How to Keep Your Dryer Vent Hose in Good Condition

Clothes dryers depend on uninterrupted air flow to expel the high humidity exhaust that could cause breathing and moisture problems in homes.  Wear and tear over time can degrade its efficiency which requires repair or replacement.

You can inspect the vent hose but there are other telltale signs that something is wrong. For example: Your clothes are taking longer than usual to dry and when they do, they are not warm when removed. A damaged vent will restrict the flow of hot air from the dryer and when this happens the dryer will not be able to do its job correctly which can lead to a longer drying cycle and clothes will still feel damp even after staying in the dryer for more extended periods. This also can lead to mold and mildew.

• Basically, the air leaving the dryer through the venting system is removing heat from inside the dryer chamber. If the heat is not getting removed fast enough because of some issue with the venting system, the dryer surface will be hot to the touch. In addition, clothes may also feel hot instead of soft and warm.
• A properly functioning vent hose removes hot air from the dryer via the vent system to the outside. Since the expelled air is high in moisture content, you may notice an accumulation of condensation on surfaces in the laundry room or around the house. This can result in unwanted problems such as mold and mildew.
• A burning odor is another sign that there may be some blockage in the dryer vent hose. More significantly, lint can cause fire.

As a temporary, emergency expedient, you can repair a dryer vent hose. And the best way to repair a hose with a penetration is with aluminum foil duct tape, which is available at Home Depot, Menards, and Lowes. This will get you out of the woods for the immediate future but, a full replacement needs to be done as soon as workable.

The replacement process can be done with simple tools and some DIY experience, it’s not rocket science. Since almost all dryer vent connections on the back of all machines are 4” diameter, and the corresponding connection on the wall penetration is also 4” diameter, you should buy a 4” diameter segmented, aluminum, flex connector hose and 2-4 x 4” clamps. There are a lot of clamps out there but for this application your ubiquitous, every day, stainless steel, gear clamp will do the job. You can buy these from several brands such as Ideal, Selizo, Eesteck, or Glidestore however, a very good one for this project is Tech team’s #703  https://techteamproducts.com/product/4-dryer-vent-hose-clamps/    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079RSJCJN?ref=myi_title_dp   you, of course, can do a hey Siri or hey Alexa Google search for other options, or just go to their you tube video    https://youtu.be/7o6Ek0jPAKk  . With these clamps you don’t even need a screwdriver as they are equipped with a thumb / turnkey so that you can hand tighten them. This, of course, makes it easy to do this in the type of tight space you can find behind a clothes dryer.

The process is simple; remove the old hose, clean and vacuum any lint that may be in the machine or wall penetration, slide the clamps over the hose, fit the hose over the connection points and tighten the clamps. Now move the machine back to where it belongs and you’re good to go.