Dryer vent question
 

We will be coming up to TV to purchase a new home this coming week. The question I have is for those that have noticed the dryer vent pipe looks to be installed with the crimped end on the vent pipe sections facing down instead of upwards toward the roof. I have always had homes with the vent piping installed the crimped ends facing towards the roof vent.....that way allows air to flow freely through the pipe without any obstructions. If the crimped end is facing down....or against the air flow.....the lint would naturally collect on the crimped ends of the pipe sections. I don't know if anyone else has addressed this?......but would love any feedback. I tried to attach a photo.....hopefully it shows up.

Without a completed installation, I am not sure what your issue is. Obviously, you want the air to flow freely through the vent pipe to the roof with no obstructions. In my experience, the flexible duct is installed from the dryer and it connects to the metal duct in the wall. Usually, the flexible duct is attached around the outside of the metal duct and secured with a metal connection collar. The end of the metal duct is usually crimped at the connection end.

The end in the wall box should not be crimped according to code. It should be the smooth end....the crimped end should be on the other end. I will wait to see what others have experienced.

Crimped end is facing the wrong direction.

To prevent lint build up inside the duct run, the crimped end of the pipe should always point away from the airflow source.

Flex hose is designed to fit (very snugly) around the smooth end. Lint would collect in the ridges, creating a fire hazard, in the installation shown here.

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From a quick search for the applicable building code and installation diagrams, retiredguy's reply appears to be correct.

Sometime later today I might pull out my dryer to see what I have. If I remember correctly, my duct looks just like your picture.

No.....his reply is not correct.

Relative to the 90 degree screened roof connection, probably insignificant.

It's wise to have the dryer ducts cleaned from the roof by someone with the right tools every year or two.

The code says that the inside of the duct must be "smooth", but it is somewhat unclear as to whether the end can be crimped. It appears that some installations use a smooth end and others use a crimped end. If you want to make the inside of the vent pipe to be more smooth you can use a plastic transition piece between the flexible dryer duct and the crimped metal pipe. This transition piece will fit inside of the metal duct. But, I tend to agree with Poster No. 7 that it is probably insignificant.

All pictures I can find shows vent crimped end facing up. All vent pipes I find only crimped on one end. IMO don’t look right?


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Why not ask your home inspector at the time of the inspection? I am not sure if an ~inch section of crimp on the end is going to make an issue with accumulation? If you have a smaller home that vents out to the wall then cleaning it should not be as hard as the one that goes through the attic space to the roof.

Just another option....

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These units only require 110V outlet and have no external vent. You program the unit to wash -- and -- dry the clothes. It takes just a bit longer to dry because it uses a heat pump instead of the older electric heaters. But you can program it at night to be finished with warm clothes for your wake up at 7AM. Connects to wifi and phone if you want the advanced features.

That also left room for us to put our second refrigerator inside the laundry room (where the dryer went) instead of out in our hot and humid garage... That left more room in the garage and much more convenient to go to the second frig when cooking.

We looked at the GE all in one unit, but the reviews after 1-2 years were not good. Still something I am considering.

I am not concerned about the one inch....it is about the other connection points going up to the roof. We have built many homes and always did a pre-drywall inspection to verify things were done correctly and to code. These homes are released when they are completed.....so if found to be incorrectly installed.....it will need to be reinstalled.

Common sense (which could be wrong or against code) makes me deduce that the crimped end should be at the far end of a piece of pipe as it goes from dryer to vent. This way, the crimped edge is "going with" the flow of air/lint. Even if caught on the crimped edge temporarily, should eventually free up and blow out the vent.

If the crimped end were toward the dryer (anywhere along the run from dryer to vent), the crimped edge facing the flow of air current would allow lint to get stuck and gather on the crimped edges. Kinda like cholesterol in an artery, it would grow ever larger until blockage occurred.

I am sure your home inspector can review it or even run a scope up it? I think my crimped end is sticking out similar to this. You can always ask for a cleaning as part of the closing inspection?