Recycling Dryer Exhaust Heat...

[arwalden]

My electric clothes dryer vents to the outside and I truly hate seeing all that nice warm air go to waste.

The venting duct goes down through the floor, into the crawl space below the house then out through a vent. --- My question is: would there be any harm in simply venting it to warm up the crawl space underneath the house? Or would the increased humidity be something to worry about?

I suppose I could vent it INSIDE the house, but that would be more work than I'm willing to do right now. The crawl space below the house is actually a crouching-walk space and redirecting the exhaust duct would be quite simple.

** Does anyone else recycle their dryer exhaust to the inside? **

-- Allen

[pmbryant]

1. From what I've read..

the increased humidity would be a very bad influence on the structure of your house.

But that's just what I've read.

:shrug:

--Peter

[Mistress Quickly]

Humidity would be too high

would warp the boards, cause damage.

Aren't warm clothes (specially flannel jammies) great fresh from the dryer?

[bahrbearian]

10. They make a humidity trap to catch the moisture

a freind of mine had one in her apartment,it worked great!there was no way to vent outside. I've also seen heat exchanger's for dryers at Lowe's.

[Loonman]

2. Mold, dude

If there is a way to prevent any moisture from the dryer vent, it sounds plausible, but you don't want to take the chance of starting a mold farm in your crawl space.

Plus, in winter, (unless you're in FLA or CA), that moisture will freeze almost instantly.


You could also damage the woodwork in your house as the posters above have stated.

[yellowcanine]

3. You don't want to do this.

There is a potential moisture/mold problem and also dust and lint that could work their way back into the air you are breathing - not good, particularly if anyone in the house has allergies.

[radwriter0555]

4. I STOPPED using heat to dry my clothes. MOSTLY they're dried on LOW LOW

heat or air dried, as it makes them last a LOT longer... I also rarely wash in hot water. I'm a chick; unless I'm gardening or doing yard work I don't sweat or get nasty, so I don't have stains or perspiration to deal with...

The point is to not use so much heat on your clothes as it destroys them VERY quickly.

Another secret is to turn clothes inside out, as it preserves colors a lot longer, especially blacks.

[arwalden]

9. Cold water only here as well... except for yardwork days.

Did you know that you can use about 1/3rd to 1/2 LESS than the recommend amount of laundry detergent and still get the same results?

This is according to Consumer Reports, they found that the detergent manufacturers recommend TOO MUCH detergent. So, I tried it, and it works fine. I have noticed that everything is just as clean as before.... and my detergent lasts longer.

-- Allen

[Beaker]

yes, I recycle...in the winter.

they make a "valve" of sorts that goes in the dryer exhaust line and allows you to divert the air...but I have a full basement, not a crawlspace...and since the furnace is down there too, I don't worry too much about the xtra humidity.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

5. Yeah, don't do that, bad idea...

But don't you love the smell of that air? Especially with drier sheets and the fabric softener you used in the wash? That is comforting.
Duckie

[arwalden]

6. Hmmm... I See A Pattern Here. Maybe Venting It Inside...

with one of those special diverters (from Lowes) that also has an extra lint filter would be the best option.

Our house is certainly DRY enough as it is and we run an evaporative (wick) humidifier in our bedroom at night.

THANK YOU ALL for the feedback.

-- Allen

[tinnyguy1777]

14. Indoor venting is feasable-----

and the added humidity will help in cold weather. Those "tee" sections, with a damper, is the route to go.

[XNASA]

7. Two main problems are CO and particulate pollution in your house.

But the CO problem is minimal, no more than using your stove.

When I was a kid, my mom would take the exhaust hose off of the outside vent, plug up the vent, and secure an old pair of panty hose around the end of the hose to trap the lint. We never had any problems.

The moisture in the exhaust is desirable. We have a humidifier in our house that puts 13 gallons of water into the air, EVERYDAY!!

Anyone who lives in the North knows that sleeping through a zero degree night with no humidifier going is hell on your throat and nasal passages.

[arwalden]

11. It's Electric. If It Were Gas I Would Not Even Consider It...

That's a major concern of mine. We have a fuel-oil (dyed diesel) furnace that's only 5 years old, but I still have 2 co2 alarms in the house.

-- Allen

[Waistdeep]

12. Uh

"But the CO problem is minimal"

Considering it's an electric dryer, I have to concur.B-)

[bpcmxr]

8. Also - depending upon where you live

and how cold your winters are, you may also end up attracting into your crawlspace all manner of critters looking to keep warm.

[arwalden]

13. EEK! Never thought of that!

I do keep rat traps in the crawl space corners though. (Baited with peanut-butter flavored leather.) So far no takers... on the traps.

But I'm sure an opossum would love to camp out down there (if he could figure a way to get in.)

-- Allen

[spinbaby]

15. We used to

Just pull out the dryer, and disconnect the tube thingy that goes outside. Get a new length of the tubing, connect it to the back of the dryer, and stick the end of it wherever you want the hot air to go. Then--and this is very important--put an old pair of panty hose over the end of the tube to catch the lint. In the spring, just reconnect the dryer to the outside. This doesn't produce as much heat and humidity as you'd think. We did it primarily to try to humidify the house in the winter but it turned out not to really make a difference. In our current house it's harder to reach the back of the dryer so we don't bother with that but we still hang laundry in the basement in an attempt to humidify the air. Doesn't really work--the air's still so dry a pair of jeans easily dries in the basement overnight. By the way, only vent an ELECTRIC dryer indoors--never a gas one.

[Robb]

16. This is such a funny thread to me

...because of the massive effort I went through this past summer to vent my dryer outside. :)

There are, and have been for years, methods to catch the lint when people can't vent outside -- the nylon stocking one is older than me! There are also various devices of varying cost, most shoot the lint-filled air towards a water reservoir in one way or another, and the lion's share of the lint hits the water and stays there, something you clean out every week or so (or you should!).

Many of you know I live in CO at 8K feet, so humidity has never been a problem anywhere in the house -- but in the basement, it started to get pretty funky whenever I ran the dryer, and truly, there are no satisfactory methods of catching all the lint. Eventually the walls will get fuzzy. You can just dust it off, but I had had enough.

Black widow spiders be damned, I donned protective ski clothing and got into horrible places with the sawzall to run a vent outside. My quality of life has improved.

I would argue that in most climates, the benefits of re-incorporating the BTUs the dryer loses out the vent are offset by the problems possible with moisture issues -- rot and general mold not the least of them.

But that's just my $0.02... I come from a long line of plumbers, and we want to send everything out of the house. ;)

[arwalden]

17. Thanks For The Feedback...

I only thought about re-ducting to the crawspace because it would have been a simple one-two job. Reducting to the inside might not be worth it after all.

-- Allen

[Robb]

18. Now you've got me thinking.

Maybe I could contrive a geothermal-style heat-exchange device for the john? What energies could be derived from the temperature differential between ambient air and... pee and poo? :silly:

[trof]

19. Here ya go. Ace is the Place.

Damper to vent air inside or out
Washable lint screen
Built-in bracket
Includes 2 clamps
For use with 4" flexible pipe
250 deg. F max. continious
White
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1273159