Need help with dryer duct straigthening

s-one · 03-18-2012, 05:30 PM

Hi all,

Great forum. I was getting ready to clean out my dryer duct and was aware that having a bent duct is not a good idea. From the picture below what would be the best way to get the duct straight to the wall inlet?

Thanks kindly.

joecaption · 03-18-2012, 05:37 PM

Someone was to lazy or did not know enought to just cut the flex line.
With that set up you still going to have to have the dryer setting away from the wall so the flex can be connected and still have room to collapse it to get the dryer closer to the wall.

DexterII · 03-18-2012, 06:07 PM

It looks like a tight squeeze, so you will probably have to pull the washing machine out to hook it up, and you may not be able to get it as tight to the wall when you are done, but I would remove the flexible duct completely, after which it looks like a pair of adjustable elbows, for rigid duct, and a roll of foil duct tape, made for that type of duct, which are available at your local hardware store or big box, would do the trick. Tape the joints together, don't use screws, as they will cause lint to collect, and you will have a much safer, efficient connection.

s-one · 03-18-2012, 06:32 PM

Thank you guys for all the suggestions. I'll look your suggestions. So flex hose is not a good idea? Just go with something straight and tape? thanks.

joecaption · 03-18-2012, 07:22 PM

If you do not use the flex there's no way to connect it and get it back close to the wall. There's just not room to get in between the wall and the dryer to connect it with soild pipe, without the dryer being about 2 ft. from the wall with solid pipe or elbows.

DexterII · 03-18-2012, 09:39 PM

s-one, how much space do you have along that wall? Specifically, how far to the right can you move the washer and dryer? I have our dryer connected with a pair of elbows, as I suggested, and yes, that does require us to position it about 2' from the wall, 9" to be precise. I happen to have space to the left of the dryer, which makes it much easier, but, worst case scenario, you pull the washer out, slide the dryer back, then the washer. The up side is that, for annual maintenance, i.e. cleaning the duct, which too many people don't do anyway, you open the vent on the ouside, and vacuum it out.

s-one · 03-18-2012, 11:07 PM

Ok thank you both for the responses. I didn't think of that.. the washer is to the right of the dryer but I can try swapping the two positions and using an elbow like you suggested. Thank you for the cleaning tips! I order one of those attachments for a drill to clean out the duct.

ratherbefishing · 03-18-2012, 11:22 PM

If you can get some lateral distance between the dryer and the vent, you can use a dryer periscope. That will allow the dryer closer to the wall. A google search will show you what one looks like.

Missouri Bound · 03-18-2012, 11:48 PM

I see no reason you couldn't adjust an elbow to replace that flex. Elbows can be adjusted from 90 deg.to 180 deg. what you have there is either a fire starter or an energy waster. That pipe is already clogged, I guarantee it.

DexterII · 03-19-2012, 08:50 AM

s-one, I wasn't necessarily advocating switching your washer and dryer, unless of course that would make it easier for daily use. What I was thinking though was that if you have enough space to move both of them to the right, you may have better options, as far as how you make your connection. Assuming that you do have some flexibility in that regard, before moving anything around, again, stop at your local hardware or big box, pick up the items that I mentioned, bring them home, do some "dry fitting", and see what looks like iit will work best for you. As Missouri Bound said, it might be that you can get by with a single elbow, but you may as well have two there while your sizing it up, as I'm sure they'll take back what you don't use. Then, once you have a feel for what that will do for you, you could look at the dimenions for one of the periscopes that RBF mentioned, to see how much more space you might save in front of the units. Finally, as far as hooking everything up, you will find that, as long as your fittings aren't kinked, they slip onto the dryer fairly easily, so you can fit your elbow onto the piece in the wall, line the dryer up with the other end, and gently walk it straight back.

s-one · 03-30-2012, 04:26 PM

Thank you again all for the info and helpful tips. I know this stuff isn't rocket science but I thought it was going to be a little bit more complicated than what it really was because space/angle between the wall and dryer. Turns out like most of you stated I can just do a straight shot using the flex - quite easy.

Here's a pic of "some" of the lint that got trapped. I used one of those drill attached cleaners all the way to the exit. I filled 3/4 standard paper grocer bag full of this stuff....... verrrrrrrrrry bad!

And here's the end results. Anyhow it was so easy I can't believe I made post about this but thank you all again for the helpful tips.

kingofmycastle · 04-20-2012, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by s-one

Is that duct tape I am seeing? I don't think the heat + duct tape is a good combination.

s-one · 04-21-2012, 08:53 PM

Yea it is. thanks for the info, I'll get it changed.

Kind regards.

Fix'n it · 04-22-2012, 08:59 AM

don't ya just love how they design it so there is so much space waisted, sheeeeesh.

LazyOne · 04-24-2012, 03:51 PM

There is duct tape, and then there's duct tape. That fabric filled rubber adhesive duct tape isn't what you want to use around ducts.

"Commonly duct tape carries no safety certifications such as UL or Proposition 65, which means the tape may burn violently, producing toxic smoke; it may cause ingestion and contact toxicity; it can have irregular mechanical strength; and its adhesive may have low life expectancy. Its use in ducts has been prohibited by the state of California [5] and by building codes in most other places in the U.S."

What you want is metalized duct tape. You can find it at Home Depot with the HVAC ducting supplies.

Anything worth doing is worth doing to code. Although I've used the metalized duct tape, and it meets code, I'd rather see you use another of those screw type hose clamps on the other end of that flex line.

I bet you'll notice a big improvement in your drying time now that you've eliminated all that extra flex line, and cleaned out all that lint.

Open up and check your drier, too. If there are any leaks inside (and I'd be surprised if there aren't), you may find quite a bit of lint collected inside the drier. Good idea to take the front off and run a shop vac over everything, IMHO. Drier lint makes great kindling for a fire.

LazyOne
N/E Florida