Every other year we have a chimney sweep out to clean out fireplaces and flues. Our dryer vent comes from a laundry room located in the middle of our house. The vent goes up about 20 feet and exits thru the roof. The chimney sweep only charges an additional $30.00 to clean out the dryer vent as the same time.
It is amazing what can accumulate in a dryer vent!

dualref: That's a smart move. We're definitely going to pay to have our vent cleaned on a regular basis now. I'm guessing our Bosch will just error out anyway when it's really clogged up, though I know we'd have to clean it way before that "reminder".

I wonder if we should pay to have our regular heating and A/c ducts done now too...

Steve R

Amazing....and nasty, isn't it. As much as thing don't seem to be built as well as the used to, you've got to hand it to the Bosch/Siemens units for sensing and alerting you to the low air flow.
You should have kept the smarthome unit so you can do it every year yourself (saves in the long run). That's my plan, clean it every year for peak efficiency.

jreich: Rats... you're probably right about the Smarthome thing. I just was so frustrated that it didn't work that I returned it. I didn't know at the time I returned it that the reason it didn't work was tons of lint, and not a faulty duct.

Steve R

23 foot ducting run? I hope this wasn't new construction? That's an excessive distance by any means.

We had a repairman give us a great tip for cleaning out the dryer duct. He told us to remove the dryer hose and place a leaf blower up to the duct and turn it on. We were amazed at how much lint came flying out the other end!

We also had at least a 23 foot ducting run in our old home constructed in 1997 and probably about the same in our present home built in 1999.

oneplustwins: I tried it with a leaf blower, believe me! It did nothing. There was so much lint that it was totally clogged.

And 23 feet of duct? Yes, it runs under our kitchen floor to the outside. It's standard in this area.

Steve R

I wouldn't say so much it's standard, but how the contractor chose to do it. A twenty-five foot run is considered too long by all the manufacturers, and I believe it will probably void your dryer warranty. If you find you have no alternative and must use this long run, you should 1) use a rigid ducting to reduce resistance in the duct to a minimum and 2) check the pipe for accumulations of lint at least a few times a year.

The problem with the long runs of duct is if the clothes dryer does not have enough reserve fan power to blow the air through the duct, your clothes will take longer to dry, shortening the life of the clothes dryer due to longer cycles and higher internal temperatures.

Actually most manufacturers say the total length should not exceed a total of 60 feet straight vent and to reduce the lenght by 8 to 10 feet per elbow. You also should never use back to back elbows (2 elbows connected together)as this seriously impacts the airflow.
I checked the Bosch install manual online and they quote 66 feet of straight rigid vent.

Steve

Thanks for an excellent post with great pictures. If we get the error code we will know what to do.

Thanks again

Wayne

Good grief, how long is that rain gutter and hose extension? Could you just remove all that clutter and put a vent exiting directly where it comes out of the house?

Contrary to those recommendations, that's why there are so many problems and error codes with dryers these days. 60 foot is ridiculous even in a straight vent with no elbows. The blowers cannot move that volume of air. Shorter is better and any contractor that installs such a long dryer run is crazy. It's purely inefficient, results in extra costs, and clearly no need in existing nor modern residential construction. Prepare yourself for continual cleaning expenses over the long haul. Shorter is better.

fordtech: Just to clarify, the gutter and gutter extension is NOT for our dryer vent. That is simply a rain gutter of course.

rpsinfoman: The dryer is in the mudroom right next to our family room and connected to the garage. The duct runs from the back of the dryer, under the floor, right under our family room and directly outside, about 6 feet off the ground outside, so basically a straight 23 or so foot shot from the dryer itself. There is no other way or place for it to run, so I'm not sure how anyone else would have it done in my particular situation. It comes out above the basement and under the kitchen window:

It can't come out the front of the home...

The shortest distance it could vent out would be into the garage right next to the dryer, but this would send lint and dust all over this car. Not a good option either :o(

Steve R

Nice looking home! It's hard to say without seeing a floorplan. The mudroom should have an outside wall if it's adjunct to the attached garage. The flow is usually garage entry, mudroom/laundry off the entry, kitchen, then family room. Most installations I have seen are through the wall right in the mudroom to the rear of the house. Local or state building code supercedes manufacturers, and the universal mechanical code recommendations for dryer venting. Anyway, good luck with your equipment!

Nice to hear you got it working. I hope you end up liking your Bosch system as much as we do ours.

Merry Christmas Everybody !!

Thx folks. I LOVE our new Bosch machines now. The washer for some strange reason didn't drain out one day after the load was finished, so I just restarted it under the 8 min spin cycle and the water did drain out and the previously soaked clothes were spun dry.

Hasn't done that again since. I'll keep y'all informed. They sure are nice looking machines in vanilla white, too. I thought they would be drab but I actually like the white alot!

Steve R

stever500: I hope these electronic control systems in modern appliances are not crash-prone. Let's hope we don't have to reboot our washers. :-

Since you mention having your forced-air heating ducts cleaned, I would recommend it. You probably have A/C on there, which means usage almost all year. The reason I recommend you clean them is because of the dust, dirt, skin flakes, mold spores, hair, dander, candy wrappers and a number of other things that could be lost in there...recirculating through your entire house.

I'm touchy on this subject because I currently live in a 60 year old house that certainly wasn't meant to last this long. (Alaska's climate isn't delicate.) This place is packed with mold and mildew. (Our relief is that we're moving after the beginning of the year.) I'm grateful that this house doesn't have forced air heat because the mold and mildew would be out of control. I would nip it in the bud and keep it healthy. Besides, you can sell the house and say, "The vents are safe!"

I've actually been concerned about the dryer in this house (a rental house). It's from the 80's and, to my knowledge has never been cleaned. Fortunately, the duct goes from the dryer to a short flexible (plastic?) tube and right out the wall. This thing would be in dryer heaven if it could line up with the hole in the wall. It wouldn't have a single bend. (What also scares me is that the water heater is wedged in next to it, ready to ignite the dust.)

I have a feeling that vent build-up is overlooked by most of us. Congrats on getting it discovered!

Wow Steve, that was a lot of lint to find stuck in there.... kind of makes me wonder how long your drying times were previously with the old dryer that did run with the accumulation in place....

Your experience should be a good wake up call for all of us to be sure our ducting is cleaned out regularly.

I'd do those heat/air runs too... just think of all the dust and mites that blow around when either is running... you'r house is about 15 years old if I recall... could/should be a fair amount of build up in there by now!

So... inquiring minds want to know... now that all is running well.... do you like the bosch washer and dryer???? Do you think you would still buy them knowing what you know now?

Thanks braytonak and plumbly22 for the reminder to get my A/C - Heating ducts cleaned too. I think it's another $200 bucks or so to do that. With what you're saying about mold and mildew it probably would be a great idea. I'll make a note to call them soon! We have 4 cats so cat hair must be travelling heavily through these ducts. Here's our Egyptian Mau. He's not much of a shedder, though.

Our Tonkinese sheds a bit too. It all adds up!

And yes, I LUFF the Bosch equipment. I would buy this set again in a heartbeat. I don't even understand some of the wash and dry settings yet. We're just using it and trying this setting or that setting and doing it by trial and error. I scanned both booklets that come with the machines, but it's so involved and complicated that we really aren't into the total technical aspects of the cleaning. We just like to shove clothes in, set it for hot and away it goes.

The spin cycle is less dramatic and loud than our 19 year old Maytag was. As for the dryer, we just set it to very dry and take the stuff out and hang it 1/2 way through (the tee shirts, polo shirts, socks and gym shorts). Don't ask me why, we just do. :o)

All is well in Boschland with us now.

Peace out,
Steve R

off topic - with the pets, you will be amazed at what comes out of your heat/ac ducts. As a 3 cat, 2 double-coated dog household, we were freaked at the amount of hair that was sucked out of our ducts last year! Will be doint this at least every other year FOREVER to cut down on detrius that mold/mildew loves here in the humid Southland! DH actually breathes better since getting this done - I guess I am immune but it is nice for him not to be clogged & snuffling like Felix from "The Odd Couple" - LOL!

Steve-
OT, but I hope that outside picture of your house wasn't taken in the last week b/c if it was - I'm jealous of all the snow! I live in MI and EXPECT to have snow at Christmas - not even a flake here this year and none forcasted in the next week either! Boo hoo!

No, that snow is actually not from this year. I really love a big snow, but it's a pain in the a** as it takes forever for the plows to do our street. This last big snow it took 3 days to get plowed out! Glad we had lots of canned food.

I am definitely going to get our ducts cleaned now for the whole house. 20 years of having 2-4 cats and never having any duct cleaning was probably not such a great idea.

Steve R

We moved into a home less than 9 years old and had the ducts cleaned. Out came mess you would never have believed. Construction debris (sawdust, bits of broken boards and moulding scraps) and contstruction garabage (cups, cigarette wrappings, plastic, candywrappers)and then the lint....We filled a huge bag. They blew out every interior ducts plus the laundry duct (it only ran about 8 to 10 feet to the ouside). It only goes to show you even in a relatively new home, the gunk inside the ducts you never ever see.

Our four cats will roost (one at a time) on our Bosch dryer after it has been used. It is almost as popular as the warm hood of our most recently driven vehicle.