Rerouting Dryer vent from roof to outside wall

[Rick Matthews]

I live in a single story, brick veneer, slab-on-grade home in the Dallas, TX area. Our 3' X 9' walk-through laundry room connects the kitchen/dining area with the attached garage.

The dryer venting makes one 90 degree turn in the wall behind the dryer and continues vertically for 12 feet through the attic and is terminated in a roof cap. Venting through the roof was completely foreign to me and didn't make it to my maintenance radar until my wife complained about slow drying times a couple of years down the road.

Since then I've cleaned the vent pipe and inside the dryer several times. I replaced the felt door and drum seals in the (gas) dryer in an effort to reduce the amount of lint that gets into the vent. I've researched helper solutions like booster fans and auxiliary lint filters that install in the wall behind the dryer. But at the end of the day, as long as the dryer is vented through the roof, the labor-intensive periodic cleaning tends to drop to the bottom of my to-do list.

The wall behind the dryer forms one end of a 3' X 7' alcove at the front of the garage that contains a built-in workbench. If I remove the 90 degree elbow in the wall and instead go straight through I can vent through the outside wall of the house after a horizontal run of less than 8 feet. I can then clean the vent without getting in the attic or on the roof! We're having a new roof installed in a few weeks, so relocating the vent now would make it almost free to remove the existing roof cap.

After using solid metal vent pipe, lapped and sloped towards the outside, taped with metal tape, I'd enclose it in a wooden chase for protection. The garage is closed, but not heated, so I could wrap the pipe in bat insulation before enclosing it.

I'd appreciate any advice or recommendations that this group may have. Thank you.

[Jack Feldmann]

You are on the right track to relocate the vent. Going up and out the roof is not a great plan.
I have a booster fan (long dryer run), and it has worked very well for a couple decades. I still clean it out a few times a year, as well as the vent itself.
Make it easy on yourself (for cleaning) , and try to get the shortest run you can.

[Jim Luttrall]

If you have not tried it, you might want to check out the dryer vent cleaning tools. Much like a chimney brush, I have one that I bought at Lowe's. While it does take a bit of time, it pretty much eliminates the need to climb on the roof. Mine has several lengths of flexible rods that screw together with a circular brush on the end. Coupled with a drill and shop vac, it makes short work of cleaning the vent. I see you have rerouted your vent already but given the length and route, you might find the tool useful anyway. The only pain is moving the dryer and disconnecting the vent at the wall, but that needs to be done periodically anyway.
Sears.com (http://www.sears.com/linteater-dryer-vent-cleaning-system/p-02614122000P?plpSellerId=Sears&prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1)

[John Kogel]

Yes, run your pipe horizontally so that it can be checked and cleaned properly.

[Rick Matthews]

You are on the right track to relocate the vent. Going up and out the roof is not a great plan.
I have a booster fan (long dryer run), and it has worked very well for a couple decades. I still clean it out a few times a year, as well as the vent itself.
Make it easy on yourself (for cleaning) , and try to get the shortest run you can.

The shortest run possible is one of my goals here, the other goal is to be able to clean it from ground level!

Thanks for the input.

[Rick Matthews]

If you have not tried it, you might want to check out the dryer vent cleaning tools. Much like a chimney brush, I have one that I bought at Lowe's. While it does take a bit of time, it pretty much eliminates the need to climb on the roof. Mine has several lengths of flexible rods that screw together with a circular brush on the end. Coupled with a drill and shop vac, it makes short work of cleaning the vent. I see you have rerouted your vent already but given the length and route, you might find the tool useful anyway. The only pain is moving the dryer and disconnecting the vent at the wall, but that needs to be done periodically anyway.
Sears.com (http://www.sears.com/linteater-dryer-vent-cleaning-system/p-02614122000P?plpSellerId=Sears&prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1)

No, I haven't rerouted the vent yet; still dotting "i's" and crossing "t's".

You mentioned moving and disconnecting the dryer; that is a real chore here (see picture below). There's 4 inches of clearance on each side of the dryer. The 32 inch exterior door on the left swings into the laundry room, the interior door on the right swings into the next room. The washer sits in the same amount of space opposite the dryer (behind me as I took this picture). You can slide the dryer out from the wall but the only way to get behind it is over the top, which is complicated by 12 inch deep shelving 55 inches off the floor.

I have a dryer vent cleaning tool, but it's a circular brush on the end of a cable, so it must be pulled through. Once the vent is converted to a 8 foot horizontal run, I'd love to do most of the cleaning from the outside, making a run or two with the push brush followed by pushing in 8 feet of shop-vac hose. Maybe then I could pull the dryer out less often. To do that I'd need to remove the vent cap, so I'm looking at my options there, too.

Thanks for your comments, Jim. Good to see a fellow Planoite here.

Rick

[Jerry Peck]

Yes, run your pipe horizontally so that it can be checked and cleaned properly.

Agreed - pushing warm moisture laden and lint laden air up takes a lot more effort than it does to push that air horizontally.

Drying will be more efficient too.

[Raymond Wand]

Install one of these in-line filters in the vertical line just above the dryer.

Home Hardware - 4" In-Line Dryer Lint Trap (http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/index.htm/Heating-Ventilation-Cooling-Home-Comfort/Ventilation/Duct-Pipe/Miscellaneous/4-In-Line-Dryer-Lint-Trap/_/N-ntimsZ2ppz/R-I3721003?gclid=CJDZn5P33M8CFQSBaQode10IGg)

[Jerry Peck]

Install one of these in-line filters in the vertical line just above the dryer.

Home Hardware - 4" In-Line Dryer Lint Trap (http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/index.htm/Heating-Ventilation-Cooling-Home-Comfort/Ventilation/Duct-Pipe/Miscellaneous/4-In-Line-Dryer-Lint-Trap/_/N-ntimsZ2ppz/R-I3721003?gclid=CJDZn5P33M8CFQSBaQode10IGg)

That might be allowed between the dryer and the transition duct which connects tot he dryer duct, but that certainly would not be allowed "in" the dryer duct ... that would be like putting a screen on the end of the dryer duct (which is specifically not allowed) except it would just not be at the end of the dryer duct.

There are many products out there which are made, and stocked, and sold ... but which should not be installed ... and that 'fire box kindling catcher' filter is a new one on me.

[Roy Lewis]

I just use a linteater once a year...
http://www.lowes.com/pd/LintEater-4-25-in-Dryer-Vent-Cleaning-System/3465404 (http://www.lowes.com/pd/LintEater-4-25-in-Dryer-Vent-Cleaning-System/3465404)

[David Forbes]

Good morning,
WET AIR is very heavy compared to atmospheric air; that is why it rains.
Solution: horizontal as short as possible.
The piece on the exterior of the house is installed for easy removal by hand for cleaning.
Respectfully,
zz.