Need a New Dryer? Maybe NOT!

Is your dryer not drying clothes as fast as it did when it was new?  Does it take two cycles to get things dry or does the "auto dry" cycle take longer and longer?   Your dryer vent probably needs cleaning out.   Do that before your buy a new dryer or call a repairman - it's not too hard.  AND it will save you money on your utility bill and possibly save your life!   Read on....

Most new houses have laundry rooms in the living area of the house.   In Florida (where I live) washers and dryers used to be in the garage or adjacent to it - outside of the conditioned area of the house.   Not as handy, not as cute, not as much square footage for your builder to sell you.   So, over the past 25 years, laundry rooms have grown in importance and are usually part of the house, sometimes even located upstairs.   Why is this a problem?  Well, that is the subject of a future blog post, but the short answer is that it is a source of heat and moisture - both of which increase the load on your air conditioner.    In addition it is a source of potential water damage - the number one insurance claim is for water damage - due to the inexpensive plastic hoses that often come with washing machines.  

So, my job, yesterday, was to replace these plastic hoses with nice braided metal ones - they don't fail.   So I pulled out the washer dryer (a stack unit) that had not been moved for over ten years.  Here is what I found:

You can see the cheap plastic black hoses in the foreground - that was my job to replace.   But look at that kinked up dryer vent hose!   My job expanded.   The dryer vent hose is attached to the dryer with a simple wire clamp.   I disconnected hose and tried to straighten it out to measure the amount needed for a straight run to the wall.  But, it was stiff and rigid.  Why?   Well, when I cut into it, this is what I found: 

The lint had caked and dried inside the vent line making it almost 3/4 completely blocked at the bends.   I stuck my arm inside the remaining vent line and pulled out large solid chunks of lint - I collected quite a pile: 

You can also see the section of vent hose that I cut out - more is definitely not better in this case!  Dryer vent hoses should be as straight as possible - and in an ideal world, go straight from the dryer  through the wall and outside.   Shortest distance, fewest bends, no kinks.  Here is what we ended up with after shortening this hose (and notice the new shiny braided water supply hoses!): 

Just two turns - a good improvement from the figure eight mess that I originally found!  And best - a trial run with the dryer (with towels!) had everything dry in half the time.  Half the time means half the energy too!  

So, here are the things you need to know about dryer vents and laundry and energy use: 

• A clogged dryer vent can use two-three times the energy of an unclogged vent - more than $20 a month for the average home. 
• A clogged dryer vent can become overheated and cause a house fire - it is one of the top causes of house fires.   
• A clogged dryer vent, if you have a gas dryer, can prevent proper venting of your dryer, causing carbon monoxide to build up in your home.
• A clogged dryer vent means you spend more time doing laundry!  And more time running your dryer, shortening it's effective life.
• Certain laundry products make your dryer vent more prone to clogging - liquid fabric softeners make the lint "sticky" and heavier - and more likely to be deposited in your vent line. 
• If your dryer vents to the roof - the lint is likely to collect thickly at the bottom of the line, and more likely to become completely blocked.  Schedule a dryer vent cleaning at least once per year if you do laundry often.  
• If you are building a house - try to situate the laundry room so that your dryer vent can go through the wall so that it can be easily be accessed from both side.   Also, consider adding a drain to your laundry room in case a hose breaks while you are not home (or even if you are!).   And, if you are serious about saving energy, put your laundry room outside.  It will allow you to have a smaller air conditioner.  
• Don't forget to trade out those plastic hoses for braided metal!   It's a $15 investment that could save you thousands!