you have the right idea. make a mesh type lid to fit opening. not only will it keep lint from flying all over, but also keep anything from accidentally sneaking in.

Thank you both for your comments. I appreciate it!

Yes, I do not want to block the flow of air from the dryer. I will see what I can find as far as a metal screen basket of some sort that does not interfere with air flow. I have been sweeping up lint far too much lately.

There is a one way door on the vent to prevent critters from getting in. It opens only when the dryer is running.

You can find the filter screens for the outside vent on Ebay.
As someone above said, just dont let it clog. Personally, I had much rather have a little lint scattered over the yard than built up inside the dryer and eventually cause a fire. Then you would really have a bigger mess than a little lint.
And before someone corrects me to say you ask about lint outside and not in the dryer, I understand. Just saying I had rather mine be blowing outside than build up inside which it can without proper flow.

More good and helpful information, sparky823. thank you. I looked up filter screens for outside vent--did not even know there was something like that. However, I would worry about, yes, clog and fire. I know it is dangerous to let the vent get clogged.

Since the vent is placed such that I am looking at it about 5 times a day, I am going to try a basket of some sort made of screen just set under the vent, rather than a smaller fitted screen that would have a greater chance of clogging. Catching even some of the lint would make me happy. If I have success, I will post a picture!

This post was edited by hoovb on Tue, Sep 23, 14 at 9:44

Be careful about putting a screen on the vent. Lint is suppose to be thrown out so your dryer can work properly. You can buy a new vent for outside with a built in screen. You will have to go out and clean it. Why not just go out after you do your laundry and brush away the lint. My never puts out enough to bother me.

Lint comes out of the bottom of this vent closure. Maybe you could put a container underneath to catch some of it. The vent closure plus container might be more unsightly than lint, though. It is paintable (and should be painted to protect against UV if exposed to the sun). I've had one on my dryer vent for a few weeks now, in a location that isn't very visible.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009W3I4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yes, I'm going to see if something like this works:

This seems to work. Cleaner driveway area now. I'm happy. I don't think it's going to interfere with the vent itself.

If you are getting lots of lint outside, your inside lint filter and hose may need cleaning.

I clean the lint filter before every load, so I think it's okay. I took the hose off and vaccuumed it but there wasn't much of anything in there. It's very short because the vent is right next to the dryer which goes right outside. Then I had a nightmare time getting the ^#@&%* hose back on the &^*#!*&^* vent pipe. What a miserable cheesy piece of $%&*@, who ever thought that was a good idea. Are there any better connectors for drier vent hoses out there?

You might have a build up of lint in the machine itself. Last year, with my old dryer, I found a ton of lint within, after throughly cleaning the duct work and the lint trap compartment. I was shocked. I always clean the filter with each load, but there was so much lint within the filter holding compartment & when I took the panel off to see what I could get to inside. I'd cleaned the lint filter compartment before but never the guts of the machine.

There are several air leakage points inside the typical dryer, which is why lint may accumulate inside the machine's cabinet. The filter can't catch 100% of the lint or it would clog up so quickly as to impair drying performance. Purpose of the filter is to catch a reasonable majority of it to avoid accumulation in the exhaust ducting. The filter is not to keep lint off the clothes. Lint is of course fabric fibers that abrade off the clothes as they tumble ... it would be picked up and blown out via the exhaust air even if a filter wasn't involved.

Could it be the fabrics? Other than cleaning lint catcher inside dryer, I have not had any accumulation as what you describe. I do have a vent with a built in screen and there is nothing acculating there either. Do
you wash a lot of sweaters, blankets, towels? I only wash for two people and it's mostly light cottons

Yes I wash a lot of towels. The little round wastebasket picture above is working great!

Isn't it amazing how much lint escapes the lint screen, only the end up in people's vent runs, etc? You're so lucky that you have a short straight run. Mine goes through the roof. I use something similar to this, only inside on the back of the dryer and I clean it "frequently" only because my dryer is easy to get behind. I've done this for the past 2 yrs or so.... someone on this forum gave me the idea to put a paint strainer into the venting tube that connects the dryer to the wall. I line the vent tube with the paint strainer like you would a trash bag in a trash can, then connect the vent tube to the back of the dryer. Doing this, along with me cleaning the paint strainer once every 2 weeks has kept the entire vent run through and out the roof clean and I don't allow the paint strainer to clog because I clean it so frequently. Clothes dry really fast too, so I know it's working.
Before, I could see the roof cap on the roof get coated in lint...now it's not.

you are not worried about the paint strainer catching fire? what is it made of? Nice though that your roof cap isn't wearing a lint sweater anymore.

Yes, lucky to have a very short run. I got a new hose and made it very short and cut drying time. 24" instead of 72" made a surprising difference.

At our old house the dryer was right in the middle of the house and there was a pipe going under the flooring about 20'. That was dumb. The people who bought our old house moved the washer/dryer out into the garage and vented directly out through the wall instead.

My mesh basket sitting under the outside vent is still working great. The whole area looks so much better now.

Dryers reach 155ðF to 165ðF max on the highest heat setting (med and low temps are less, of course) ... so highly unlikely Mark40511's paint strainer will catch fire.

Yea - I was worried about this at first - but the lady who gave me the idea on this forum on another post - said she and her husband had been doing it for years and as long as you clean it regularly (which I do) - no problem. It's been years now that I have been doing this and the entire run is still clean - Never been a fire.....Frankly, I almost think it would be more of a fire hazard NOT to have it because the vent run would clog so quickly.

Knee high over the exterior vent. Catches lint.

I'll bet the neighbors can't sleep at night, just thinkin' about it.

"I would not suggest a filter past the designed removable lint filter of the dryer. There is a safety measure that catches the attention of a homeowner that the filter is clogged such as a whistle being heard from the dryer. The clothes in the drum absorb the heat of the dryer in case of a clogged lint filter and if the lint filter is clogged there are sensors that catch the air blockage and shuts off the dryer for safe operation. If a makeshift filter is placed along the ducting, it poses a danger of being forgotten as it is not equipped with a safety or warning device that goes off or turns off the dryer if clogged." it is no difference to an accelerated self induced clogged vent system waiting to happen at anytime. Unfortunately no reasoning can justify this in case of a fire. If a ducting is clogged with the lint filter being clean, hot air may accumulate all the way up to the clogged area where there is enough lint that may catch fire."

It is good that the problem of lint outside is solved by some sort of mesh bin.

Some pointers below for consideration. Hope this helps.

The dryer cabinet itself overtime becomes littered with (1) airborne dust.

The dryer internal ducting system on the other hand is littered with (2) lint from the clothes being dried (in combination with the dust above).

Dust (1) is by nature going to happen to any space and it gets accelerated by the blower taking in the air surrounding the dryer cabinet crevices forcing into the hot flame chamber to create hot air. So dust in the laundry room particularly where the dryer stands is the culprit here.

Lint (2) inside the dryer internal ducting come from escaping lint past the dryer lint filter which has a medium mesh to make sure some will pass to avoid air being clogged up badly avoiding premature motor burn out or flame cutting out. *Wool and winter clothes accelerate this. *Anyone notice a thicker than usual clog in one cycle? The dryer internal ducting will eventually accumulate and be full of lint and some will go past the blower wheel on to the flexible ducting then to the fixed ducting on the wall going outside.

The first defense is the lint filter being cleaned out every cycle or even during *half the cycle at times and this is critical. Second is cleaning out the area surrounding the dryer frequently by sweeping or wiping a regular floor. (Who does this in a little washer and dryer room and a little hallway access to the garage? Not to mention the washer being the most heavy and the dryer second.) Third is opening up the dryer to clean the cabinet floor by vacuum or wiping. Some dryers have lower front panels that are removable. Fourth is cleaning out the dryer ducting past the lint filter with a flexible long reach dryer brush and a very slim flexible vacuum attachment, or Fifth, which is the best method is taking apart the dryer internal ducting past the lint filter if you feel there is a lot of dust build up there that one cannot take out by the method above. Cleaning the blower wheel can be done at this time too.The dryer after blower internal ducting should be cleaned along with the connecting flexible hose and finally the fixed wall dryer ducting and outside vent annually.

I have this problem and have been looking for a container bucket that holds water to capture the lint. I had something like that in an electric dryer that was in the carport. I just dumped the bucket and wiped it out after each use.

IMO, it it a design flaw from the manufacture. I never had this problem with my last dryer which ran perfectly for 20+ years. I purchased a new one two years ago and sometime I have to check to see if someone as removed the internal filter. As the saying goes "they don't don't make them like they used to". Made in china.