Carbon Monoxide question, cannot find answer.

[Paper Roses]

I have Carbon Monoxide detectors in the house and I check them with regularity.
My question is about my electric dryer.

Since we have had so much snow, the drifts have covered the dryer vent by about 2 feet. This is an electric dryer. Is there any danger in operating this dryer, running it for a while so that it will melt the drift and I can dry me clothes?
I Googled and could not find a real answer except in regard to gas dryers.

Do I dare?

[Brickbat]

1. There's no combustion with your electric dryer.

Therefore, no carbon monoxide.

Still, it would be better to shovel out the vent so it doesn't overheat or freeze shut.

[snooper2]

2. Only if you want to burn the motor out...Vent is there for a couple reasons

Get outside and take 14 seconds to move the snow it's good for you...


Use it or Lose it!

[jberryhill]

3. Coupla things....

Gas dryers generate heat by burning fuel, hence the combustion products including CO.

Electric dryers do not generate heat by burning fuel.

However, if the dryer is not properly vented, it may overheat. If it is properly designed and functioning, it should shut down if it overheats. Otherwise, you will be back to generating combustion products as your dryer and its contents catch fire.

[HappyMe]

4. Any kind of vent should be shoveled out.

Doesn't matter if it's an electric dryer. You could fry the dryer when it's not vented properly.

[Paper Roses]

5. Thanks for your advice. My problem is a wide 5 foot drift between my door and the vent.

It is about a 12 foot shovel job through this drift to get to the area where the drift is lower. Rather than run the risk of burning out the dryer, I guess I'll get out the old clothes rack and drape the wash over the rack and on the radiators. Thanks for the advice.
This old lady cannot shovel any more. I'm not lazy, I just cannot do it myself.

Another storm due here within 2 days so I wanted to get sat least one load done.
Got to love winter in New England. We're not used to all these back-to-back storms.!

[HappyMe]

8. I hope you have somebody that can shovel out

your furnace vents. This is VERY important.

[hfojvt]

10. you don't have to shovel TO the vent

just wade through the snow to the area you need to clear out.

I have an indoor clothesline that I made from some cheap rope. It's slow, but it works.

[MADem]

6. I have a solution for you, so you can use your dryer.

Disconnect the dryer venting hose from the vent. Take some sort of thin material that air can pass through (say, an old pair of panty hose) and put that over the end of the dryer venting hose--tape it in place with a bit of duct tape. Vent the dryer into the room, the panty hose will catch the stray lint, and you're good to go.

There is a box that you can buy at the hardware store that does this same thing--in essence, vents into the room. These are common in areas where people cannot vent their dryers to the outdoors--the other upside is that the dryer heat is expelled into the house and lowers the heating bill. While the steamy clothes are drying, you get a little moisture in the air as well.

In sum, the answer is simple--vent INSIDE, not out.

This is not a good idea for gas dryers....this advice is for electric only.

If you want to buy the little box (all it is, is a plastic box with screening on one end) you can find them at Ace Hardware or other stores--but they aren't really necessary. They just look nicer!

Here's one for sale at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dundas-Jafine-CHK100ZW-Keeper-Clamps/dp/B00004YWK2/ref=pd_sim_hi_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1E8VAH7JS75G2NV4FKD1

If you google "indoor dryer vent kit" you'll see others, but you can do this with just a bit of thin material that the air can pass through easily.

Enjoy your dryer and the bit of moisture the dryer will put into the air!

FWIW, I am not just talking out my butt, here, I have one of those dryer vent kits at my vacay shack in N. Maine--they work just fine. There's no exterior venting of the dryer up there for the same reason--snow, snow, and more snow--I'd have to vent out the roof...and even then there could be blockage, depending!!!

[Paper Roses]

9. Hi MADem, we're in the same neck of the woods. Got to love MA in the winter.

Great, isn't it!
Phooey. This old timer used to be able to cope with snow but somehow, my age has gotten the best of me.
I am going to find some old pantyhose, detach the vent hose inside and give it a try. I'll probably scare the heck out of myself but --nothing ventured--etc. Thanks

[MADem]

11. You'll get some nice steam initially--and it'll smell nice if you use a dryer sheet!

It works well to put a bit of moisture in your dry house air--like a teakettle on the boil for a bit. As the clothes dry, you of course will get less steam.

I'm a veteran of hundreds of dryer loads done by this method in a shack in northern Maine--it works great--turns your dryer into an auxiliary heater for a bit, and a mini-humidifier! Don't be scared--you might find you like the extra bit of moisture/heat!

I can relate to the "age creep" business--thing is, there are codgers older than me under this roof (we're multi-generational, here) so I can't catch a break--I suppose it stops me from rusting if I'm forced to move, heh heh!!! I got me some shoveling to do today--I was out with the snowblower last night, but there are spots that thing can't reach... UGH.


Stay warm and safe! Enjoy those clothes hot outta the dryer!!!

[DetlefK]

7. He could produce a little bit of carbon monoxide.

Carbon monoxide comes to be when something burns without enough oxygen.

If there's a hot surface covered in something containing carbon (grease, oil, some kinds of dust), then that dirt can brun away, leaving a particular odor. I guess, it would also produce carbon monoxide, but not in an unhealthy level. I don't know if it would set off the alarm though.