I received the following query regarding whether a vented tumble dryer can be used without a vent hose.
“I have found your website a great help and between your advice and the ‘Which’ ratings I feel pretty confident on the washing machine I am going to buy. However, am planning to buy my first ever tumble dryer and do not feel so confident.
It is going to go in the double garage where there are no windows, 1 entry door at the back and 2 garage doors. I was planning to get a condenser tumble dryer but it seems all the advice about cost and reliability are pushing me to a vented one. My doubt is that do I have to get the vent hose going outside or will it be ok as it is in the garage? Your advice will be greatly appreciated.”
The dryer will work fine in without a vent hose if it’s free standing. This is evidenced by the fact that many vented dryers didn’t even used to come with a vent hose and you had to buy one as an optional extra.
The potential problems with not venting a vented dryer in a garage are condensation and black mould. My own dryer is a condenser dryer so it doesn’t need a venting hose but even so, we always open the small window behind it or we get bad condensation on our fridge and freezer when it’s cool or cold. If our dryer was a vented one and not properly vented this would be much worse.
A vented dryer, venting straight out into a room will obviously pump lots of hot moist air into it, if the room is cold you will get condensation on cold objects and can get mould growing on rubber or other surfaces. Another issue would be lots of dusty fluff would accumulate over time. As described above, even a condenser dryer leaks some moist warm air into the room but it won’t be as bad as a vented one.
NOTE: If a dryer is pushed underneath a worktop without a vent hose it may not be such a good idea as the hot air is likely to find it hard to escape. If using without a venting system it would really be necessary for the dryer to be free standing with plenty of airflow around and somewhere for the air to escape like close to a window, vent or door.
Siting a vented dryer in a garage is fairly common. If no window is available to hang a vent pipe out of and it’s not possible to vent through the garage walls it’s best to leave the garage door open when using if security isn’t an issue. Whether the lack of proper venting will cause any real problems depends on how large the garage is and whether there are many cold surfaces etc.
We have just returned from a holiday in France and had a great condenser tumble drier at the holiday home. It had a large water collection vessel that needed to be emptied after each cycle. It appeared to not need any venting at all and was highly effective and efficient.
We’re keen to see if we can get one but do not know if they are as a good as it seemed as we have read similar poor reviews on condenser driers.
Does anyone have any recommendations / comments – particualrly as we plan to house the drier in large kitchen.
Tom: This advice may be useful Tumble dryer buying advice
I would stick to AEG, John Lewis, Electrolux, Miele or Bosch brands.
Hi i have just bought a 3kg white knight vented dryer. It cam without a hose. So what i have done is put in in my pantry with its back to the window and the window is half open and i have left the door open. My question is will this cause mould or anything as the man who delivered it says it will be fine. Iam scared of it getting mouldy but i have used it already and so far nothing. am i safe to continue using this? I would appreciate it if u got back to me asap.
Thankyou Emma Deighan
Emma: If the walls are cold then it may cause condensation. The severity will depend on the temperature outside and it’s likely to be worse in winter.
If you have the window open it could prevent problems but it depends on several factors. If the dryer could be turned to face the window then more of the hot air could find its way outside but if not practical you’ll just need to monitor the situation.
If the walls starts getting wet you know you are likely to have issues.It may be OK, fingers crossed, black mould is likely to start slowly at first so keep an eye out for it.
I am experiencing condensation problems from a front vent dryer (White Knight). The kitchen gets steamed-up also the cupboard next to dyer. I am wondering whether it is possible to convert this to use a hose coming from the front of the dryer which I can put outside a window. There is no space at the rear to convert the dryer.
Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you.
Angela: You should be able to buy a venting kit specifically for your model which should fit over the door. Which model is it?
Sorry for not checking in for a while. Still not sorted the condensation problem. The front vent dryer model is a WK427. Please advise on the venting kit required to convert this dryer. You mentioned a kit that would fit over the door. Many thanks.
Lots of spares and accessories can be hard to get, especially if the models are a few years old. The best place to buy a venting kit for the WK427 is likely to be the manufacturer themselves – White Knight tumble dryer accessories
Related links:
Tumble dryer & Appliance spares & accessories (4Washerhelp Spares) | White Knight tumble dryer spares (4Washerhelp)
Many thanks. I’ll check the manufacturer’s site as per recommendations.
my Miele service engineer has just told me that using a condenser dryer in the garage is not good because they are affected by the cold/damp – is this true? it sounded like an excuse because the heater bank has needed replacing for the 2nd time in 6 months. The machine is 5 years old, has been in the garage for 4 years and has been OK up until now (just as the warranty runs out …).
Hello Rachel: Using any white goods appliance in a garage can be problematic, and is less than ideal for sure, but many thousands of people do. I have in my garage 2 upright freezers, one fridge, a washing machine and a condenser tumble dryer all of which appear to work ok.
However, during the recent extremely cold spell the water pipes to the washing machine did burst and the garage flooded. Also on our freezers the fronts often get a large wet patch of condensation as do the sides. I think this occurs when we use the washer and the tumble dryer if we don’t open the garage door to let air circulate.
I find it hard to imagine how being in a garage would cause a tumble dryer’s heater to fail. If it were mine I would want more details on exactly how it has caused the heater to fail rather than just a general, “they don’t like it in the garage” remark.
Here are some of my other articles that are relevant to appliances in garages
Many thanks – the repair was covered by warranty this time but I will certainly challenge further if it fails again. Much appreciate the advice.
Looking to purchase a tumble dryer to be used in my garage. I have heard that some do not work in cold conditions. Do you know of any that will work in really cold conditions.
The wall behind my washing machine is very wet. I have had all the plumbing replaced and there was not a problem. I have a condensor tumble dryer stacked on top. The wall behind this is dry but could this be causing the problem and if so what can I do about it.
I have, after many years, of just drying clothes in the garden, now decided to buy a Vented Hotpoint tumble dryer… and nearly ordered it before realising that the pipe may not comfortably go from my floor standing unit to the window above it. Now, I do have a window and a door in the utility room and the window is open always due to the boiler being the same room, I was wonder if the Universal Tumble Dryer Condenser kit does the job and saves me sticking a pipe out the window in the an awkward manner? Are these kits any good , has anyone used one sucessfully?
Helena: There may be some information to answer your question here – Why does my condenser tumble drier make the walls run with condensation?
S Shakil: If you mean those hoses that go into a plastic box I don’t rate them.
Hi, Do you know any makes of vented dryers that have the vent pipe that comes from the front. Where my new dryer will be going I need it in the front so I can put the hose out the back door?
Many thanks, Maureen.
You should still be able to buy front vented dryers but they aren’t easy to find, especially on the internet as searching for front vented dryers tends to bring up normal dryers because the search engines pick up on the word “venting”. They also seem to pick up on many tumble dryer pictures that have the word “front” in their description but only referring to the fact that it’s a picture of the front.
It might be better to ring companies and specifically ask for front vented dryers. Some may have options to vent at from or rear, or even one side but the majority are likely to vent only from the rear.
I have a good list of all sorts of retailers on Washerhelp, although on Washerhelp all these retailers sell all household appliances too. You can get phone numbers or search through their dryers using this link – Buy household appliances
Our vent pipe from our Tumble drier has quite a lot of water sitting in the bottom of the bend during use, and we have to lift it along the length and empty it in to a bowl, do you know why this is happening please? we put the end of the vent pipe out of an open window when drier is in use.
Terry
We are considering buying a dryer as we have a little baby and our mountain of clothes is ever expanding. We are thinking of putting it in the back garden and covering it with a tarpaulin. If we were to do this would it make sense to buy a vented one which is cheaper than the condenser?
we have inherited a 3yr old Bellers tumble dryer from the owners of the flat we have bought . It has been put in a cupboard in the hall. We couldn’t understand why the washing wasn’t drying. Is there any way we can get it to work without having to replace it with a condensor dryer.
I just purchase a home and discovered that the previous home owner did not run the dryer vent outside, but instead run it inside the wall. Can I put a socking on the end of the dryer holes? or What do I need to do?
Anonymous: The water is condensing in the vent hose. Try to make sure the hose doesn’t have any big bends, also make sure the hose is fitted to a proper vent grill with a cowling or shutters, which prevents the wind blowing fluff and the hot air back into the pipe.
Sharon Roberts: I wouldn’t do that. Outside is no place for domestic electrical appliances.There must be some room somewhere in the house for a small dryer. We used to have one in one of our bedrooms.
Melvin: Did the hose eventually go outside? Not sure exactly what you mean.
I have just moved house and have put my condensor dryer in the same cupboard as my electric meters. Is this safe?
Barbara: If it’s a large cupboard and it doesn’t create condensation on the walls or on the meter itself it shouldn’t be an issue. I would try to keep the door open when in use if it is creating condensation.
Hey I just moved into a house that does not have a dryer vent to hook up a dryer vent hose. I will be putting in a hole to hook it up and run it threw the crawl space. Until then is it ok to use my dryer for like 2 weeks til I get it all hooked up?
That’s what the article says amanda :)
Hiya, I have been handed a vent dryer by a friend, I’ve used it in my student house, where a window is available in good reach from the dryer, and everything was fine. I am now taking it home, but the window is beyond the dryer by kitchen counters/sinks etc. If finding a long enough pipe, would it still be okay for the vent pipe to be sitting outside a window? Is it okay to use still as long as the pipe is sitting outside the window? I don’t want it to create any damp/mould etc into my mums place?
I have had a Servis Tumble dryer for some 17 yrs now, have not been using it for the last 15 yrs. I have noticed recently that when I dry my clothes in-doors i.e, using a clothes horse that my clothes smell awful, so I have decided to use my tumble dryer again, the problem is that the hose at the back is damaged in several different places. Where my dryer is now located, in my kitchen, it is too far from my window & door. Have been reading online about which Venting Kit to get but the blogs that refer to using ICE has me stumped,when I was using my dryer before I never used ICE. Can you please explain why ICE is being used, thank you. Also could I use a large towel & wrap it around the hose of the dryer to stop the condensation & dust??,thanks.
Chelsea: As long as the pipe isn’t too long. If you have to make it too long it can become ineffective.
Chrisdina: Never heard of using ice, the pipe shouldn’t be blocked in any way or the hot air can’t escape and the dryer can overheat. If the hose won’t reach I would use it in a well ventilated area. Those devices you can buy to vent into aren’t much cop from what I’ve seen.
I need to buy a tumble dryer as I have not long had a baby and my washing pile is getting rediculous. It will need to go in my utility room but it has no heating there so is really cold during the winter. Venting is a bit of a problem too so do you think a condeser dryer will be ok to use without causing damp or mould?
Claire: Yes a condenser dryer will be much better than a vented dryer although it’s possible some condensation will still occur if the room is cold and has any cold surfaces such as tiles. For more information read this page – What’s the difference between a condenser tumble dryer and a vented tumble dryer?