Can this be done (safely?)??

[amandaleigh37]

The coldest part of our house is the kitchen & attached laundry room. The back door is there, where we come in/out & let the dog in/out, and it's always so cold in there!

Well today I have been doing laundry & went in the kitchen & noticed it was warm, then looked in the laundry room & there was condensation on the windows. Unusual, so I checked the dryer & sure enough the vent hose had disconnected. I put it back & finished my laundry....

But then I got to thinking.... Only from that one load of laundry, it warmed that part of the house so nicely!! Would it be dangerous to do this purposely? We do about one load of clothes per day. We have an electric dryer...

Has anyone done this? Any reason it would be unsafe if we made sure the airflow was ok and such? Or is it a stupid idea...

[slsurface]

I actually seen special vents at the hardware store that you can add to your drier hose to make it vent into the house. I haven't tried it myself, only because I don't want to clean up the lint it would release in the air.

[amandaleigh37]

I actually seen special vents that you can add to your drier hose to make it vent into the house. I haven't tried it myself, only because I don't want to clean up the lint it would release in the air.

Really?? Anyone know what these are called.. I'm trying to google but not sure what to search for. I wonder if putting a pantyhose or some sort of filter over it would keep most of the lint out?
From the time it was running that way today, I didn't notice any lint or dust in the air.... Then again it's in the laundry room, not a main living area so a little bit wouldn't be a big deal for us.

[dsaucone]

DH sells appliances and says there is a "self-venting kit" that has a lint catcher in it. It allows you to vent indoors, safely.

[dsaucone]

Originally Posted by amandaleigh37

The coldest part of our house is the kitchen & attached laundry room. The back door is there, where we come in/out & let the dog in/out, and it's always so cold in there!

Well today I have been doing laundry & went in the kitchen & noticed it was warm, then looked in the laundry room & there was condensation on the windows. Unusual, so I checked the dryer & sure enough the vent hose had disconnected. I put it back & finished my laundry....

But then I got to thinking.... Only from that one load of laundry, it warmed that part of the house so nicely!! Would it be dangerous to do this purposely? We do about one load of clothes per day. We have an electric dryer...

Has anyone done this? Any reason it would be unsafe if we made sure the airflow was ok and such? Or is it a stupid idea...

This is what it says about venting on the HD website.
Forced heat, whether produced by natural gas, propane or electricity, dries the clothes. It's important to remove this moist air from the house because it may be mixed with hazardous gases such as carbon monoxide, a byproduct of combustion.

[slsurface]

Originally Posted by amandaleigh37

Really?? Anyone know what these are called.. I'm trying to google but not sure what to search for. I wonder if putting a pantyhose or some sort of filter over it would keep most of the lint out?
From the time it was running that way today, I didn't notice any lint or dust in the air.... Then again it's in the laundry room, not a main living area so a little bit wouldn't be a big deal for us.

Try Menards, they are in the isle with the drier hoses.

[lucky_mia]

I would definitely use the kit that is made for it instead of trying to do it yourself. Also watch that you are not getting too much moisture in the air. My DH improperly hooked our dryer vent and it vented into our basement resulting in a huge mold problem. We had to move out for a few days while it was cleaned up and we lost everything in basement because it was all covered in mold - it it didn't long to happen, just a couple of weeks.

[Denvergirlie]

Our dryer is in an unheated and unisulated "shack"/ lean too on the back of the house.

We have vented "indoors" for years now (panty hose over vent to catch lint) and leave the back door a bit cracked to let some of that moisture and heat into the house. However, it creates a bunch of condensation in that room.

We don't have to worry about mold out there, as there isn't really anything out there except tools, kitty litter box and such.

Venting into the house just might cause too much condensation as is, but I would certainly check out one of those "formal" indoor kits.

Just monitor the situation, so long as their is fairly good air flow through that part of the house it shouldn't be that bad as the moisture will travel thru the rest of the house.

As a PP mentioned a basement issue with mold, i would certainly expect that as it was a basement where the air is more trapped in a tighter area instead of flowing thru the rest of the house.

good luck

[Kyamo]

I vent the dryer to the basement during the winter. I just removed the hose where it connects to the back of the dryer and tied a piece of pantyhose-like fabric over the hole. Just don't forget to take this off often and clear the lint, lint will collect there in addition to in the regular trap.

[hillymum]

I googled indoor dryer vent and this was just one of the links. Thanks for posting this cause I'm going on the hunt to Lowes for one tomorrow!!!

[cristeen]

Be sure to install a Carbon Monoxide detector wherever it's venting. That danger is all too real and one of the main reasons it's not recommended that you vent into living space.

[amandaleigh37]

Thanks so much for all the replies... I'm going to do a bit more reading up on this, but now at least I know what I'm looking for.

[ashleyhaugh]

we used pantyhose over the end when we had a dryer in an apartment with no where to vent. it had a spot in the kitchen for a stackable. we put the washer in the kitchen and the dryer in the dining room

[Herausgeber]

The people who owned our house before vented into the basement using panty hose over the exhaust. There were still fine lint particles escaping all into the basement, and I would cough/sneeze every time I went into the basement. It also made it way too moist in that room -- essentially a breeding ground for mold.

Venting inside is a violation of building code here, so we vented the drier properly to the outside. No more coughing and sneezing.

I consider venting inside a risky practice health wise and not frugal at all.

Oh, and if you don't clean that filter regularly, you're also creating a fire hazard.

[cicatrix]

Wow, this thread makes me wonder just how many appliances are different between the US and Oz! Our dryer is electric and has a vent on the front to catch the lint, so warm damp air flows out (the amount of times I've had to explain NOT to shut the laundry door when drying, or pile clothes OVER the vent has been painful with my new housemate...). Every dryer I've ever seen has been like that - it's wonderful in winter.

[beautyful]

Just be sure to stop up the hole from the crawlspace (if you have one.)

Otherwise you will start finding bugs and spiders in your house. Ask me how I know.

[SugarAndSun]

We have one. It is great now, but seems to not truly seal so it releases heat in the summer too.

[busylizzybee]

Originally Posted by hillymum

I googled indoor dryer vent and this was just one of the links. Thanks for posting this cause I'm going on the hunt to Lowes for one tomorrow!!!

We use something very close to this- you put water in the bottom that the hot air blows against and it catches the lint- and probably condenses some of the moisture too- For us humidity is not a problem in the winter- we can't get enough into the house - we live where it's very arid and cold.
And we have a carbon mono. detector nearby and it's never gone off.
It's an awesome way to recapture the heat and I think we paid $10 or $12 for our little unit.