gordonr, If there's nothing else I've learned during the course of my renovations, I've learned that everything ends up being more complicated than you expect. Once you open up the ceiling or the wall, there always seems to be something in the way of what you want to do. A floor joist where the tub drain needed to be, pipes where I wanted recessed lights to go, and now the recessed light over the tub is where it would make sense to run the duct. I can hardly wait to get to the kitchen renovation! I spoke with a rep in Miele's technical service group yesterday. Initially he was telling me he thought what I wanted to do entailed too long a stretch of duct - that it would reduce the performance of the dryer. I told him I expected that it would not be optimal performance, but what I was trying to determine was whether it would reduce it to the extent that a condenser dryer would have the same performance. He didn't seem to understand what I was getting at, so I gave an example: If the vented model has 15% better performance than the condenser model and the venting I'm doing reduces performance by 15%, then the condenser model would be generally equivalent, but if the vented dryer's performance is 50% greater, the same 15% reduction in performance would still mean the vented dryer was a better choice. I asked if he could give me any information about how much better the vented dryer's performance was than the condenser model and how much the venting I was considering would reduce the vented dryer's performance. At that point, he said he wanted to talk with one of the senior technical reps and put me on hold. When he came back, he told me that the dryer was rated for up to 60 feet (which I already knew) and that I should be fine with what I was planning on doing. He also told me that the sr. rep had indicated that having a condenser dryer in a closet could be problematic because it puts off a lot more heat than a vented dryer - you'd need a lot more air circulation into the closet with a condenser dryer. The closet I'll be putting the w/d into is 68" wide by 29" deep, so the extra heat and air circulation need may not have been as much of an issue for me as it might be for others with a more confined space. One learning that I took away from this: if you start to get the sense that the technical or customer service person you're talking to may not be as knowledgeable as you'd like, ask to talk with a senior rep. Like anywhere else, initial phone calls will be answered by more junior staff who will route the more complicated issues to more experienced staff. I've decided to go with a vented dryer, and now just need to decide between the Miele and the Asko. I'll let everyone know which one I end up with. Jan

I've been venting my dryer indoors during the winter for six years in two small houses and my folks have been doing the same for about seven years and neither of us have had any problems. Keep in mind that the locations in question have been Calgary, Alberta and Bozeman, Montana and both locations have extremely dry air in the winter. I live alone, so I do laundry infrequently; my parents do laundry considerably more often, but their house is large enough to handle the extra moisture. It's also worth noting that home humidifiers can pump more than a gallon of water per day into large houses in extreme winter climates and the "gallon of water per load" statistic applies to large loads of laundry that have been lightly spun; a fast-spinning front-load machine gets clothes fairly dry, right out of the washer. Since we're talking about saving resources, you *do* have a front-loader, right? ; ) The only time I've had an issue has been when the outside temperature is below -20C (roughly 0F), in which case windows near the dryer can experience considerable condensation. One solution is to vent the air outside for the most of the dryer's cycle, then let the air flow inside once the clothes are fairly dry. To solve the lint issue, attach one leg of a finely woven pair of pantyhose to the inside vent with a tight-fitting elastic band. It looks absurd, but the large area permits air to flow with almost no restriction (much like the folds inside a car's air filter) and does a great job of removing lint. The air is nowhere near hot enough to cause me any concern over lint ignition, but it's still prudent to turn the filter inside out and vacuum it once in a while. In summary, many of the above posts are alarmist nonsense and/or apply to warm, moist climates that would benefit little from this energy saving trick. For those of us with cold, dry winters, a couple small tricks make this a great way to save energy and provide beneficial humidity. (In case someone reading this has somehow missed the disclaimer: This DOES NOT apply to gas dryers!)

I have the same set up as Mcmann, with the vent line in the crawl space. DD put in a solid metal line, so that's good, but my dryer lint trap is just inside the door of the dryer (not in the door) and the filter pushes down into the cavity and I can see that there is still some lint in there. It sounds like a good stiff lint brush will do wonders. I'm also interested in something that attaches to the vacuum, but I think it will have to be flexable to get into the space. Thanks for all the quick responses, I'm headed downstate (2 hours south) to where a lot of stores are on Thursday and will check out some stuff, plus do a little more online looking. Kathy G in MI

Thanks guys! Sorry, I got busy and didn't check anything over the last couple days. I'll have to check the spot tonight - NHBabs, a nice rock is always nice, and especially better than dead plants! And a rock with a rose in front of it would look great! Rouge, that 'John Cabot' is gorgeous! Seil, that sounds like a good spot for a hydrangea - they like the humidity, and the extra warmth could help keep them from getting so winter killed. I have one on the east side of my house that has never bloomed. I need to dig it up and move it or dump it. Her vent is on the south/southwestern side of the house, so it could be that between the brick house and the dryer vent it's just too hot in the summer for much to grow. Depending on the size of that border, I'm thinking a hardy geranium or other herbacious perennial would work well (no winter foliage to burn, easy to get rid of any lint). Or, I've got some coneflower seedlings she could have! No idea of what color (they're from a Powwow White) yet.