# using the clothes dryer to heat



## mommymarliah (Jun 29, 2004)

Is there any way I can use the clothes dryer heat to save energy? I dont dry too much but it seems so wasteful to have the hot air flowing outside. Is there some type of filter or something I can buy for the back of the machine to collect lint but allow the hot air out for heating purposes?

Thanks in advance!


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## sweetbabygirl19 (Nov 23, 2006)

Yes! I just bought one yesterday at home depot. I think it was $12.99. It hooks to the vent hose and u put water in it to catch the lint. It is great. I am using it now. Nice moist heat. It sits on top of the dryer (its small) so you can add water as needed. It is the greatest thing. I can't believe how much heat i am getting from this.

PS This is my first post!!! Yeah!!!


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## sedalbj (Mar 17, 2004)

excellent idea for adding a little heat to our basement, but is it for gas dryers or just electic? i know gas dryers emit combustion by products...


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## mightymoo (Dec 6, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sedalbj* 
excellent idea for adding a little heat to our basement, but is it for gas dryers or just electic? i know gas dryers emit combustion by products...

Unless your gas dryer has two vents for some reason the answer is definitely no, there would be carbon monoxide in the output from a gas dryer, which can be deadly if not vented properly to the outside.


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## earthmama369 (Jul 29, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sweetbabygirl19* 
Yes! I just bought one yesterday at home depot. I think it was $12.99. It hooks to the vent hose and u put water in it to catch the lint. It is great. I am using it now. Nice moist heat. It sits on top of the dryer (its small) so you can add water as needed. It is the greatest thing. I can't believe how much heat i am getting from this.

PS This is my first post!!! Yeah!!!

That sounds awesome!!!

Do you remember the product/brand name by any chance?


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## sweetbabygirl19 (Nov 23, 2006)

Earthmama369 -- I bought this at home depot for $12.99. I just dug the box out of the trash. It is for electric dryers only. The box says Lint Trap Kit for indoor dryer venting and it comes with the hose and clamps to attach it to the back of the dryer. Then u fill with water following the directions and sit it on the top of the dryer. This traps the lint from going in the air and puts out moist heat. It is supposed to be for homes that cant vent the dryer out side. The heat that I get is amazing. I just cant believe it. I tried to find it online at the home depot site but i couldnt. I guess it is a store only thing. Maybe a hardware store would sell it or appliance store.


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## earthmama369 (Jul 29, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sweetbabygirl19* 
Earthmama369 -- I bought this at home depot for $12.99. I just dug the box out of the trash. It is for electric dryers only. The box says Lint Trap Kit for indoor dryer venting and it comes with the hose and clamps to attach it to the back of the dryer. Then u fill with water following the directions and sit it on the top of the dryer. This traps the lint from going in the air and puts out moist heat. It is supposed to be for homes that cant vent the dryer out side. The heat that I get is amazing. I just cant believe it. I tried to find it online at the home depot site but i couldnt. I guess it is a store only thing. Maybe a hardware store would sell it or appliance store.

Awesome, thank you for looking that up! We live right near a Home Depot and have an electric dryer -- must go check that out.


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## Rhiannon Feimorgan (Aug 26, 2005)

That sounds great! I would worry though about all that moisture in the air. A little is nice especialy in the dry winter but too much moisture can cause condensation, dampness and mold. I wouldn't want to use that to heat every day without some sort of dehumidifyer.


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## mightymoo (Dec 6, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Rhiannon Feimorgan* 
That sounds great! I would worry though about all that moisture in the air. A little is nice especialy in the dry winter but too much moisture can cause condensation, dampness and mold. I wouldn't want to use that to heat every day without some sort of dehumidifyer.

FYI, In the winter we run a whole house humidifier nearly constantly and it doesn't come anywhere near causing mold or mildew problems.


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## Rhiannon Feimorgan (Aug 26, 2005)

I guess it depends on the climet you live in! I'm in the northwest and I'm sure There would be black goo everywhere in a few weeks if I tryed that. My dryer vent got unhooked one day so all the hot air (and unfortunatly all the lint) was venting into the house. There was way more moisture in that air than any humidifyer I've ever encountered.


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## mightymoo (Dec 6, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Rhiannon Feimorgan* 
I guess it depends on the climet you live in! I'm in the northwest and I'm sure There would be black goo everywhere in a few weeks if I tryed that. My dryer vent got unhooked one day so all the hot air (and unfortunatly all the lint) was venting into the house. There was way more moisture in that air than any humidifyer I've ever encountered.

Yeah, that's true, I lived in the seattle area a long time too - probably wouldn't do it there - we had mold develop in closets and things, but I live in new england now and god is it dry all winter long. It's so bad once the temps hit freezing my hands start cracking and bleeding. I really miss the moist NW!


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## GoddessKristie (Oct 31, 2006)

I live in Indiana and had one of these. We kept the door open so the air would flow through our rooms and it worked wonderfully! Since we got lots of precip in that area it wasn't practical to line dry, and being able to use the heat twice was great! It also put a lot of moisture in the air which was good because the air is really dry here in the winter.
I got mine at Lowes and it was around the same price.
Loved it!


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## missys__mom (Sep 14, 2006)

I've used the same type vent for several years mainly to catch the lint from my dryer - simply because our laundry room is in the middle of the house and is pretty far from an outside wall to run a duct (all that lint might eventually stop it up and it would be a pain to clean out!). However, when I had a new washer and dryer delivered and the delivery man saw how I hooked up the vent, he told me to leave it on the floor. It is really inefficient for a dryer to try to keep blowing all the hot, moist air "up" (if you leave it on top of the dryer). your clothes will dry more quickly and the dryer will use less electricity if you leave the vent on the floor. I've used mine for years and it helps heat about half of my house on my really big laundry days when the dryer runs for several loads straight. Since I use this all the time, it's not so practical in the summer, but i line dry a lot during good weather.

just be sure to clean it out periodically - you'll be amazed at the lint that accumulates in the container. I ended up lining mine with aluminum foil or plastic to make it easier to clean. When you see the lint in the container, along with the lint in the lint trap in the dryer, it makes one wonder that there is anything left to our clothes.


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## Theraid (Jan 13, 2015)

LG DLGX8001V Steam Dryer 9.0 Cu. Ft. Graphite Steel Stack able With Steam Cycle Gas Front Load Dryer is the best clothes drier known to me so far.. It has a feature of 5 temperature settings.. It has free 10 year warranty on major components.. It works perfectly . I am having this dryer from so long.. I am simply loving it..


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