OK folks let's keep those hoses short, unclogged and SAFE!
Don't make me call Fire Marshal Bill!
Often times on the job and while attending inspections I will see a dryer hose that looks like a snake working it's way from the basement floor up, over and out; or from the middle of the upstairs, up the interior wall, into the attic and out the soffit vent. In many locales there are codes for material and length.
In this post I am talking MORE about the length and whether or not it is drooping and twisted than the material.
I will say I prefer solid aluminum.
#1 choice because by its rigid nature it will not droop, it has no ridges to collect the dryer fuzz which clogs the vent hose, and it is not a static generator as it is grounded metal. Wow that was a mouthful.
#2 choice is the flexible yet rigid aluminum as it has the properties of number one yet it can be bent around corners.
#3 would be the plastic with some kind of metal grounding (anti-static) system so it does not attract the clogging lint.
I will bet my inspector friends here on AR could tell us stories that would keep us up at night... really!
I myself have seen 50 feet of hose going across a basement ceiling to a joist pocket vent with many "droops" do to lbs. of lint. Now if you cannot get closer to an outside wall (example is a condo) then use the solid pipe and run a brush through it every year or two, not 15 or 20.
Two words for the old way: Inefficient and Fire Hazard (OK it's 3 words)
Another (less obvious) problem is a flexi vent pipe running on top of the attic insulation in northern climates. Now you have wet, frozen lint for an escape route to vent your warm moist dryer air. You can see what might happen there.
I have had people say "well do you know how much it will cost me to run 40 feet of that solid metal vent pipe"? I answer "Yes, but do you know how much it is costing you in extra electricity (or gas) every month to have what you have?
I will say they could pay for a replacement venting system EVERY month!
Also if you talk to your local Fire & Safety peeps they will tell you the lint buildup can be a fire hazard. Not only is it combustible but it is the CAUSE of the heat buildup do to it restricting the air flow.
I do want to mention that people are not always careless, often they bought the place and it may have been like that, and they did not know... 20 or 30 years ago we were not blessed with home inspectors, at least they were not common.
If you know anyone who has the #1 option where the dryer is on an outside wall ask them how long it take to dry a load of towels? outside wall->
So the tag line for this post is... "Long droopy hose BAD"
"Short rigid hose GOOD"
Best Option
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call Dana Basiliere @ 802-238-3939 or email Dana@VermontisHome.com
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