Has anyone Tried to Recycle heat from Dryer vent?

I imagine putting some find of a filter at the end of the vent house would do the trick, and direct the vent into the laundry room. Some one mentioned that the added humidity in the room might actually make the drying process take longer (it need dry air). Although in my case might not be a problem because the room is very large (24x24). Anyone ever tried this, did it work good, any problems? Thanks

Reply to
lbbs
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I haven't tried it yet, but I keep eyeing a similar redirection. The oil tank for my home heating is above ground, very near where the dryer vent exits. On extreme cold days (teens, single digits), water in the tank will occasionally freeze up and block the fuel feed. I've been toying with the idea of extending the vent to encase the tank feed. Hmmm.

Joe F.

Reply to
rb608

My bro-in-law does that. But we live in New Mexico where excessive humidity is far from being a problem. It does add humidity to the room but in this climate it's a blessing. Our average humidity is 30% with days dropping to single digits.

The drying time doesn't seem to be a problem at all.

Reply to
Paull

I don't remember exactly where, but I do remember seeing a pipe/hose contraption that connected to the dryer's outlet and then to the vent to the outside and had a little slider that allowed you to open and close it. When closed, the dryer's exhaust went through the thing to the outside and when open it simply vented it into the room. The handy part was that it was tall so that the open/closing thing was above the height of the dryer so it was easy to use.

Probably google-able.

trebor

Reply to
trebor4258

Dumping uncontrolled humidity and lint-filled air into a home is a bad idea. If you do, I hope the dryer is electric!

Reply to
Dennis J Sunday

First of all, you can't do this safely if you have a gas dryer, because the carbon monoxide fumes from the gas combustion are vented along with the hot air.

Second, I doubt the extra humidity in the room would be an issue, because humidity is usually much lower in the winter when you would want to reclaim heat from the dryer.

Third, there are products on the market which do what you want. See, e.g.:

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Reply to
Jonathan Kamens

The local Home Improvement center might have the diverter/filter you need. I'd only do this with an electric dryer though.

It's a plastic box you connect in the hose, with a flap and a handle to choose where to divert the exhaust to - inside or outside.

The "inside" outlet connects to another hose which dumps the warm moist air into a little container which has a fine lint filter and water on the bottom. Microscopic lint is trapped when it hits the water, and the warm moist air skims across the top of the water and out while passing through yet another nylon-stocking type filter.

Reply to
HA HA Budys Here

Years ago I just let the dryer (electric) vent into the room since there was no way to install a vent pipe. Right away I found that a filter (nylon stocking) was needed to help control the lint and dust; but the humidity was not a problem. The outside temperature, house construction and number of loads would, of course, make a difference. It's not a good idea to load your walls up with moisture if you have many below-freezing days ahead.

Some catalogs that advertise houshold help gadgets used to show a damper device that could be set to blow the dryer output back into the room and, as I recall, it had a built-in filter. Maybe those are still around.

TKM

Reply to
TKM

Our compressor coil for the heat pump sits outside near the dryer vent. Every few months I have to clean the fins on the side near the vent. No way would I vent dryer air into a living space, unless it was super-filtered. With a basic filter, the dust increase would be large, and the lung associations have regularly shown that tiny particles of chemicals can be very damaging to the lungs. Breathing in detergent and fabric softener isn't my cuppa tea.

A heat exchanger that would warm the incoming replacement air makes more sense to me. For every cubic foot of air the dryer exhausts to the outside, it pulls in a cubic foot of cold outside air - or in our case in south Florida, hot humid outside air.

Reply to
hchickpea

My electric dryer just blows against the cellar wall, so it's all recycled energy except what sticks to the wall, which isn't a large proportion. In fact I don't understand blowing it outside at all.

Of course I don't perfume the laundry. You can stink up an entire neighborhood with dryer sheets so I can't imagine what it would be like if confined indoors.

Reply to
Ron Hardin

My mother did it when I was younger. I would too if I knew how to do it safely.

Reply to
Nina

One apartment I lived in had almost no insulation on the exterior walls. The heating system was OK, but just couldn't keep up in winter, fighting against all the cold that bled through the walls. We bought a lint filter for the electric dryer for about $10. Basically, it's a bucket of water. There is a cover on the bucket of water with several holes in it. One HUGE hole is where you attatch the end of the dryer hose. Air from the dryer hits the water in the bucket, where lint is trapped. Then the warm air with lint removed exits the smaller holes in the side of the bucket cap. It will raise the temperature of a ~1000 square foot apartment 2 - 4 degrees F, while the dryer is running. It will also raise the humidity level to about

60% or so. It's not very effective, and overall not a good idea. At BEST, the effect it has wears off in an hour or two after the clothes are dry. You'd have to do about 70 loads of laundry a week in a small apartment to notice any effect on your heating bill. :) -Dave
Reply to
Dave C.

We have a condenser dryer, where there is no outside vent...the water all goes into a reservoir, which we empty after each use. So the heat does stay in the room, which is our laundry room/pantry. No problems for us, not even damp on the walls.

Reply to
Elana Kehoe

First this is not for gas dryers.

Second, be ready for increased dust in your home.

Personally I believe it is a bad idea. Have you even seen the stuff in a vent pipe, even with a filter on it.

Be sure to vent to the home in general. Venting to the same room will drive up the humidity in that room making the dryer less efficient.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

I have done this for installation where there was no place to run the vent outside.. I purchased a special ventless dryer lint trap from an appliance store..

Just putting a filter or screen on the end didn't work because it filled up too fast and was clumsy to clean.. The commercial unit had a easy way to clean the trap.. The moist air and heat stayed in the laundry room and the windows would steam up.. The drying time was about 10% longer..

Steve

Reply to
Steve

It has no effect on your heating bill, at least if you heat electrically and it's an electric dryer. You get to run the dryer free though where if you vent it outdoors it costs you to run it.

Reply to
Ron Hardin

According to Jonathan Kamens snipped-for-privacy@kamens.brookline.ma.us>:

Hi Jon,

It depends on the circumstances.

Left for work with firm instructions to the SO to "leave the laundry door open when you run the dryer!".

Half way thru the day, she called me in a panic because all the wallpaper in the laundry room was sliding off the walls.

She forgot to keep the door open.

She remembers now ;-)

Reply to
Chris Lewis

Go to the nearest gas station and pick up a couple bottles of gasline antifreeze and dump them in your oil tank. It's an alcohol that mixes with the water and prevents it from freezing. Your furnace can burn it just fine. Do it whenever you get the tank filled.

Reply to
Heathcliff Bambino

My (electric) dryer was in my kitchen and in winter I never opened the window to let it vent. The filter was very fine-meshed and there was no dust or lint on any surfaces. The washing was always run through a separate spinner, so it wasn't all that wet. The extra humidity wasn't really a problem; only the window ever showed any condensation and that disappeared in a few minutes after the dryer finished.

Reply to
Arri London

Home Depot sells a hot air diverter that allows you to route the hot air in or outside. It sells for ~$10 Canadian and is easy to install. It works very well with my electric dryer. I place a piece of old nylon stocking over the exhaust screen to filter fine lint. As the winters in my area tend to be cold and dry, the additional heat and humidity is welcome and I no longer need to run my furnace humidifier. I typically minimize the amount of detergent and fabric softener used, so the exhaust air smells clean but not overpowering.

I would recommended you thoroughly clean the dryer vent hose at least

1-2 times per year. If you decide to use a home made nylon filter like i do, remove and clean the nylon with a lint brush between loads and ensure you do not overdry your laundry. Also monitor your house humidity and route the exhaust air outside if the house becomes too humid to prevent moisture damage. I tend to space out my laundry throughout the week, completing 2-3 loads at a time, to ensure a steady output of humidity.

Hope this helps,

Marty Edmonton Alberta Canada

Reply to
Marty

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