A vented tumble dryer will work without a vent hose if it’s freestanding. However, a vented dryer, venting straight out into a room, will obviously pump lots of hot moist air into it. It will also pump out lots of small bits of fluff and lint. If the room is cold, you will get condensation on cold objects, and can get mould growing on rubber or other surfaces.
Using a vent hose on a vented tumble dryer may be inconvenient. Ideally it needs a hole knocking through an outside wall, or the hose at least needs pushing through an open window. This may sometimes be very difficult or even impossible. So, although, it is better to have one properly vented if possible you can use a dryer without one.
If fitted under a kitchen worktop it should be vented
As mentioned above, a tumble dryer running without a vent hose should be okay if the tumble dryer is freestanding. By that, I mean it is stood in a position where plenty of air can circulate all around it, and it is not boxed in. If a tumble dryer is pushed under the kitchen worktop, then it really needs to be vented.
At the very least, a vent hose should run so that the hot air vented from the dryer can exit into the room. You do not want a situation where the tumble dryer cannot suck in fresh air from the room, and cannot vent the hot steamy air into the room.
What about using an internal condenser vent hose kit?
If desperate, you could try one of those condenser vent hose kits which allow the end of the vent hose to go into a plastic container filled with water. However, my mother tried one once and it was useless. I’ve checked out reviews of them online and many people also report they are useless, but some have apparently reported they worked ok.
Summary
Vented tumble dryers ideally need to vent the hot, steamy and fluff-laden air directly outside using a properly installed venting kit. Alternatively, they need to be venting freely into a room. And ideally, which has an open window to help get rid of the hot and steamy air. A third option is to use a venting hose and place it through an open door or window to let the steam vent outside.
If it is not possible, or practical to do any of the above then as long as the dryer is not enclosed, and is, “free standing” then it should work okay just venting into a room.
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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?