I need a creative idea

[Rick V]

My basement is not heated but my washer and dryer are in the basement and it seems a waste to vent the dryer to the back yard. I am looking for a way to use the dryer vent to at least put a little heat down there. I have solved the problem of lint by putting a nylon stocking over the outlet of the dryer vent tube but my issue is the moisture. I tried a large 7.5 gal plastic bucket with a couple of baffles in it to try and trap the moisture yet let the heat out, yeah that didn't work so well.
Any other creative ideas?

[scottbombedout]

So Rick, you have a problem involving nylon stockings, lots of moisture and a large bucket?

Party at yours new years eve?

[GH85Carrera]

Rick, I thought about the same thing at my old house. It had the washer & dryer in the garage. The moisture is the killer. It seemed stupid to run a de-humidifier in the room that I just pumped moisture into. All I could figure out to do was a heat exchanger. I never could figure out how to get the heat out of the air in a efficient manner and still vent the excess air outside. I lot of fins on the outside of the vent would radiate some of the heat, but not enough to be worth the effort. I am surprised there is not a commercial gizmo to do it.

[Icemaster]

Assuming its electric dryer?

This time of year a little moisture in the house might not be a bad thing, or is the basement already somewhat damp? I think a simple heat exchanger might be your best bet, but don't know if there's enough heat transfer to make it worth while. Running a dehumidifier and directly venting it might cost as much s running a small electric space heater.

[sc_rufctr]

What about a really long vent hose hose that snakes around the ceiling of your basement thus heating your basement before venting outside?
.... But as the air cools down inside the vent hose the moisture will collect inside the hose so you have to slope it so it drains out naturally.

You'd need a vent hose with a smooth interior so the water will drain out easily.

[masraum]

What Peter said, if you manage to dump the heat, you'll be cooling the air which will extract the moisture, but then you need to do something with that.

You could try some of the metal vent pipe that's used to vent the fumes from gas furnaces. The metal would probably absorb some of the heat and radiate that into the basement. The longer the pipe, the more heat? Of course, then you would probably have a problem with rust.

[cstreit]

Unless your dryer is running all the time, i cant image this will make much difference in the heat of the room. The basement walls are cooling it down constantly right?

That said to condense out the water from the air, you need to cool the air which is counter-productive. some sort of heat exchanger as it exits the house is probably your best bet.

[Z-man]

Rick - I would use a different approach. Dryer vents should be kept a short as possible, and anything that would not allow lint to escape is a recipe for fire.

What type of heat do you have in the rest of the house? Where is the source of heat (furnace, AC unit) located? How does the heat get upstairs? (Baseboard heating, forced air vents...etc). Perhaps there is a way to tap into that.

Another option would be radiant floor heating (can get expensive), or some other electric generated heat.

-Z-man.

[cstreit]

Actually come to think of it, if a heat exchanger does work, it will precipitate out the moisture as it exists leaving you with a water problem in your exit.

[Gogar]

+1 the stocking 'trapping' the lint makes me really nervous. Be careful.

[john70t]

Rick, what you need is one of these gismos:

Vent to the interior during the winter, because furnaces with humidity control tend to dry out the interior wood and air.
Humidity during the winter is a must or else lung infections and wood cracking happen.

Notice I insulated the stack as well. The rim joist is spray-foamed, but the long metal tube can act like a heat sink to the outside.

The no-circulation situation sounds like a problem. You're going to need conditioned air going through the basement or mold develops. Maybe you can cut into a supply pipe/run down there, and add a vent?

Originally Posted by cstreit

some sort of heat exchanger as it exits the house is probably your best bet.

For super-sealed houses, look into ERVs for fresh air exchange.
It's a ceiling fan/heat exchanger which runs on ~20W+/- and is about 80-90% efficient. My Panasonic was ~$400 for the unit itself.

[pavulon]

Dryers are a big energy (money) suck. You may be long-run money ahead by insulating your basement and using it for more than you may be (and simply vent your dryer). I'd be concerned about potentially creating high humidity in a cool, dark place. A house mold problem is one nobody wants.

[john70t]

A $100 humidifier draining in a sink/other does wonders for temporary basement air quality.
It's just a band-aid though.
Fix yard grading, gutter drains, and anything else which flows water near the foundation.

[Hugh R]

Gas or propane drier, absolutely not. Short as possible on the exhaust vent, or you'll be drying clothes forever.

[Rick V]

I guess I should have been more specific, Yes an electric dryer, The basement is already insulated and such. I was not looking to heat the basement with the dryer, but just looking to use heat that is just getting pushed outside.
I heat with oil fired hot water so tapping into that is more hassle than it is worth. Thanks for the input guys, I guess i'll just let it go and use my meager brain cells for other ideas.

[Flieger]

Where does the dryer intake air come from? If it uses the room air, then putting the exhaust into the room will make drying less efficient. Is that what Hugh R was getting at?