Experimenting pumping dryer vent inside in winter? (E&E crosspost)

[darkstar]

Our washer/dryer combo is in the kitchen of our new house and it vents into garage. Pumping it out in winter seems wasteful. I figured some kind of Y split with a damper to shunt it outside in summer, in during winter with filter stage, would be easy to construct. But then I thought I can't be the first to have this thought. Has anyone experimented with this? Does anyone make an off the shelf piece? Tips?

Thanks in advance.

[RoyGBiv]

1. A. Make sure it's an electric dryer ...

B. http://homeimprovementarticle.net/dryer_heat.html



Really, really make sure it's an electric dryer. Otherwise, it would be bad.

[Kali]

2. what Roy said plus:

It will be humid air - for some this is a good thing, for other places not so much, also I suspect there will be a dust issue.

[LeftyFingerPop]

3. Hey friend...

Good to see you. :hi:

It is always better to have that moist heat go outside when possible, because the excess humidity can cause other problems in your home.

But if you want to have the ability to switch from inside to outside, you could build a dampering system within a metal duct.

I think they make these "flaps" that are inside ducts that can be opened or closed from the outside of the duct.

My basement has them in the circular metal heat ducts. The outside handle is about 2 inches long. When the handle is parallel to the duct, the flap is open, thus allowing the heat through. When it is perpendicular to the duct, the flap is closed, thus blocking, diverting the heat into another duct.

[darkstar]

5. Hey, friend! Likewise!

Staying busy. Been missing DU, but I can blow a couple of hours so easily and I've got a busy semester and, and...

As for post, yeah, I want it out in summer, in during winter.

How's things? Hope my foray back finds you, Philboy and your Mom doing well. Looking forward to Christmas break and hanging around a lot more.

:hug: :hi:

[LeftyFingerPop]

7. Things are well here...

Colonoscopy for me on Friday, mom turned 91 and is getting fatter than hell, lol. All she does is eat ice cream! But I suppose at 91, you can eat all the ice cream you want.

Philboy is doing good, but my girl dog is struggling with nasal cancer. Even so, she's hanging in there relatively well.

It's good to see your name here...hope to see you around more...my best wishes to you and your family!

:hug:

[Dogtown]

10. Let me add, Lefty

that venting inside can be a huge plus if you have electric heating, which tends to dry out the air. I vent inside all winter long.


Since my laundry unit is in a interior utility room, I just disconnect the hose from the outside vent, block the vent and filter the end of the hose. Not elegant, but hidden.

[darkstar]

4. Wow. Thanks!

Electric, yes.

Have you tried this thing?


Thanks again Roy! :hi:

[RoyGBiv]

6. Me, personally, no ...

I have a friend who lives in a very dry climate who did this.

As Kali said, it will be a moist heat. For some, this is a good thing. Others, not so much.

And, also as Kali pointed out, you'll need to deal with the dust.

The setup at the link attempts to do that, but you have to keep it cleaned religiously. Doing so is a combination of making sure your lint trap in the dryer is cleaned after each load and keeping the screen with the setup free of lint.

[logosoco]

8. we do this...

Our dryer normally vents out through a hole in the wall. When it starts getting chilly, my husband unhooks it from that hole and hooks it up to this box from the hardware store. I am not good at describing things, it's about the size of a shoe box. You put water in it and we also put a knee high panty hose over the vents at each end. This helps cut down on dust. It does make the house very humid , especially when everyone decides to do their laundry on the same day!!! But, we live in Missouri, so we are used to humidity!!! And I am talking humid like lots of steam on the windows!
But, we have to be very conservative with the propane (that stuff is expensive). It does seem like a waste of heat for it to go outside.

Edited to add: make sure the there is always enough water in the box thing and that the panty hose are free from lint build up!

[SanddancerUSA]

9. I'm doing the same thing with the car exhaust.

Apart frum la rrble mell iz n nnnn bd dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd

[Dogtown]

11. Extremely funny, Sanddancer!

Welcome to DU!

:hi: