What do you need in winter? Heat and humidification. Disconnect the dryer vent in the winter and let the heat and moisture stay inside. Smells nice too.
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I love this idea! However, I do have a question about mold. Have you noticed any such results?
Thanks kindly,
RoseAnne
This is not a good idea. You run the danger of having far too much moisture and creating a mold problem.
Hi RoseAnne and Louise, I have not had any mold problems from doing this. I only do it in the winter. My house is so dry in the winter that I have to use humidifiers anyway. I live in Massachusetts. If your dryer is in a laundry room just leave the door to the rest of the house open. If your dryer is in a very small basement just leave the basement door open while the dryer is on. You can buy a humidity meter for less than 5 dollars to keep track of the level.
You can estimate the amount of water in your laundry by weighing it. One pint of water weighs one pound. So, for example, if your laundry weighs 8 pounds, you should expect roughly 4 quarts of moisture, or one gallon. That is about what some bedside humidifiers hold to get through the night, just in one bedroom. Also, mold requires a steady source of moisture rather than an intermittent source. Note, I only use non toxic laundry detergent. You could add some mold adverse fragrances to the washer like using a bit of Dr. Bronner's organic lavender liquid soap, or eucalyptus.
Watch out for lavender scented detergents because they may contain chemicals you don't want in the air. You can also make your own dryer sheets by adding a few drops of organic essential lavender oil to a washcloth. Plants love the moisture too. Give it a try and let us know if it works for you.
What about the dust from the excess lint the filter doesn't catch? Does your house get a lot of dust?
Hi t4louise51,
I empty the lint filter before each load. I haven't had any problems yet. With the vent pipe removed I don't have to check for buildup in it that might cause a fire. That's a plus. I think if you wanted to make sure excess lint did not escape into the room you could fashion a kind bubble like filter out of screening material that you could wedge between the back of the dryer and the wall. Otherwise you could expect as much escape lint as you find outside on the ground below the dryer vent hole.
I reattach the vent pipe in the summer and I only find lint outside if I've been lazy about cleaning the filter. I just pull the filter out and scoop the lint off by hand, nothing special. I mean I don't thoroughly clean the filter each time with a brush or anything. Also, I just detach the dryer end of the vent pipe, and let the pipe just hang out behind the machine until summertime. I don't detach it from the wall vent. So it's easy enough to try it out if you do that.
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