Drier venting indoors.

[akronman]

As winter approaches, I'm thinking of venting the drier into my 94 year old semi-messy basement instead of out thru the wall. Can anyone recommend a good brand of indoor filter that allows indoor venting? The basement is old, very utilitarian, I wouldn't try this in a newer beautiful basement, and it's only one drier. I'm just trying to watch the gas bill a bit, and get a little extra heat in the basement on winter washdays.
Thanks

 

[DADoES]

 
DO NOT vent a gas dryer indoors.  Gas units discharge combustion byproducts through the exhaust airflow, there's too much risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

 

[stevet]

Not the best Idea!

Mark, I can see it now. We are all going to caution you about the same thing... Burning gas releases carbon monoxide into the air and that is not something you should really have going on in your home no matter what shape the basement is in.
If you want to save energy, get a machine that really spins out the water from the clothes which results in dramatically shorter drying times, or hang the laundry in that basement to dry.Then you will add moisture to the house and it may feel more comfortable and you won't be burning any gas!
And don't forget the option of drying them outside as well.

I am sure that you realize that there are other improvements you could make to your home of that age that will result in greater savings than the gas you would save from venting the dryer indoors and energy conservation improvements could result in rebates from the Feds and local or state funds and utility companies as well.

You also prevent excessive lint buildup in the basement which can cause problems with your furnace whether it is gas fired or oil fired.

 

[macboy91si]

Electric or Gas?

I guess the question is electric or gas. Gas could be potentially deadly, but I've vented electric dryers indoors before with my portables with out issue. It's not the best way by far to do things but sometimes one has no choice in my case. The best lint traps I've found are the water filled units. The dryer is going to slowly lint up things, this is a given but the water filters really cut back on this. I speak of this only from portable dryers not full size units. I know 2 people that have their electric full sized dryers vented indoors without issue though aside from a bit more dusting things than usual. I don't however think it will help as much as you might think with heating, mostly it can add some moisture to the air from the humidity.

-Tim

 

[akronman]

Glad I asked

OK, cool, it stays vented outdoors. Glad I asked--I was thinking heat, not about the gas fumes, my bad.
Mark

 

[launderess]

Glad To Hear It

There isn't a dryer filter on the market today that captures anywhere >80% of the fine dust that comes out of dryer exhaust. Over time this will collect any and everywhere the air currents in your house goes. Such dust will also reek havoc with electronic equipment if it is allowed to build up internally.

Yes, as stated above; never, never, never *EVER* vent a gas dryer indoors

 

[mayguy]

I do not advise venting any dryers in home that are in the northern zone. Way too much of a risk of mold or some type of damage to the sheet rock.

I grew up with a dryer vented into a large two story home, and we had mold growing in the corner of the wall on the far end of the house! It was a big mess.. As soon as it was fixed, dad vented that dryer out doors!

Also, you are breathing all the chemical that are on your clothes mostly the fabric softener.

 

[sudsmaster]

I have sometimes thought that a way to do this would be to run the dryer vent through a heat exchanger. One problem with that however is that the moisture in the vented hot air would condense on the cold exchanger surface and clog it up with lint very quickly. Even a straight through metal vent duct is supposed to be insulated if it runs through unheated spaces, to keep the moisture/lint accumulation to a minimum.

There is no free lunch. But one good thing is that the amount of energy that a gas dryer uses is minuscule compared to the energy used for space heating in winter. Personally I'd rather not have all that lint and moisture dumped into the home, anyway.

 

[rapunzel]

Apart from the dust, think of the moisture, especially in wi

Even if your basement is utilitarian. The additional heat in the house would negligible and of no economic benefit. There would be additional inconvenience via dust build-up and increased mustiness.

 

[panthera]

Everybody has, of course

pointed out the obvious - CO is nothing to mess with. In fact, when that dryer is going full blast and exhausting to the outside, take a look at whether your gas furnace and water heater are down drafting back into the house - if they are, then you have a problem.

The advice to up the spin speed (which you can do cheaply with a stand alone centrifuge) is undoubtedly the best single step towards saving energy. I'm not going to endorse the spinner at the link, I've never used it. My German spinner does, however, cut the drying time by more than half - and it spins at 2800rpm (and I've used it for over 20 years with no damaged clothes, an old debate we've had here for centuries). A few other things which will help, too:

Try to dry on days when the ventilation is useful - that dryer is pulling in quite a bit of basement air, make use of it. If a window would be open anyway, then it's not such a painful loss.

Make sure you dry at least two loads, one behind the other. There is quite a bit of mass to heat up in a dryer and drying two loads or more back to back saves some energy.

What Laundress said about all that icky lint also applies to the innards of the dryer, the vent hose (best if it's a straight, smooth pipe with minimal joints and approved for gas dryers) and the exhaust vent cover. Especially if you use fabric softeners or dryer sheets, it is sheer unbelievable how much lint and dust builds up everywhere. Best to unplug the dryer first, though and watch for very very sharp edges. I had a Sears gas dryer peel quite a bit off my thumb many years ago when I only brushed against an inner edge.

What about hanging things up to dry until dry or nearly so outside then giving them a last, short heated tumble to make them softer and finish drying them?

If you have the opportunity to reuse the last rinse water as wash water and don't use a fabric softener, a trick from the bad old days of low spin speed washer-dryer combos was to use hot water for the last rinse. It cuts down on the drying time quite a bit - but only really saves money with a gas dryer if you can then reuse that clean, formerly hot water for a warm water wash load.

Hope that all helps.

Amazon.com

 

[supremewhirlpol]

Just put a sock on the end of the duct->problem solved. Venting an electric dryer inside provides heat, but causes the air to become moist. Drying clothes can take longer because after a certain period of running it, the air intake of the dryer will no longer be cool and of less humidity. If you have cold water pipes above, the moist hot air will condense on the pipes causing them to sweat.

 

[panthera]

ah, Melvin,

We're talking about a GAS dryer.

Don't you think that might be a bit dangerous?

 

[dogboy44]

We tried that years ago

It was an electric dryer, and with all the condensation and lint everywhere after about a month, yuck. I would think that amount of moisture in the house is asking for trouble. Lol, but I totally get where you're coming from.

 

[supremewhirlpol]

Keven,
If the dryer is gas, the person who is thinking about venting the dryer inside is signing their death certificate. Not a good idea by any means. What can probably be done is still vent the dryer outside but attach heat sinks to the outside of the duct coming out of the dryer. Then have a fan move air through the fins of the heat sinks. I was under the impression that an electric dryer was to be vented inside, not gas. Otherwise venting a gas dryer inside is the same as venting a furance inside.-> no good!!

 

[panthera]

Melvin,

Heat sinks are a good idea, at least, if the condensation problem is addressed. I didn't think of that.

I just don't know - the microscopically fine particles of lint, the humidity...it just doesn't seem like a good thing to put into a house.

 

[whirlcool]

Jeesh! $229.00 for that Spin Dryer?
We still have out Pakistani built (with a GE plexiglass lid insert) from Laundry Alternative. We only paid $129.00 for it several years ago.

It does do what it says it does, it pulls a lot of water (and detergent residue) out of the clothes. It reduced drying towels from 40 minutes to 20 minutes. Shirts are dried in 12 minutes.

But it is very noisy. We take precautions with it. Several people on this website had these and they all exploded during use. We put ours in the nearby bathroom, set it and run for our lives until the noise stops. No explosions yet.

 

[combo52]

VENTING DRYERS INDOORS

The best way to vent any dryer indoors is to build a vent box that uses a high quality Pleated filter at least 20' by 20' in size. Doing this will capture a very high percentage of the lint expelled by the dryer. I am interested by how many people were concerned about the possible problem of carbon monoxide from a gas dryer. While I agree that I don't like burning anything inside my house that is not vented to the out doors, which is why I wouldn't have a gas range in my house. But how many of you guys have gas ranges?. A gas range produces far more carbon monoxide than a gas dryer ever could, I have never seen a warning about using an unvented gas dryer as something that could be dangerous. But you always hear warnings about not warming you house with a gas range. A gas clothes dryer burns much cleaner because of the high airflow and the fact that the flame doesn't touch any cold metal which can make for poor combustion. For example when using the top burners on a gas range the flame should never touch the pot, doing so produces a lot of carbon monoxide. Of coerce using a gas range this way will make a slower way of cooking even slower.

 

[supremewhirlpol]

And that's probably why I get dizzy every time I go into someone's house who has a gas range. I can't explain it, but the air is different and it knocks me for a loop.

 

[launderess]

Our Place Isn't Wired For An Electric Range

However since the day I had my first apartment, always have windows open and some sort of fan going when using a gas range or oven/broiler.

Some buildings have tried going all electric in NYC, even to the point of separate heating units in each apartment, but time and time again it comes down to cost. Natural gas is just so much cheaper in most areas of the East, and electric more expensive, people want none of it.

Landlords of course love an "all electric" unit because they can move heating and cooking costs onto tenants. That is if they are paying their own ultilites.

When it comes to cooking, some just will not move from gas. Others like "dual fuel" ranges or electric for ovens with gas for stove burners. Methinks much of this boils down to "response" time, and those prefering gas for stove top because the heat adjusts faster. Maybe newer electric ranges/burners have solved this problem?

Induction seems to be catching on, but then one has to go out and purchase all new pots and pans.