advice on which tumble dryer to buy

[dbaplaya]

i need to buy a tumble dryer for the utility room. there is no direct ventilation holes for a pipe to go out but there is a switch operated vent axia fan on the other side of the room. which would be my best option, a condensing model or normal vented and just switch on the fan when the dryer is in use. also is the room likely to get very dusty as the dryer wont be vented via a pipe?

thanks

 

[foxhole]

I prefer a vented dryer myself but a condenser dryer is OK, if you have a convenient outside wall it's only a 10minute job to put a hole in for a vent.
How dusty things get depends on the quality of the dryer and if you clean the filters as often as is required.

 

[JohnD]

how does the extractor fan vent?

What is next to the room on each of its 4 sides, and what is above it?

why is this the best room to put it?i

even condensor driers emit quite a lot of steam, so the room will get damp and mouldy.

 

[dbaplaya]

fan is vented straight outside the back of the house. dryer needs to go in the utility room as the washer is in there, so they need to go together. cupboards are currently being built this week so i need to sort dryer out asap.

thanks

 

[JohnD]

do you mean that the utility room has an outside wall?

 

[dbaplaya]

yep, but the dryer backs onto the garage. i guess i could drill a hole into there. could i vent the dryer into the garage or would it need to go 'outside'?

 

[JohnD]

You have to vent it to the outside. Remember that a tumble drier has a 105mm flexible exhaust hose, which you can extend. Put the drier as close as you can to the outside wall to give you a short route..

If you vent it into the garage your car and tools will go rusty from the steam and will be covered with dust and fluff, and you will get mould from the damp.

You can hire a Core Drill

and a big SDS+ drill to drive it

from your local hire shop for half a day for about £35, it will make a neat round hole that the duct from a tumble-drier will fit through. It is quite easy in a typical brick/block wall (harder in stone or concrete)

Put a cowelled vent on the outside to keep dirt, weather and mice out.

If you are fond of DIY you can actually buy a cheap tool that will be handy in future
http://www.screwfix.com/cats/101377/Power-Tools/SDS-Drills?sortby=lowFirst

 

[TicklyT]

You could possibly extend the vent to the outside via the garage, but check the maximum vent pipe permissible for your choice of drier.
Rigid vent pipes, round or oblong, can usually be run longer distances than flexible ones, but the connection to the machine is invariably a flexible hose.

I would aim for a slight fall towards the outside for the pipe run so any condensation can escape, and bear in mind you may need to clear accumulated fluff etc. from pipe bends occasionally (Josiah Sodd the Elder's General Law Regarding the Cussedness of Nature states that if you plan for that eventuality you will never need to, but if you don't, you will).