Unusual (I think) issue with dryer vent....


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Old 05-28-14, 08:19 AM
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Unusual (I think) issue with dryer vent....

I live in a mobile home. My dryer vent goes out through the floor, crawl space and outside. The vent exits my dryer just above the floor. So there's a very short segment of vent pipe connecting the dryer to the line that goes through the floor.

Now I have two issues I'd like to address if I can.
  1. I need a way to clean the vent. I'd rather not have to do it from outside if I can find a way to avoid it.
  2. I'd like to put in one of those devices that I can switch over during cold weather months that allows the heat from the dryer vent to help heat the home instead of sending it outside. But I need a way to make this switch remotely. Possible?

TIA!
 
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Old 05-28-14, 08:40 AM
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You really don't want to vent the hot air inside. The humidity will cause big time moisture issues, and in a mobile thats the last thing you need. Also, if this is a gas dryer you'll be blowing combustion gases inside.

About the only way to clean that short length is to pull the dryer out and disconnect it. If it's really short, keeping all the rest of it clear will do a lot. Might only need to do the short length every 2 yrs.
 
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Old 05-28-14, 06:07 PM
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A lot of people go so far as to run humidifiers during the winter because it gets so dry. So I didn't thing that would be an issue.

Beyond that, I need to find a way to clean the vent without moving the dryer. It is too confined a space to move it in and out any more than absolutely needed. When the washer and dryer were delivered last August, it took me and the delivery guy 30 min to get them maneuvered into that little space.

I need to pull them out soon because the subfloor needs replaced and I'd like to find some way of improving the dryer vent situation during that process. The idea of venting it inside during winter months was just an afterthought.
 
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Old 05-28-14, 06:57 PM
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With your setup I would clean it from outside. Just make sure the outside vent part will come out and the brusk will work just a s good.
 
 

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