Dryer vent on pool patio

[mskovrinskie]

My new 21x38 IG pool is finished and I'm having a brickstone patio installed between the pool and the house this week. I can't wait for it all to be done.

Now I have to deal with an unsightly dryer vent that is threatening to blow dryer lint all over the pavers...

Is there any kind of 'sock' or vent hood I can attach in place of the cheap plastic one (has a flapper inside to prevent critters from crawling in and a basic plastic lattice to catch the lint) so that the lint doesn't blow all over the pavers?

 

[tnthudson]

Two possible solutions, not sure if either would work for you:
1. When I built, I realized that the architect/builder/someone had made it so that the laundry area was right beside what was going to be a screened-in porch. Dryer heat & lint was NOT going to work (particularly with my wife :lol: ) so we got dryer ductwork and the builder routed the dryer outlet (through a series of elbows-the less, the better) down to the basement and out the basement wall.
2. My mom had a dryer outlet kit that routed the exhaust through a flexible hose and into a container that was filled with water...it was some kit available at places like Sears, I guess. This made the area very humid, but it was in a basement, so it wasn't really an issue.
Good luck!

 

[257WbyMag]

Your best best is to reroute it. There really isn't anything that you could safely put over it to catch the lint because whatever is fine enough to catch the lint will also obstruct airflow and that would pose a safety issue. Your best bet may be to route it up and out the roof. Like tnthudson was saying, the fewer bends, the better off you are. If your house is a single story residence, then this shouldn't be too tough or too expensive to do.

The current home that I live in and the last one I owned as well were set up to vent the dryer out on the roof. In fact, for some reason, my current home had the vent disconnected in the attic. It was caught on home inspection though and I fixed it. You never want to vent a dryer into an enclosed space like that unless you want mold.

 

[mskovrinskie]

Thanks everyone for the guidance. It looks like a re-route is my best option. We have a multi-story home. The vent line is in the basement ceiling (open and unfinished now) and exits above the poured cement wall (which is now exposed by about 2 feet with the patio) at the base of the siding. I will need to do a 90 degree bend and run it about 15 feet to exit the same way on the side of the house. The problem there is that it exits near the gas meter and I suspect there may be code issues with that.

Going up is not an option with finished walls and too far to go.

 

[tnthudson]

Yep, check your code and you may want to look at your owner's manual for your dryer. My builder put in 5 elbows, which I hated, but it's right at the max of what the manual allows and I haven't had problems yet (good airflow, etc.)...One caveat, though: be sure to tape your ductwork with duct tape, don't screw it together...the screws catch lint and you will probably need to take the ductwork apart every year or so to vacuum it out- I did mine last year and it had accumulated some lint.

 

[dd50]

I had mine routed to the roof when I was building. My builder caught that because I didn't think of it.

 

[Guest]

My dryer vent goes from my garage out to the pool area (screen room). I really don't have any major problems with lint but you can feel the hot air when the dryer is on if you are standing near it. The actual pool is about 8 ft from it so it's not been a problem. I just have one of those normal vent covers with a damper that opens when the dryer is on. I do clean out my vent pipe on a regular basis with one of those vent cleaning brushes (It has a bag that goes over the vent that my shop vac connects to so the lint get sucked into the vac). Best purchase I made, IMHO.

I have to clean my deck from all the stuff that comes from the potted plants and trees I have around the pool but I have not had a lint problem.