Venting Tumble Dryer Through Roof

I also have a dryer vented through the attic and out to the roof.

Venting tumble dryer through roof.

Venting the dryer outside in cold weather wastes a lot of heat. Every couple of months i ve pulled the vent off where it curves just before it goes to the outside. But we don t recommend it for two reasons. A couple of questions about this.

Difficulty cleaning dryer vent. When bath fans and clothes dryers vent through the roof they melt a bunch of snow. Dryer vents should always be vented through the side of the house and not vented through the roof and ideally the exit should be fairly close to the ground. Directly above the dryer there is a ventilation pipe that goes to the roof also connected to the vent in the bathroom that i could easily re route the dryer vent into.

To make the dyer more efficient you can buy an inexpensive heat diverter and install it in the exhaust duct of electric dryers only not gas dryers you ll save about 50 worth of heat per load in the winter. I think the roof is a stupid spot to terminate clothes dryer vents because it s difficult to clean and it s a major contributor to ice dams. Keeping a clean dryer vent is much easier when you can safely reach the exit. I push it down the vent shaft and pull it back up to clean.

The less back pressure is created by the roof vent the more efficiently the system performs. Vent a dryer through the roof only as a last resort. I take a broom handle and tie a thick rag on the end of it and a rope on the other end. When we bought our condo the home inspector said we might have trouble with the dryer vent and he sure was right.

Cleaning lint buildup from roof vents is difficult and nesting birds and squirrels often find roof vent caps irresistible. Clothes dryers should be vented through the side of the house preferably within reach from the ground. Check with your appliance dealer or local building inspector for recommendations about the best roof vent cap to use. Considering that back pressure higher than 6 wci is generally recognized as inefficient you can see that venting through the roof with non dryer specific vents is immediately problematic.

The vent should exit the building through the roof or wall at least 3 feet away from any other building openings and the vent cover which must not include a screen should allow dispersal of. The laundry is located in the middle of our home in a hall closet.