I just finished getting myself educated on dryer vents because I am reversing the utilities and dryer vent to opposite sides of the same wall. This is being done so that my new appliance doors will open like French doors rather than back to back. In my city 35 feet is max. I just checked my Dryer Manual and its only 28 ft. In your case 10 elbows means Zero amount of duct work can be attached to your dryer.
How does that work??? If you had a City Inspector, then you could just call his supervisor, ask what Code is, tell him your concerns and ask him to reinspect but with new inspector. Here are some other sources you can contact. The Gas Co. They have strict policies regarding this potential fire risk. Here the Gas Co. Next, check the specifications set forth by your dryer mfg. It clearly outlines the requirements for the vent.
This probably over-rides all other specs. If your Contractor is unwilling to fix the problem and the City won't enforce, as a last resort you can contact your State's Contractor's License Board. They will take this seriously. I would tell them if the vent is left as is you will contact your lawyer to put them on notice that you will be holding them responsible for any future financial costs to you should this result in a fire, damages, or injury to anyone as a result of construction.
This usually wakes people up. I'll give you a personal experience I had when I went to visit my Parent in their new condo. Vent pipe ran straight up through the roof with only one elbow at the point of entry in the laundry wall which was a shared wall with their neighbor.
Mom complained that her thin nylon nightgowns, blouses, etc. Heck even a hair blower could have done them faster, so I figured something was way wrong.
My first thought was check the new dryer only less than a year old. But then when I pulled it away from the wall I could smell gas really strong and immediately called the Gas Co. Within a couple of minutes of going in the laundry room he had us evacuate the condo because of a major gas leak. Apparently the Appliance Dealer who hooked them up used the wrong metal brass fittings and the gas was corroding them week after week -- hence the leak.
When we returned, he said we were extremely lucky to have not had a fire with that much of a gas leak. He then showed me the inch wad of lint he pulled out of the first elbow in the wall to the dryer before it went up vertically. This would also have caught fire and possibly burned both condos. He said the vertical vent pipes are the worst of the bunch. What happens is when the gas dryer is blowing the lint goes up the pipe UNTIL the dryer stops, then all the lint within the length of the pipe will fall to the bottom.
Because the lint is damp with Condensation, as it dries it clumps together and keeps accumulating. This then blocks the vent and the diameter inside the pipe shrinks because of the lint ball. In Mom's case, with the gas leak and the dryer running it could have caught fire and the lint ball with it. Hard to imagine this huge lint ball developed in less than 12 months. Their laundry loads were small and the fabrics were not heavy lint producers -- lots of silky or light weight fabrics -- no heavy towels or robes.
Before I came to town Mom told my sibling and the appliance store, but both dismissed her complaints and told her to just run the dryer longer until the clothes are dry.
I cringe at what might have happened, if I wasn't so persistent to get to the bottom of the problem. Here are two new elbows that I came across for my laundry room.
Using these elbows has the same flow as a straight pipe and without any deduction of feet on Code length for this elbow.
Buy using this DryerBox you can recess your Dryer hose into the wall cavity. This will allow you to position the dryer closer to the wall without danger of collapsing the hose. This box could eliminate your first elbow at the wall. They have various sizes and configurations. Plus their website has a lot of good information. See the mfg. DryerBox recesses dryer hose into wall. As reputable as they are, sometimes they just don't supervise their people. Contractor should have known better.
This ductwork is indefensible. Imagine the grief you would have had later, had you not known better. Good Luck to you Zouye, hope all works in your favor. If its not to code he will have to correct it. Let us know how it goes on Monday. Ahh, yes. A stacked set. I hate those. Causes trouble with service access.
I did a repair on a stacked frontloader set at one of my neighbors rental properties last week. Dryer issue.
It's an older WP set with toekick panels so I was able to access the specific dryer parts by removing its toekick panel while still atop the washer although the dryer had to be leaned back a bit. It needed to be fully disassembled to clear some years of lint accumulation inside the dryer but that would have required taking the dryer down, which involves pulling a mess of junk the renters have on top of it and also moving a refrigerator, so I only cleared what I could access on the right side with the toekick off.
FYI, new house "warranties" generally cover for a limited period of time on construction defects as they relate to the house being habitable. Don't let them tell you the warranty will cover this. At this point as this problem may hold up ongoing construction process , I would gather 2nd opinions from dryer venting pros, compare that info to the floor plan and see if there is another way to get as straight and short a shot to an outside wall for venting given that your current venting set up is convoluted at best.
If the rerouting for a shorter and straighter shot outside is truly not feasible, a condenser dryer is likely your best compromise. For note, my vented dryer is located on an outside wall with a straight and short shot to the outside and I have gobs of lint outside my vent. I mean GOBS of it. I have to scrape and dig it up when I can't take looking at it anymore in my graveled natural drain beds. I can easily fill a kitchen sized waste can with 3 months worth of lint accumulated. When I am out there hacking and scraping away at the lint formations, I tell myself while this is no fun!!
My purpose for sharing this with you is that lint accumulation is a real issue dryer users must deal with. With those twists and turns and unrealistic length of venting tubes your contractor has put in, I can't see how you will be able to keep it safe. Even with the best of dryer vent cleaning tools and accessories. My mum has a non venting dryer.. Whose working for who here? The contractor is working for you. Put your boots on and start stomping.
Just a thought, if they are doing this in your unit what about the attached units? If it is the same in other units, the other units could also have a fire and you are all attached and might even share a common space between the ceiling and roof? That would be very worrying to me.
That's great that you don't have to worry about the other units. Glad you have a resolution. Agree with greenfish - that looks like HVAC ducting, not dryer vent. Hard to say if it is rigid or flex. It is a foil insulation duct wrap, perfectly appropriate for that application. I would not stress out over this. Your dryer will exhaust air into the duct and it will eventually makes its way out.
It is not a fire hazard as stated above. The heat from a dryer dissipates quickly and your builder really did a nice job with the duct material he used and adding the foil insulation is a bonus.
I'm sure if he could have routed the exhaust to the exterior anyway else he would have. As far as lint, your filter will catch most all of it. You might check after 6 months or so if any lint is building up just behind the dryer. Your overall construction is top notch. They may be trying to pass that off as "semi-rigid" ducting or maybe it might be a wrap on rigid ducting. If it is not a wrap, that would just be wrong.
Check out the code link in Michelle's post above I think it was the second response. Specifically, M Do you have a purchase contract or a contract with the builder? It should say something about construction meeting code requirements or being in compliance with laws and regulations. Find out if the ducting was wrapped or if they took a shortcut and used semi rigid ducting which would not be good and workmanlike construction to me. It is unusable.
Jun 24, Cleaning lint from a dryer duct requires a vacuum. Use the hose attachment of a vacuum cleaner or shop vac to clean in and around the hole at the back of the dryer. If you can detach the length of duct where it meets the wall, do so. It will make cleaning it easier. Over months and years, lint can accumulate in these ducts and mix with hot air and ignite, creating a fire hazard.
Jun 23, Traditional dryers, whether they are gas or electric, circulate warm air through spinning clothes, venting the moisture out the back of the unit.
Condensation dryers require no exterior venting. May 3, Vented tumbler dryers are the best choice for a garage, but you should only use one if your garage has a vent so that the hot air and condensation can be pumped out.
May 26, Venting your clothes dryer into the house can cause mold and condensation problems. In the winter, many homes could use a little extra heat and even some more moisture in the air. The low relative humidity in homes creates problems of dry skin and nasal passages. Feb 7, It can also be changed to vent out of the left or right side walls and from the botton. Jul 10, Straight Path From the Basement If the dryer is against an exterior wall that is not underground, run the duct straight out from the back of the dryer.
Set the vent a minimum of 12 inches above the outside ground. Note: This is the simplest, most ideal solution. The following are clearances from the gas regulator vent that should be followed: A building air intake system either gravity or power must be 10 feet away from a gas vent; the clothes dryer must vent at least 3 feet away from the gas vent, and an appliance exhaust and any appliance air intake should be a minimum of 3 … Dec 18, When a vent line is too long, dryer exhaust ends up being stuck inside your vent line.
Jan 29, The easiest way to clean a dryer vent is to use an electric leaf blower, if you have one. Begin by moving the dryer out to gain access to where the vent goes into the wall. Remove the vent hose, which is usually attached to the dryer with a 3-inch or 4-inch clamp. Jun 19, First, what you do not want to use is duct tape, the adhesive fails under the extreme temperatures. For dryer vents and HVAC ducts, you should seal seams with a foil backed tape. This is designed to be airtight and handle the temperature swings that would cause other types of tape to fail.
You should get your dryer vents professionally cleaned about once a year. You also have to factor in how large your vent is. Aug 20, Drying time is no longer than a regular vented dryer. If the new hole is through concrete, that's a much harder job. I hang my laundry including bed sheets indoors year round on a rack I bought at Costco. They are always dry by the next morning.
Your clothes last way longer and you save a lot on electricity or gas, depending on how your dryer is fueled. Hard job, dusty, and I never want to do it again but the end result was well worth it.
I think it took about an hour. I had to stop several times and use the chisels to break out the chunks of concrete which had broken off and were clogging the drill bit. Watch some videos on YouTube. Or hire a handyman. The Devil made me buy it - RFD.
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