- Your dryer should always vent outdoors whenever possible. If it vents to a crawlspace or basement, moisture from the hot air can seep into walls and ceilings and encourage mold growth. Furthermore, if your dryer is heated by gas, toxic fumes from the dryer can put your home's air quality at risk, making it dangerous for humans and household pets to breathe, which is why an external vent is always preferred to one inside your home. Your dryer should be installed in a location that's near an external wall of the home where you can also place the vent.
- The duct is part of a dryer's exhaust system, along with the vent collar and external vent. The duct extends from the dryer to the external vent. The duct always should be straight and pointed slightly downward to make allow for the dryer's emissions to easily escape. If the duct bends and turns around walls, it creates places where condensation can accumulate and lint can become trapped. Remove unnecessary bends in the ducting. Contact a dryer specialist who can help you reconfigure your dryer's venting system if it dips and bows to make it straighter and improve airflow.
- Avoid using plastic ducting for your dryer's venting system. Plastic ducting, more so than metal, has a tendency to attract moisture, which can lead to an obstruction. Use a metal, non-ribbed ducting material for your dryer's venting system, which is less apt to develop a blockage, notes Don Vandervort's Home Tips website. Moisture and lint also are less likely to become caught up in ducting that's smooth as opposed to one that's ribbed.
- You may need to join one or more sections of ducting together to stretch from the dryer to the external wall vent. Don Vandervort's Home Tips website suggests using aluminum foil tape for these connections, not screws. Screws tend to draw moisture and lint and create an obstruction in the venting system that can diminish air circulation.
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