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Scary Pictures |
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It's always a new adventure going on a
dryer vent cleaning service call. I find it amazing how creative a
contractor can be in how the venting system is routed, and generally there is
little consideration of having the system serviced at a later date.
Many times the venting system needs to be
re-routed from its original design when having a remodel done. In order to
'make it work', we've seen cases where either improper materials were used, such
as corrugated flexible pipe within the house walls, or where there were not
proper sealed connections between pipe sections. |
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During a remodel, the roof was raised on
the left side of this house. The original roof was still in place.
The contractor installed the roof vent for the dryer vent, but neglected to
add a section of vent pipe for the dryer to exhaust outside. As a
result, the dryer was just venting in between the two roof sections.
I've even seen cases where the roofer
completely sealed off the vent going through the roof or left it
disconnected in the attic.
This is not only a fire hazard, but
can also lead to a serious mold problem and if it's a gas dryer is venting
carbon monoxide into the interior of the house structure. It also
literally turns that area into a hot, humid sauna! |
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The setup in the wall vent in the top
right is actually more intended for using with a bathroom exhaust or any
other type of fan driven exhaust where you are just venting out air.
Obviously when a fine mesh screen is used for venting a dryer vent it will
clog almost immediately. You really should never have any kind of mesh
covering the opening of a dryer exhaust vent.
The vent shown in the lower picture is
definitely dirty, but at least is the proper design. There should be a
hinged flap or a series of hinged flaps that will open when the dryer is
running, but close when not in use to prevent birds or weather from getting
into the vent. |
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| No that's
not some exotic type of dryer lint--it's dirt! This type of venting
system goes down, runs underneath the slab, and comes up again generally as
a wall vent about 6-12 inches above ground. Usually most of the
venting is pvc pipe.
This sounds like it would be the
most ideal type of venting system, but the truth is we probably clean more
of these than any other arrangement, and also run into the most problems.
Not only can they be full of dirt
and possibly roots, much of the time they can be full of water, mud or
sludge as well. Its very important to make sure that there isn't alot
of planting and sprinklers around the outside exhaust vent since does seem
to contribute to the problem. Sadly, if they are full of water we are
not able to brush it out. |
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More pictures
to follow. |
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