Hello,
I have a tenant in an apartment that wants to cut hole in her ceiling and pipe the dryer vent into the attic. Is this a bad idea? The attic has vents on the roof that allow hot air to escape, but I am concerned that the hot air from the dryer might create moisture problems.

Thank you for your help.

JL

I've seen it done before. You may want to support the outlet high enough that any moisture will dissipate into the open air and not get trapped in the insulation. And still monitor for any "collections" of lint and/or moisture

Then again, it shouldn't be too costly to finish the vents run to an exterior wall and install a shuttered louver..

Just another option.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by theclear

Hello,
I have a tenant in an apartment that wants to cut hole in her ceiling and pipe the dryer vent into the attic. Is this a bad idea? The attic has vents on the roof that allow hot air to escape, but I am concerned that the hot air from the dryer might create moisture problems.

Thank you for your help.

JL

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I bought a house with this situation . I quickly changed it to vent outdoors. In the winter the humid air would condense on the underside of the roof - in the attic. Even with soffit and ridge venting, it is just too much humid air pumped into one place. After time, there was mildew growing on the roof sheathing in the attic.

I would avoid venting into an attic or crawl space at all costs. If you run that far, it doesn't take much to penetrate the roof or a wall and vent outside.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by theclear

Hello,
I have a tenant in an apartment that wants to cut hole in her ceiling and pipe the dryer vent into the attic. Is this a bad idea? The attic has vents on the roof that allow hot air to escape, but I am concerned that the hot air from the dryer might create moisture problems.

Thank you for your help.

JL

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It's not the hot air but the moisture content in the hot air that would concern me. I don't care how well ventilated the attic is the wood and insulation will still collect and retrain the moisture that the dryer puts out.
Mold and other bad things grow around warm moist areas. Play it safe and exhaust the dryer outside. Add this to the lint build up and it's a no brainer.good luck, Tom

That's a hat trick (three-fer)!

Take it outside.

Thank you for your responses. The vent is going outside. Period.

JL

Same goes for bathroom vents. They should not vent to the attic OR the soffit. Moisture will cause big trouble. If you vent outside make sure you are not near the soffit. It pulls air into the attic and would just pull the moisture back inside.

That is a big no. There are many reason for this here are just a few.
Humidity leads to mold and mold is an established health hazard.
The lint can build up and create a fire hazard.
Possible solutions:
1, venting to the outside keep exhaust piping as short as possible, the owners manual will identify max length.
2, Purchase a Condenser dryer. These are extremely convenient for those who live in an apartment or in an older home that has never been built for dryer ventilation. Essentially the dryer captures the humidity and collects it in a self enclosed water storage tank.
Compare the cost of a condenser dryer with the install of the correct venting.
Think long term!
Most expensive option: do nothing!
Mike N

Hey Mike, Welcome to AMHD!
Thanks for the imput but you're responding to as three year old dead thread. Look in the upper left hand corner for the date before you post. Stick around and give us a hand, Regards, Tom

In my opinion I would say that is a BAD idea. BUT, if you were to cut the hole for the dryer vent, then attach some tubing that goes from that hole up to a vent in the roof that would be OK. Ideally you should cut a new hole in the roof and install another vent too. So you are not "robbing" the attic of it's much needed ventilation. Just make sure everything is sealed properly and that it will not fall off. You do not want moisture in the attic.

Hi ElJameso...

Thanks for posting on the question but it was already answered real well back in 2007... ;)

In the future, check the dates of the question by looking in the upper left corner of the question box. In this way, you can be sure the person that asked the question will actually come back and read your response, OK?

Thanks and welcome to AMHD!

Mark