.

Fletcher500 - we have been living aboard for 9+ years and do all of our laundry with an apartment size stackable unit. If we had to haul laundry to laundrymats or even marina laundry facilities, my wife would not be happy.

 

[Comodave]

We have used Splendide vented combo units in several boats and an RV. We love them because we use them in accordance with their design. They do small loads if you want them to actually dry the clothes. If you load them properly, they do fine. It is worth it to us not to have to do laundry in the marina laundrymat. We do not have one installed in our boat yet, but we will at some near date. Hauling the laundry back and forth to the sometimes distant laundrymat and sitting there waiting for the laundry to wash and dry is not our idea of fun.