Venting your dry outside through a wall in your home requires quite a bit of work, skill, and time. Seeing as how heat rises anyway, is venting into the attic a safe alternative?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The International Residential Code states that you must not vent a dryer into the attic. Building code permits a dryer vent to run through the attic, but it must not terminate there. In addition to being a potential fire hazard, venting into the attic would result in moisture problems, which leads to mold and rot forming.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a lot of legislation surrounding dryer vents, which you must comply with to protect you and your family and to ensure you don’t invalidate your home insurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this article, I’ll cover:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The following issues of attic venting apply to both electric and gas clothes dryers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A major restriction may be the distance from your dryer to your attic. Manufacturers consider 35 feet of ducting as the physical limitation for most clothes dryers. With longer ducting, you are putting a lot of strain on the machine, which decreases the efficiency and health of your dryer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Any detours the dryer’s exhaust needs to make before reaching the outside air will reduce the machine’s efficiency. 90-degree ducting bends are equal to adding an extra five feet to the length of the duct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Part of the reason for keeping the ducting short is condensation. Attics can reach freezing in the winter and have the effect of condensing the moisture on the inside of the metal duct before it exits your home. These droplets will gather and roll back down the pipe as streams of water into the back of your dryer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Water condensate from the top of the duct can cascade to the base of the duct and trap lint in the middle of the pipe. Even if the lint escapes into the attic, it will build up in clumps and form potential fire hazards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Residential codes restrict some venting practices, such as laying ducting longer than 35 feet and venting into attics. So, you need to check your local building codes for legal methods of ducting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A widespread practice when venting into an attic is to leave the pipe or duct open for better airflow and to prevent blockages. This opens up a perfect habitat for rodents to nest in, and the balls of lint that collect around the vent make fantastic nesting materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though not the best method, you may find that you have no choice but to make a hole in your roof for venting. Roof vents are a safe and efficient method of exhausting dryers without windows or exterior wall access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is easy to over-complicate the task of installing a dryer vent in your roof; you want to make it look neat and avoid destroying your insulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Drilling a hole through your roof to install a vent should be simple, which it is if you follow these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
6 Dangers of Venting a Dryer into an Attic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Length of Duct<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. In-Direct Path<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Condensation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Build-Up of Lint<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Legal Restrictions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
6. Building a Home for Rodents<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Venting a Dryer Through the Roof<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pros:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Cons:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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How to Vent Your Dryer Through the Roof<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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