Ventless Dyers and Indoor Air Quality

[moon1234]

We have been using a condenser dryer for the last few months since our Vented Miele dryer died. This is a circa 2013 model year Siemens condenser dryer.

We had initially planned to buy a new Miele Professional vented dryer (PT7186), but we decided to put that on hold until we get a house built in 2019. We bought the Miele T1 TWI180 heat pump dryer to bridge the gap.

One thing I think I am noticing since we are using the condenser and heat pump dryers is fine lint showing up in the rooms where the dryers are located. More than we noticed with the vented dryer.

I am wondering if anyone else has noticed this? I would assume with a vented dryer that any fine lint that makes it past the lint filter would be sent outside via the vent. For a ventless dryer I would assume that these fine lint particles escape from the dryer either during drying during air cycling over the condenser or over the de-superheater in a heat pump dryer. That or the fine particles are staying on the laundry and are being released when laundry comes out of the dryer and is folded.

I just noticed this today since we have about 7-8 loads through the new Miele T1. I notice it mainly on items that don't move much in the laundry room. Such as bottles of detergent that are not routinely used or clothes that seems to sit for a week or so before being put away.

We have a sort time to return the heat pump dryer if we want (14 days). We do 4-6 loads a day. If the vented dryer would help cut down one this, I may just fork over the extra cash. If others don't notice this, then maybe it is just more "dust" moving around during the heating season.

Has anyone else noticed this?

 

[combo52]

Lint Dust In Laundry Rooms

Part of the problem may be the dryer, but also just handling clothing makes a lot of lint dust and a vented dryer keeps a healthy amount of air moving through your laundry room and on to the outside of the home.

 

I have a vintage Frigidaire 1962 Filterator dryer that I use some in the winter, it differently makes a lot of dust so I try to have one of the vented gas dryers running at the same time to help keep the air clearer of dust.

 

If you are going to use a condenser dryer a lot you should keep the fan running in your homes heating system and be sure that you are using really good filters [ electrostatic air-cleaners are best ] as cotton dust is a carcinogen.

 

John L.

 

[rolls_rapide]

I have an old conventional condenser dryer, and I certainly do notice fine lint floating about the room.

I think it is a mixture of air gaps and leaks, and electrostatic deposition when items are removed from the machine and folded.

Thinking back in time to a vented machine, I'm sure it had a fine layer of dust about it too.

 

[lowefficiency]

Not all vented dryers are equal either... some use the fan to blow hot air into the drum, while others use the fan to suck moist air out. It's a technicality, but makes a big difference in how much lint gets blown out into your laundry room, as the former category relies much more on the seals to keep linty air from being pushed out around the door, lint trap, etc.

 

[foraloysius]

I have a Siemens IQ500 heat pump dryer. See this link:

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?75646

I dried a load of whites today including some fluffy towels. The door to the laundry room was closed. There was no lint on the dark tiled floor. This Siemens dryer seems well sealed. It has a double filter too.

 

[Marky_Mark]

I wonder if part of the reason you are seeing dust now that you weren't seeing before is related to doing 4 to 6 loads a day. When you remove a load and fold it and clean the filter, some lint will become airborne. If you then immediately start drying your next load, a vented dryer will draw some of this airborne lint down into the dryer before it has a chance to deposit on other surfaces. With a condenser dryer, you don't have this exhausting effect. So it could be that the problem isn't being caused by your new dryer as such, it's just that your new dryer doesn't have the side-effect of acting as a room exhaust fan. Perhaps if you were only doing 1 load a day and were folding it and cleaning the filter at the end of the cycle and then not running the machine again till the next day, then you might see the same amount of lint around the room regardless of whether the dryer is vented or condenser.

I wouldn't have thought the lint would be escaping from your dryer during the cycle. It should be sealed well enough to prevent that.

Perhaps more lint is becoming airborne due to the to different designs of lint screen and also the nature of the lint on the filter. Like you, I also have the Miele T1 heat pump dryer which I've had for 5 years in my small laundry room. I do see some fine dust on surfaces and the occasional dust bunny hiding behind the machines. But I've only ever had this set in this laundry room, so I can't compare it to a vented in the same room.

I do also have a Miele vented dryer down in our storage room that I bring up sometimes and use in the kitchen for a day or so. I stick the vent hose out of the door. I do notice lint and hairs around the kitchen on the floor near the dryer when I do this. I also notice (when the sun is shining) that cleaning the lint filter does send lint airborne around the kitchen. This does seem worse than with the heat pump dryer, but as I say they are in different locations so I can't really compare.

I've always thought a large part of the airborne lint comes from cleaning the filters. Try cleaning them only outside (or in a different room) for a few days and see if that makes a difference. I've read in another post that someone with a top filter dryer (like Whirlpool) actually runs their dryer while they remove and clean the filter so that any stray dust and lint are drawn back by the dryer and through the ducting.

I hope you find a way to mitigate this problem! Your new Miele vented will be awesome! Good luck with the building project

 

[moon1234]

@marky_mark

I think you may be right in that a lot of it is coming from cleaning the two lint filters and folding the clothes right away in the same room. I usually fold the laundry as soon as it is dry on top of the washer and dryer (they are side by side) and then clean the lint filter and put the next load in. I would usually do this in quick succession. I normally do 2-3 loads in the evening, my daughter does one or two before going to work in the am and my wife does one or two during the day.

Now that you said that, I did have to clean the W4840 several times during it's life. I would take the front and side panels off and vacuum it out and I always wondered how so much lint got in there. It is was probably being sucked in from the room air after cleaning the lint filter.

The laundry room is connected to the ground floor bathroom. I will try running the bathroom vent while I am doing this and see if that cleans up the air and lessens the lint. It is 150CFM so would replace the air in the two rooms 1.5-2 times per hour. Probably not enough to fully clean it since there is not enough air movement to pull all the lint towards the fan, but it would get rid of anything that is hanging in the air.

They need to come up with a vacuum type bag to have the lint deposited into. Would have to imagine this would help cut down on the amount of lint going into the air when cleaning dryer lint filters. Miele has a pretty good system with their vacuums. They should include something like that for the dryers.