denisew
Community Expert
Posts: 9241
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 02-18-02
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12-20-10 07:08 PM - Post#122613
In response to chickypez
It sounds like you have the same brilliant (not) set-up we have. We have two ways to clean it. The first is to tie the rope to the wrench (or something else heavy and narrow) and the other end to the rags and drop it down from the vent tube in the attic. This is to clean any lint that has built up on the inside of the tube. We also have to pull the vent tube off where it attaches to the roof and reach up into the vent cap to remove the lint that has built up in there too. I can never get it all out of the roof vent cap area, but do get most of it. Whatever is blocking the air movement should be cleared. I have been told that some places that do appliance repairs (try Rodenbaugh's) would have a motor to help blow the lint out so it keeps it from building up. A few years ago, the cost was between $200-$300 for something like that and I am not sure about the installation and electrical work, etc. Be sure to have some duct tape ready where you have to reattach the pipe.
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denisew
Community Expert
Posts: 9241
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 02-18-02
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12-20-10 07:09 PM - Post#122614
In response to texmomma
texmomma - That is good to know that people out there do that type of work.
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texmomma
enthusiast
Posts: 534
Reg: 10-02-06
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12-20-10 07:25 PM - Post#122616
In response to denisew
He seemed to be a really good guy. He's a firefighter who does this on the side, keeps the price low because it can be such a fire hazard. He warned against a lot of the duct cleaning places that try to do this- they usually don't have the right equipment or know-how to do it thoroughly. I'd refer him to this site to advertise, but he's actually from Bedford.
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chickypez
enthusiast
Posts: 506
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 02-13-07
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12-20-10 07:40 PM - Post#122617
In response to texmomma
Great! This sounds like something we should be able to do ourselves. My husband can get up on the roof and I can pull it through from the bottom.
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catlady
enthusiast
Posts: 688
Loc: allen tx
Reg: 03-22-02
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12-23-10 08:32 AM - Post#122716
In response to chickypez
I always use Doug's mighty clean and yes the advertise here and have always been happy.
A dog looks at you and says "You take care of me. You must be a god".
A cat looks at you and says "You give me food and shelter. I must be a god". |
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vrs
enthusiast
Posts: 2845
Loc: Allen, Texas
Reg: 04-20-00
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12-28-10 12:49 PM - Post#122803
In response to Al C
Not a straight shot down. Horizontal for about 10-15 feet, then down, then angled back through the wall behind the dryer.
This was the setup we had in our prior house. Fortunately DH noticed it while home was still under construction. Two 90 degree bends and close to 30 feet of vent pipe from a dryer hookup that was a straight 4 feet from an outside wall!! Builder said they like to vent out the roof for esthetic reasons. DH said, no one is going to be offended by a dryer vent exiting the side wall of the house right behind the air conditioning units - please give us the short run.
With that experience, we were watching for it in the new house!! Dryer is right next to the outside wall and we have less than a two foot vent run.
Moral of the story - if you have a ridiculous unsafe fire hazard set-up for your dryer vent, most likely you can improve the situation a million percent with an inexpensive remodel.
And even with a short pipe run, Denise's point is well taken - you have to clean it out occasionally. I think DH routinely does it when he changes AC filters. (I am sure I would not know.  )
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Al C
enthusiast
Posts: 5920
Loc: McKinney/Allen, TX
Reg: 02-16-01
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12-28-10 01:59 PM - Post#122804
In response to vrs
Our previous home was a < 2 ft shot, but this one is strange. The laundry room is basically in the middle of the house. Between that and the outside wall is the master closet, so the existing pipe runs up and over that to the outside wall. I may just put a vent through the wall of the laundry room out to the garage, making the vent all of 5 ft and straight.
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denisew
Community Expert
Posts: 9241
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 02-18-02
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01-06-11 04:40 PM - Post#123233
In response to vrs
I contacted Rodenbaugh's and asked Ronald if they know anyone that can do the electricl and vent for us to move our dryer across the laundry room so it vents outside. We would just have to put a hole in the wall through the brick, install the new vent, run new electrical (the box is just a few feet into the garage on the same wall) for the big plug and then close up the vent on the other side. He said he has a list of people who can do that and I told him when we get our tax refund we'll get the information from him to get it done. It never made sense the way they put in that dryer vent and it wasn't something we even thought about while having the house built. I was pregnant with my second son and a dryer vent was the furthest thing from my mind at the time.
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