Dryer vent

[GWB]

Is it just me, or is it a really stupid idea to vent a clothes dryer into the attic?? I can't believe that pumping hot, moist air and lint into the attic is a good thing. Whaddayathink?

[oogruk]

Couple of different things here.....one dryer load of exhaust air equals approx two pints of water in the form of a vapor. If you have a cold roof with insulation below the inner roof, when the dryer vapor is exhausted and contacts the underside of the roof sheathing on a cold winter day it will condense on contact and revert to a solid form more commonly known as water. It will then either freeze until warmer temps or run down the sheathing and drip into the insulation. It will ruin the insulation and eventualy find its way into the sheetrock. Also will, with time, ruin the roof sheating.

Bottom line vent dryer exhaust outdoors away from the structure.

[terry]

Canadian codes, for example, say 'never' vent into attic. Even a well ventilated one, which some are not.

Reason being that all those pounds of a water can condense up there, cause rot and mould and roof deterioration. Possibly freeze on underside of roof and or the roof nails sticking through. Then melt and drip on ceiling insulation and ceilings. Wet insulation then useless. And that's not just because many parts of this country are in cool zones.

Stupid idea. Even drying clothes inside a well sealed house without adequate ventilation can and has caused severe problems to the structure. Don't do this to a roof attic. After few years could be a very expensive repair!

[Dottie]

Don't know where you live, but here in FL a lot of dryer vents go through the attic and out the roof. My vent kept getting clogged so I called a man who fix ed my neighbors - he rerouted it. It goes up to the attic and across to the soffit and outside there. It has worked fine since he moved it. If I sell the house, the new owner can take his choice of how to do it.

[Forrest]

"Through the attic and out the roof" is not the same as *into* the attic. Duh

[clot]

Quite! I was wondering when that would be picked up. I cannot see any circumstance in conventional buildings where it would make sense to shunt moisture into the roof space.

[Joseph Meehan]

Into the attic is a very bad idea.

[Beachcomber]

Warm moist and dusty air is a waste product. It doesn't have much value and should be vented outside. There are heat recovery devices available (diversion vents, etc.) but you have to ask yourself if you realistically use the dryer enough for these to be economically viable.