*Dryer Vent Helping Hand*
By: Mysticraven
8 September 2011

During the process of renovating our Pantry / laundry room the washing machine, dish washer, and clothes dryer all had to be removed to complete the flooring. In our particular case all three appliances sit side by side and take up the entire west wall of the room. There are only a couple of inches to spare allowing for a little clearance between them and the adjoining walls.

The outside dryer vent was previously installed close to the floor and on the outside wall to the right of the dryer. This presents a problem, as there was no way to get behind or reach the connection points for the vent pipe, when pushing the dryer into position. The previous owner solved this problem by installing a very long flexible aluminum accordion style pipe that was looped behind the dryer. Very sloppy job.

As you can imagine in the normal coarse of events the original aluminum accordion style vent pipe got crushed was prone to clogs and simply did not work properly. I decided to shorten the vent pipe and use a 90 degree bend and keep every thing neat and tidy. However the original problem still remained. My arms are simply not long enough to reach over and behind the dryer to make the final connections.

My solution was to take a piece of perforated strapping and wrap it around the 90 degree bend. It is clamped tightly and fastened to a positioning wood handle. Do not screw the strap to the 90 degree bend as the screws would protrude inside and possibly catch some lint and pose a fire hazard.

The completed bend is now connected to the outside vent pipe with a very short piece of flexible pipe. Band clamps keep everything in place and metal tape securely seals the connection against air leakage.

The above picture shows the completed installation with white positioning handle ready for the dryer to be placed into position. The handle is long enough to be easily reachable behind the dryer and to maneuver the vent into position on the dryer.

This last picture shows the dryer in position and ready for the first load. As shown the dryer is only a few inches from the wall and there is little chance of crushing the vent pipe.

My solution may not work with your particular installation but hopefully this article provided food for thought and will help with your next project.
Mysticraven



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