dryer duct cleaning is for the birds

[PLUMBER RICK]

well it actually happened to me. after putting on damp clothes this morning i figured the dryer vent duct needed cleaning. i was out of the house for 3 days for a mini vacation. (2 year wedding anniversary):D

i brought in my 4'' blower i use to clean out dryer ducts. what i didn't expect to find was a birds nest and eggs:eek: there was 2 fresh eggs and even green grass in the vent. the vent exits the house 12' above the ground and has a sheet metal flapper door on it. not sure how the bird figured out how to get in, but it did. now i have to put metal mesh around the vent damper door.

anyone else have similar issues?

i guess it could have been worse. there are possums in the neighborhood:eek: the dogs get them everytime:D

rick.

[ToUtahNow]

Be careful Rick I have seen a few dryer vent fires because of hardware cloth on the dryer vent termination. Besides that you will need to clean the hardware cloth on a regular basis and will lose 25% of your flow just due to the 1/4" mesh. You may want to try something like this:

http://www.fakeowls.com/

Mark

[ToUtahNow]

By the way I left out that covering the end with mesh would also be a violation of the UMC.

Mark

[Gofor]

Not tryin' to start another "mole" thread:eek:
My old house had a dryer vent (PVC) that ran under the slab. Had toads, squirrels, etc that liked the shelter. I dumped a little Cayenne pepper into it and let the dryer blow it through the pipe. Didn't have any more critter problems.
Just a thought:)

[PLUMBER RICK]

bye bye birdies:D

got out the extension ladder and was able to snag the bird nest. i think they were planning for a big family:eek:

put a small peice of 1/2'' hardware cloth over the sheet metal. it's going to have to be a bird with carbide teeth to do that again:D

the whole vent system is 4'' sheet metal vent with a small section of aluminum flex pipe to hook up the dryer. no plastic:eek: very little lint was in the pipe when i finally did blow it out. now the flapper opens all the way.

i've been under many homes that the dryer vent was broken and the lint just collected under there. a word of caution. dryer lint is like gasoline:eek:
if it catches fire, good luck trying to stop it.

rick.

[SteveB]

Hi all.
This is a "design a better dryer vent, and have a better clean out idea" question. :)
I'm a retired tinbender, and did residential appliance ventilation for years.
You'd be terrified to hear about some of the dryer vents my colleagues and I had installed over the years.
Of course, since one of you-- at least-- live in LA, maybe not, since it was in OC where they were all done.
When my wife and I had our house built, I was fairly involved in just about every phase. One of the components that I wanted to make sure I never had any troubles with was my dryer vent, because of all the comments you guys have already made-- stories of fires, clean out, blockage, etc....
After a few weeks of pondering it, I came up with what I'd believed to be a sound designed for a clean out box. :confused:
The vent line from the dryer comes in horizontally, and is diverted up, and over a short, 2-3" divider wall, through a steeply angled (to maximize the area of exposure for easy cleaning) 1/2" hardware cloth "screen" and then down through the bottom, out to the rest of the rigid duct line off towards the standard code approved system. I even placed a locking cover on it, with weather seal to prevent blow by.
And for those who have questions, please ask. The first answer is: Yes, the inspector approved it.
After 7 years in the home, I was finally forced to go down to my crawl space, and spend an entire evening cleaning out the duct-- an 18 foot, 3 ell system.
I.e.,

S_ ___|\ End/outdoors
| _/
\______________/
oh, poop. I tried using the keyboard to show a basic configuration, but each time I hit preview, it kills the design. Sorry.

This is a computer keyboard version of my DV system. It starts at the left, and terminates on the right.
Sadly, I had no say in the duct configuration.:mad: If I did, it would've been directed differently so that it would not have been terminated with two ells going up, in an ogee configuration.
It's my belief now that the double ell is responsible for the backup. :speechless::confused:
I guess it's pay back for the countless apartment DV systems I'd installed where we'd run 30 to 40' runs straight up, with 3" duct, because there was no way to go horizontal due to architectural/structural designs by So. Cal. residential engineers, and architects.:mad:
At this point I need to come up with something to minimize my cleaning requirements. The clean out box has either failed, or the newer dryer is "leaking" more lint, or some combination of some hitherto unconceived of problems. :o
Any ideas on how to deal with this would be greatly appreciated.
I spent an entire evening last year cleaning out 18' of 4" duct. I had to disassemble the entire system to clean it out, and then use a painter's extender pole with a t-shirt wrapped around the end to force the built up lint out-- a good cubic foot's worth.
I know, we've all done it, and grumble each and every time.
However, since we all appear to be craftsmen/women, it's time to take advantage of the collective intelligence, and design a cleanout system that actually works to prevent all of this misery.
I.e., necessity is the mother of invention, and my knees, backside, arms, shoulders, and neck are telling me that it's time to become inventive because they all need a break.
Thanks.

[thepapabear]

I loved the idea using the cayenne pepper.

[PLUMBER RICK]

are you able to fish an 1/8'' wire/ aircraft cable through the duct system. you can keep it in the system and the have a pull line when needed. just make sure you have another double length of cable so you don't pull it out beyond reach. you could attach a wire type of flue brush inside to aide in cleaning.

personally i use a high volume blower/ vac. and use this to blow out the systems.

give it a shot. if it works, remember who gave you the idea;)

rick.

[Woussko]

Try a good electric leaf blower connected in place of the dryer. That should blast things clean. A good KaPoof and the stuff blasts all over outside. Let it run a few minutes and have someone check outside for a big blast of air. (That's after the big poof and flying lint.) If you get very little air flow, take the blower outside and blast in reverse but be ready for loads of &*&^%$ to end up in the laundry room. Connecting your shop vac to the vent pipe can help.

[drtyhands]

Try a good electric leaf blower connected in place of the dryer. That should blast things clean. A good KaPoof and the stuff blasts all over outside. Let it run a few minutes and have someone check outside for a big blast of air. (That's after the big poof and flying lint.) If you get very little air flow, take the blower outside and blast in reverse but be ready for loads of &*&^%$ to end up in the laundry room. Connecting your shop vac to the vent pipe can help.
Or you could use some of your pantyhose.

[Woussko]

Or you could use some of your pantyhose.

An old pillow case will filter the lint better. I made up an adaptor to connect the hose form my shop vac to the vent line. I can blow and suck from both ends. I also take an electrician's tape and push it from the outside in and then tie a rag to it and pull. Soon out comes loads of caked on lint. It's a good idea to vac out the blower too. Once done the dryer dries nice and fast.

[gear junkie]

This was just last week when I bought a dryer duct cleaning kit at Lowes. It cost 37 and had fiberglass rods and 2 brushes and a u cutter for gutters. I was real skeptical on the results as it showed a before and after picture. It worked so well I couldn't believe it. I used the micro to inspect the duct and it worked great. Highly recommend it.

[SteveB]

Well, there's one thing for sure....
No one can say you guys aren't funny.
I for one would rather blast the whole thing to kingdom come, but then I'd had to pay to replace my house. Definitely NOT in my budget this year.
I'll consider the long wire idea.
The vacuum/blower idea would result in clogging-- there's a built-in screen on my clean-out box, 1/2 hardware cloth. And there is some kind of screen on the outside end. And sadly, I haven't bought a new more powerful shop-vac since 1987. I.e., it's only a 2 hp motor. And there's no way the wife would allow me to get one of the newer ones.
It does however give me an idea.
I could make a wye-- much like you guys use for clean-outs in waste/sewage lines, and have a vacuum connector, with a cap on it. That way I can come along once in a while, open the cap, and attach a vacuum that I'd leave down there for just this kind of thing.

Hey, is there any UMC/UBC that prevents the use of short pieces of ABS for making specialty fittings in a dryer vent line?

Of course, it'd have to be strategically placed to ensure it got everything.
Thanks guys.... Now I know how to handle this-- until the next problem arises.
Best.

[surfsalterpath]

anybody use the 4" thick wall pvc pipe to duct under the house?

use the aluminum piping to duct away from the dryer about 2' to under the house and then the pvc the rest of the way.

No ridges like in the expando aluminum piping and smooth surfaces to carry the lint ALL the way out

any problems w/ this?

[PLUMBER RICK]

anybody use the 4" thick wall pvc pipe to duct under the house?

use the aluminum piping to duct away from the dryer about 2' to under the house and then the pvc the rest of the way.

No ridges like in the expando aluminum piping and smooth surfaces to carry the lint ALL the way out

any problems w/ this?

plastic can catch fire. it's not a legal approved material.

we use solid 4'' conductor pipe. basically single wall vent pipe in 10' lengths.

rick.

[jaminjimlp]

my wife picked me up a dryer vent cleaning kit from "Fred's" it says "like the as seen on TV" it was 10 bucks and has paid for it self my times over. it has a flat piece thats 5' or so to shove down in the dryers clean out hole and a 10 foot plastic 1/4" flex with a round brush on the end and a 4' tapered bottle brush. it works great.

i went to my daughters house to clean hers and i kept sucking out huge clumps of what looked like a quilt from the dryer itself. the vent pipe was clean but still not much air flow even not connected to the vent. so i removed the back cover and the inner vent were the fan blows and there was a foot ball size clump of lint build up. works great now.

here's a tip you may not know: take out the lint filter from the dryer and put it under the water faucet and see if it holds water. you think "hey it's a screen it will flow right through" but you will see that it dose not because the dryer sheets that you wife uses clogs it up but you can't see it. take some warm soapy water and scrub it with a rag or a brush and wa-la try the test again and the water goes straight though. i heard that this clogg can cause the element to burn out on electric dryers.

[ronhampe]

If you have a compressor, go to duct cleaners supply and order one of their 30' reverse blowing "bullet" lines for dryer vents, then tape a small piece (1" to 2") of tie wire to the nozzle end with black tape. Placing a slight bend in the wire angles the tip and gives you some additional control over it to work it thru what sounds as if it may be an obnoxious elbow combo. With a little practice, a set of goggles and a respirator annual cleaning will take only a few minutes and your dryer will work far better, last longer, cost less to operate and greatly reduce the risk of burning the house down!

Ron

[Woussko]

As for keep out birds try something more like chicken wire. It has about 3/4" holes so it won't clog up with lint near as fast as would hardware cloth with the smaller 1/4" holes. Birds will work hard to get into dryer vents for shelter.

[hvaclover]

There are vent termination made of PVC that has a cross hatch to prevent critter entry.

[BHD]

never had bird problems in the dryer,

have in the gas hot water heater chimney in the barn and in the wood stove chimney and in the furnace intake PVC pipe,

once had to dig a dead bird out of the box where the intake valve is located on the furnace.
I made a 1/4" hard ware cloth screen for the pipe, it is about 18" long a rolled cylinder, with a small end piece, that way it does not restrict flow nor will it frost up. did have to dig away a snow drift away from it once it is over 8' off the ground.

[Thurman]

Rick, I know this post is a little long but it explains a similar situation to yours and the solution. I just know that you have the means to make one or more of these guards for your dryer vent outlet.: True story-my sister lives in the Atlanta, Ga. area and they have the flying squirrels there. Her two story house has two (2) dryer vent type vents on one end of the house, on the outside of the house at the level between the floors of the house. One is for the downstairs bath vent fan, the other is for the clothes dryer on the second floor. These were covered with a plastic vent guard to prevent "varmints" from entering for over six years with no problem. Suddenly last fall there were noises overhead in the downstairs bathroom so she calls me to investigate, I'm only 220 miles away. I get up there an determine that something has eaten through the plastic vent guard, gotten through the metal dryer vent and into the space between the floors of the house. I removed the vent fan of the bathroom, stick my head up there and- -staring back at me are six squirrels sitting in a nest the size of a clothes basket. They made the nest from ripping the paper from the top of the sheetrock of the bathroom ceiling! They had entered by coming through the vent and chewing through the old plastic vent hose connecting the bath vent fan and the outside vent. We convinced them to skee-daddle by using a shop vac with the hose on blower and some foul smelling stuff we mixed up and they went right back out the old plastic vent hose and outside vent. I came home and made a new vent cover from sheet metal and small round metal rod, went back a few weeks later and installed them. TWO days later she sent me a pic via e-mail showing one of the squirrels sitting on the new vent cover chewing it's heart out on the new metal cover. Those little ba$tard$ are persitant for sure. >>It turns out that the squirrels could enter the clothes dryer vent because of the little lint build-up that prevented the outside "door" from closing, they would just use their nose to open it. On the vent from the bath, the cheap, aluminum door just wouldn't close good and again the noses opened it. She has seen these squirrels sitting up there trying to chew their way into these cages many times since. I wonder who their Orthodontist would be? Good Luck, David