Dryer vent issues

[TheSasquatch]

Not sure if this was the best place to post this, but not sure where else.

Issue I’m running into is my dryer vent keeps getting blocked with lint.

I had no issues for the 3 previous years living here with the same dryer. I found the dryer vent line was near full of lint after losing dryer performance. I completely cleaned the steel pipe section out, replaced the flex line, cleaned the dryer out, and replaced the vent on the outside of the house. Now 2 or 3 months go by and I’ll start losing dryer performance again. I’ll check the vent on the outside of the house and the tube will have some lint in it, but the vent screen is completely covered. The lint trap gets cleaned every use so I’m not sure if it’s getting to much lint by it or what’s the deal. The vent screen is 1/4” spaced. So not super fine.

Not sure what the issue is but after the 2 time of cleaning it again I just want to get it taken care of.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BillK]

Sounds like it is leaking past the lint filter somehow. You will probably have to take the covers off the dryer and take a look to see. Have you always had the screen on the vent ? Mine is open and I have never had an issue. I clean the duct about once a year but dont really get much out of it and it is almost a 20 ft run.

 

[Milton Shaw]

Lint is actually created in the washer, make sure you are not over washing clothes in the first place. The dryer just blows out the lint from washing. For instance the heavy listed on the timer dial is not for heavy like towels it's for heavy dirt as in mechanic clothes. That should make a big difference in the amount of lint generated but check the lint filter in washer for damage and not sealing to catch the lint.

 

[snyder]

I had to switch out the outside flap box and get one that does not have a screen in it.

 

[Jackfre]

Describe the layout? What is the overall length of the vent? How many fittings? 45's or 90's? How much flex vs straight pipe. What limitations does the manuf put on vent length? Can you get a good foil tape to seal the vent.

 

[56Mark]

It does sound like lint is getting by the filter in the dryer. But if not here is some good info and products for dryer venting:
http://betterventing.com/Guidelines/

 

[The_Geologist]

I use one of those secondary lint filters on the vertical portion of my dryer vent (located it just above the dryer). It catches a good amount, and I try to remember to clean it every time I use the dryer. I used to get a lot of lint that made its way to the plants outside below the vent, and now I see little to no lint out that far.

Might be something worth considering.

I try to stick the shop vac in a couple times a month through the secondary filter...it helps.

 

[zak77]

"the vent screen is completely covered"

Why do you have another screen in place? If its not needed then remove it because i've only had to use an additional screen it at my grandmother's house because the exhaust was at ground level and i new mice would try to get in. I still had to clean it every 6 months or so. I clean my dryer vent once a year and it has very little lint, but i do hang clothes outside quite a bit.

 

[larry4406]

New construction guy here. On our wall caps for bath fans and dryers, we make sure to not install a screen on the dryer wall cap.

 

[MikeYC]

Does your vent line run into a temperature different area, perhaps allowing it to cool down, thereby causing condensation in the pipe and eventually clogging it? I had that happen to me. 20 foot run through an unconditioned crawl space cooled the vented heat down enough to condensate in pipe.

 

[DHCrocks]

I use this once a year.

https://www.amazon.com/Gardus-RLE202-LintEater-Rotary-Cleaning/dp/B0014CN8Y8/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1540127860&sr=8-6&keywords=vent+cleaner

it amazing how much lint gets stuck in the tube.

 

[Jackfre]

I sold a lot of these when I represented Tjernlund. They work really well

https://tjernlund.com/dryer_booster.htm

 

[6768rogues]

Our house in FL has the dryer vent going up through the roof and there was a piece of hardware cloth as a screen in its outlet. The dryer is brand new so no issues with it. Not being a native of FL, I don't know if critters get in the vents, so I was hesitant to remove the screen. It would plug up regularly. I finally got a roll of quarter inch hardware cloth and made a basket/cage about 4" by 6" by a foot long. It is the right size to fit over the dryer vent terminal and extend down the roof about a foot. Then I removed the screen from the dryer vent terminal and put my home made basket on it. Now the lint goes in the basket and before very much accumulates rain washes it away. Critters stay out. The hardest part of the whole thing was getting the guy at Lowes to understand what hardware cloth is. It was not with screening, it was in the area with plants as it is used to protect new plantings.