using a dryer vent

[klhitman]

what do you all think about using the heat of a dryer vent to preheat the garage??? or this http://www.rehomeonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/bulechek-heat-recovery-300x225.jpg

 

[ForceFed70]

I think that's a lot of moisture to dump into your garage.

That pic looks like a pic of a lint trap?

 

[stealthbob]

I would highly discourage this idea...way too much moisture.

If you are just going to turn the dryer on and use without clothes, well then you are wasting a hell of allot of energy for little gain.

If there is one thing I have learned about heating a space in general...there are no short cuts.

 

[djjsr]

I put one of those things in my basement once. REALLY bad idea. After only 2 or 3 loads going through that dryer, the basement was like a swamp.

 

[larry4406]

Keep in mind gas dryers discharge products of combustion thru the same vent as the clothes mosture and lint. I would not do it.

 

[walrus]

I lived in a house that was a sieve, air blew right thru, vented my Electric dryer into the basement and it was fine. No Moisture build up as it was ventilated all the time. My new house and shop are tight, wouldn't do it because of the moisture concerns

 

[malibu101]

You know I've often thought of dumping my electric dryers vent right into the basement in the winter but it just don't seem right.
Like walrus's old place, my house is not airtight. In the winter I obviously need heat. I have forced hot air heat which really dries the air out to the point I must run a humidifier or have chapped lips and dry noses.
I've always thought the dryer is blowing out warm, moist air-Just what I need!! And I'm blowing it away outside!!
Other than the house smelling like a laundromat, What's the harm?
Of course I guess you could overhumidify if it was a big laundry day but I'd notice that.
I'm finally going to give this a try sometime.

 

[Chaz]

We're semi-arid here in Western Montana, so I've been considering doing this. Some moisture would be welcome, and we're only doing laundry for two.

 

[burleymike]

At our last house in swampy western OR I had to fix termite damage because the previous owners had the dryer venting into the crawlspace for many many years.

Even here in dry *** Idaho it was too much for the house. I tried one of those lint traps and the whole house turned into a swamp after a few loads of laundry. I actually had water running down the walls in the laundry room. It is back to going outside again.

 

[nehog]

Make a heat exchanger (aluminum vent pipe) to extract the heat, and vent the moisture outdoors... Even 30 feet of metal pipe will cool down the dryer's output heat to a value that is acceptable, and you should have minimal condensation in the pipes. Just remember they have to be cleaned out about every six months.

 

[stealthbob]

Just remember they have to be cleaned out about every six months.

....or if you have kids about every week

 

[green.bubbly]

Add a little fan and this may work...

 

[Gary S]

Putting all that water in your garage invites lots of rust on your cars and tools. Nobody wants that.
Now, if you use a heat exchanger in the dryer line, you can extract much of the heat while dumping the water outside. Years ago I had a dryer in my garage. I built a heat exchanger to extract the heat. It heated the garage nicely and the water went outside.

 

[ripsnortMN]

I had one of those in my basement. They really to put way to much moisture in the air. Everything sweats.

 

[koditten]

We just have the 2 of us and our dryer vent is dumping into the basement. I notice no huge humidity swings with our basement. We do have a front load washer though. That thing really wrings the water out of the clothes before they go to the dryer.

 

[z28toz06]

People pay many hundreds of dollars to humidify their air in their house. If you can set up a plate in front of the pipe delivering the moist air, and place a collection unit under it, it will pull much of the moisture out of the air as it comes in to the room. As long as it is warm enough in the garage, the condensation should not be that bad.

Just watch the moisture level and turn it off when it gets too damp. usually in most areas its dry in the winter, and a little moisture in the air is a good thing.

 

[hotsam]

I do it in the winter with no issues, but only when it is very dry outside and the whole-house humidifier would be running anyway....I keep the door to the laundry room open and there are no moisture issues.

 

[stealthbob]

Well to be clear the OP was in regards to blowing this air into a cold garage...

I can see the windows now:

 

[JCByrd24]

I'm with hotsam, in the winter in Maine it's so freaking dry we run a humidifier 24/7 in the bedroom so you don't want to peel your skin off in the morning. A few loads of laundry doesn't even take the "dry" out of the basement consistently. We got one of those diverters and just switched it over for the winter. It needs to be accessible, we clean it's lint filter every load just like the dryer filter. I say the OP needs to make the call based on local weather.

 

[m289271]

We're semi-arid here in Western Montana, so I've been considering doing this. Some moisture would be welcome, and we're only doing laundry for two.

I live in the upper midwest and I've been using one for the last 3 years. I like it, it adds a litle moisture to the air in the basement which is more than welcome. The key is adding a piece of cheap furnace filter to the vent to keep the lint down. I buy a $.99 filter and cut them to fit the opening.
If I can reuse the heat that I've already paid for why not?

 

[hotsam]

I'm with hotsam, in the winter in Maine it's so freaking dry we run a humidifier 24/7 in the bedroom so you don't want to peel your skin off in the morning. A few loads of laundry doesn't even take the "dry" out of the basement consistently. We got one of those diverters and just switched it over for the winter. It needs to be accessible, we clean it's lint filter every load just like the dryer filter. I say the OP needs to make the call based on local weather.

Small world...I grew up in Topsham....and yes, Maine in the winter is incredibly dry.

 

[Cobra6]

Like everyone else said even if it is really dry in the garage, you are going to get a lot of lint, dust, etc. in with it also.