Anyone try this trick to heat your house with your clothes dryer?
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tlc1976
Minister of Fire
I wonder if this would violate fire codes. If you had a lint fire in your dryer, the flames would go straight up into your attic.
Also if you’ve got mold or nasty air in your attic (do any attics smell nice?), that’s going straight into your freshly washed clothes.
It would also be a pain to work on the dryer. Also can’t do the lint bucket thing if you have a gas dryer. He might say that, I didn’t go to the lint bucket video.
You could accomplish pretty much the same thing, easier and better, if you have a door and window in the laundry room. Crack the window when running the dryer. Seal the door with weatherstripping and a draft guard. If you don’t have a window you could put a low mounted air intake pipe with filter through the wall, either pipe it to the dryer like he did or preferably have an insulated cap to use when you’re done. Heat doesn’t move down so if you eliminate the negative pressure, you won’t be pulling hot air from the attic.
I’d have to think you’d get a considerable heat loss from heat rising when the dryer is off. The pipe may be insulated but the whole dryer shell is not. Probably enough loss to make it not worth it, depending on how much you use the dryer. I do just 1 big load a week.
I don’t have an attic, my laundry room pulls from the basement. Which in turn backdrafts from the unused masonry chimney. Basement is clean and dry. I keep the laundry room door sealed from the rest of the house. The previous owners put weatherstripping on the door, they were smart.
Also if you’ve got mold or nasty air in your attic (do any attics smell nice?), that’s going straight into your freshly washed clothes.
It would also be a pain to work on the dryer. Also can’t do the lint bucket thing if you have a gas dryer. He might say that, I didn’t go to the lint bucket video.
You could accomplish pretty much the same thing, easier and better, if you have a door and window in the laundry room. Crack the window when running the dryer. Seal the door with weatherstripping and a draft guard. If you don’t have a window you could put a low mounted air intake pipe with filter through the wall, either pipe it to the dryer like he did or preferably have an insulated cap to use when you’re done. Heat doesn’t move down so if you eliminate the negative pressure, you won’t be pulling hot air from the attic.
I’d have to think you’d get a considerable heat loss from heat rising when the dryer is off. The pipe may be insulated but the whole dryer shell is not. Probably enough loss to make it not worth it, depending on how much you use the dryer. I do just 1 big load a week.
I don’t have an attic, my laundry room pulls from the basement. Which in turn backdrafts from the unused masonry chimney. Basement is clean and dry. I keep the laundry room door sealed from the rest of the house. The previous owners put weatherstripping on the door, they were smart.
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EbS-P
Minister of Fire
Get a clothesline. Way easier and cheaper. How many hours a week is the dryer actually running? Not enough to make any difference on your cooling bill.
Ben-Mor TV122691 Medium Duty Clothesline Kit Amazon product ASIN B0035LMQQC
Ben-Mor TV122691 Medium Duty Clothesline Kit Amazon product ASIN B0035LMQQC
i would never pull air from the attic between the insulation and other things up their your just pulling that crap into your home... Even venting a dryer inside your home is a bad idea creating mold from the moisture. I tryed venting my tryer into my shed one year just to keep the temp up.. Within a week their was water dripping from the ceiling
Yeah, wild critters love attics. We do lots of complete tear outs every year because of them. I'm sure the infusion of mouse, squirrel, and raccoon feces into your clothes will only add to your mystique!
Yep, I heat my house all the time with my clothes dryer.
And bake with it
And heat water
And dry dog
And bake with it
And heat water
And dry dog
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