Fan in laundry closet

[Jeffrey J. Kosowsky]

We are building a laundry closet that basically just fits the washer dryer and has a set of double doors separating the closet from the hall.

What type of ventillation if any do I need. I can not use doors with ventillation slots since I am using matched solid doors.

Some have suggested using a bathroom vent fan. My contractor says that ventillation is not necessary if you have a good bathroom vent.

What do you guys recommend? Can I just put a bathroom vent fan in the wall to the side of the dryer and vent directly through the wall to the outside?

Any recommendations on nice, quiet, low profile/recessed vent fans? (also I want the outside vent to be as unobtrusive as possible)

Thanks

[Phisherman]

We have a similar setup but no fan. The (gas) dryer exhausts to the outside. When we are using the laundry the bifold doors remain open.

[Wayne Whitney]

Your dryer is going to be exhausting hot air to the outside, and the dryer closet must provide a way for room air to enter to "make-up" this exhausted air. This is particularly important if the dryer is a gas model. A fan is unnecessary if you have sufficient make-up air openings, and I don't think using a fan reduces the required openings.

So you can't use a dryer in a closet with tight, closed solid doors. For reference, my dryer manual says a closet installation requires 60 square inches of louvered openings at each of the top and bottom of the closet door. You could probably take a solid door and cut it to leave a 2-4" gap at the bottom to provide make-up air. I'm not sure if you'd also need a gap at the top, that would look odd.

Cheers, Wayne

[Rileyesi]

I have seen some older homes that had a vent in the basement door to provide ventilation. If it would not be too ugly here, you could cut a square hole in the door and cover it with a vent cover like those used in HVAC system.

Just a thought.

[Jeffrey J. Kosowsky]

If it is just about replacing the vent air, wouldn't it be enough just to leave one of the doors open (or partially open) when the dryer is running.

In any case it appears there are two ventillation issues:

1. Provide sufficient air to replace air ventillated by the dryer (this is the issue you mentioned)
2. Provide ventillation to remove moisture associated with the "wet" nature of the laundry area (e.g. water or humidity left in washer, damp clothes that may be left in the laundry area, etc.)

Any thoughts?

[Wayne Whitney]

Sure, that makes sense, although sometimes people like doors to block the sound somewhat. I don't know if louvered doors block sound any better than a door that's ajar.

Yeah, a fan would make sense for this, although how big an issue will it be? My laundry closet is pretty small (30" wide x 36" deep), so I won't be leaving wet things in it, and my washer is a front loader, so it is pretty tight. So in my case, I figure this is not an issue and any passive ventilation provided for issue (1) (providing make-up air) will be sufficient. YMMV.

Anyway, I'm no expert, just someone else who is in the process of putting up laundry closet doors.

Cheers, Wayne

[John Hines]

Vent the dryer outside, no matter what it fueled by.

A friend of mine, when she was in apartment, and had an electric dryer which didn't vent outside. Everything got covered with lint in the long run. It also adds a lot of humidity to the air.

Dryer vents are simple 4 inch vents, not obtrusive at all. They can go about anywhere that is more than 3 feet from an window or door.

[Jeffrey J. Kosowsky]

I was not talking about the dryer exhaust fan -- that is already in place.

I am asking about separate exhaust venting for the laundry closet itself to remove moisture from the room.

Of course.

Again, my question is about vent fans, not dryer vents.

[John Hines]

Why? If the laundry is fully dry, where is the humidity coming from?

[Jeffrey J. Kosowsky]

- The washer by definition has water in it and may not fully dry out if it doesn't get enough air - Sometimes one stores damp clothing in the room (either before washing or before putting in the dryer) - Sometimes you take clothes out of the dryer before they are fully dry...

Last time I went to a Laundromat, I distinctly remember it feeling hot and humid inside...

[willshak]

Oh, please...! Do you have 10 washers and dryers in your laundry room?

[John Hines]

Is it currently a problem for you? I mean would a simple change of habit, solve the problem for nothing other than a little more dryer time?

Building codes require a certain level of air exchange. Some number (fraction of one) is required for occupied rooms. The minimum vent size is 100sq in.

How about putting a wood lining (like cedar panels) inside the closet, which would pull in some of the excess humidity, and later evap it back, moderating the humidity fluctuation.

For a really small setup, how about a DC fan on a wall wart, with some flex tubing?

Those of us that live in 50+ year old houses don't have a problem with stuff being sealed up so tight!