Dryer Venting Into The Attic

If y'all take converted your attic into a bedroom or amusement space, y'all wouldn’t dream of venting your dryer into it. But what if the attic is unused or used exclusively for storing those items that yous draw out one time a twelvemonth, if ever? Sometimes, our attics aren’t fifty-fifty technically a office of the edifice envelope because they aren’t insulated or air-tight.

On the surface, this tin can look similar an statement in favor of venting a dryer into the attic. However, such a exercise can cease upward causing yous endless troubles inwards many unlike forms.

Venting a dryer into the attic is an dangerous practice. The moist dryer air can cause structural harm, electric damage, the increment of mold in addition to bacteria, and Pb to the infestation of disease-carrying rodents. Dryer exhaust besides contains harmful gases. Lint can build upwardly, in addition to this is a fire chance.

Venting a Dryer Into the Attic is Unsafe

There are a wide array of issues with venting a dryer into the attic, which is why the International Residential Code (IRC) doesn’t allow it.

Dryer exhaust carries moisture, lint, dirt, debris, too even harmful gases together with chemicals similar carbon monoxide too benzyl acetate. All of these introduce potential problems specially when vented into a confined expanse similar an attic.

Water-Related Structural Damage

Structural impairment is a potential job with venting your dryer into the attic. The air that dryer vents carry is laden amongst the water removed from clothing. If the air is freely released into the attic, and then this moisture would live free to interact with an bear on whatsoever is inward the attic.

All the cardboard boxes that yous store upwards there besides every bit their contents would live a corking run a risk of H2O damage too decay. But this is the best-example scenario.

Over time, this water tin likewise movement swelling together with rot in the attic framing, the floor of the attic (which just and so happens to be the ceiling of the rooms below), insulation, etc. The effect of this is a structurally unsound home.

CO in Insulated Attics is a Health Risk

Another major business with venting a dryer, specifically a gas dryer, directly into an attic is the emission of carbon monoxide. As an odorless fume, carbon monoxide would place a existent threat to those living inward the dwelling house.

Carbon monoxide poisoning tin can movement flu- or cold-like symptoms inward the early stages. Left unnoticed and unchecked, it has the potential to be lethal.

illustration of Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

The risk associated amongst carbon monoxide construct-upwards will live higher inward insulated attics that are air-tight. This is not to say that uninsulated attics will live fine. Your attic volition never be every bit ventilated every bit the outdoors, which is the solely “rubber” place to vent carbon monoxide-containing air.

Electric dryers are not “safer” to vent indoors. There are all the same chemicals like benzyl acetate that are released past drying sheets, which tin negatively touch your wellness.

Lint Building upward inward Hot Attic Can Start Fires

Dryers are a burn risk. This is mainly because they combine heat alongside lint. To this, electric dryers add high voltages, together with gas dryers add open up flames. When you think most it, dryers are actually terrifying appliances inwards this respect.

Lint is just strands too fragments that break off of your dress every bit they are subjected to the rut in addition to tumbling activeness of your dryer. Sounds harmless plenty, merely lint manages to have all the attributes required to make it extremely flammable.

I ever call up reading inward my high school chemical science book that airborne flour particles are explosive, and then flour mills are really really dangerous places to operate. Lint seems to be cutting from the same material (pardon the pun). It is seemingly harmless, only actually really hazardous.

No, imagine you lot are venting your dryer into the attic. The exhaust will definitely comprise lint particles. One or two of these are not probable to live a job, but they will make upward over time.

The air exhausted from dryers is hot. Is it hot enough to campaign lint to ignite? Possibly. However, add together to that the estrus that naturally builds up inwards an attic and you accept got yourself a job.

Even winter tin can increase the fire hazard of a dryer exhausting into the attic. Uninsulated attics go common cold in the winter months. The warm, moist air that gets exhausted into it will commence to condense and make H2O droplets. These water droplets volition grab lint as well as create blockages inward the ducts.

These blockages will campaign rut to build up inwards the dryer. It volition as well increment the oestrus generated past the dryer as the blower motor works harder to exhaust the air.

In these cases, you lot are looking at the potential of a fire breaking out in your ducting. This is as well the reason why dryer ducts are supposed to be independent of other ventilation systems.

Moisture and Wiring Are a Dangerous Mix

Along alongside lint, the wet too exposed wiring in your attic could likewise be some other potential burn source. Water that gets into wiring tin speed upwardly the electric current inwards a circuit. When this happens, the outcome is a brusk circuit as well as a blown fuse or tripped circuit breaker.

However, if a fuse is not acquaint or at that place is an consequence alongside the breaker, the curt circuit will go along to operate as well as heat upwardly as well as the potential for a burn down is really high.

Fire take a chance aside, moisture getting into whatever exposed wiring is not something yous desire to deal with. If water gets into the wiring, in that location’second a adept take a chance that it volition eventually rust. As alongside whatsoever metal surface, rust on copper wiring is a problem and volition consequence in the wiring needing replacement.

Heat as well as Humidity Are Attractive to Creatures

An attic without a dryer venting into it is already an ideal place for a multitude of critters to phone call dwelling house. An attic full of hot, humid air is fifty-fifty amend.

Some of the biggest culprits to brand a habitation out of your attic are roof rats, mice, too termites. While others could notice their mode inward, these are amid the almost troubling.

While venting a dryer into your attic will already crusade the rotting of forest, termites volition exclusively further this problem. And like the rot, they are capable of spreading throughout the whole house.

Roof rats together with mice introduce a like problem except they tend to chew on more than than only forest. These creatures will not only ruin woods structures just tin can besides sink their teeth into wires, insulation, and ductwork. And, of form, you’ll live left alongside their feces and urine too.

This is non only unpleasant. It tin live harmful to your family, carrying affliction too bacteria.

Bacteria too Mold Can Grow

One of the starting time issues you lot’ll detect with venting your dryer into an attic is the bacteria too mold increase that springs upwardly. In such a tight, insulated area this volition pass rather quickly.

This will impact the rest of your dwelling too the wellness of those living there. The character of air volition live compromised too tin can even lead to respiratory infections as well as other health issues if left unchecked.

Ridding an attic of bacteria in addition to mold growth is also non the easiest chore. Oftentimes this takes exceptional equipment together with tin ask the services of professionals depending on the severity.

Non-Safety-Related Issues

You have asked if venting dryers into attics is a safe do too I intend by instantly y'all are convinced that it surely is not. But there are likewise roughly non-condom-related issues associated with this practise.

These issues won’t compromise your wellness or the structural integrity of your dwelling house, but they will sure as shooting position a strain on your pocketbook too your peace of mind.

Air Trapped in Attic Affects Whole House

Beyond the bacteria together with mold spores, which tin can spread throughout the family, the construct-upwards of hot air inwards the attic as well makes the HVAC arrangement run harder.

The hot attic volition increase temperatures inward the rooms too spaces below together with will change the catamenia of air throughout your home. In reply, your hapless HVAC organization volition live straining to endeavour in addition to take residuum as well as reach the preset levels that it is programmed to reach.

Your household is unlikely to be kept consistently inward the country you desire it in for comfort as well as your utility bills will be much higher.

Against the Building Code

Section M1502.2 of the IRC states:

“Dryer exhaust systems … shall convey the moisture to the outdoors.”

The alone exception to this requirement is if yous were to have a ventless dryer. Otherwise, all vented models must fire exhaust vents outside equally is reiterated inward Section M1502.three:

“Exhaust ducts shall dismiss on the outside of the building.”

Given all of the issues discussed amongst venting into the attic, this requirement is reasonable.

Difficulty inwards Selling Your House

If your dryer vents into your attic, you’ll most likely have difficulty selling your habitation.

difficult and frustrated selling the house

Firstly, the potential buyers will wonder where else y'all accept contravened the building codes as well as the potential problems this volition movement them downwards the route.

Secondly, they volition worry most what form of damage has been done by venting the dryer into the attic. They would be able to see or so of the impairment, only rotten timber is non ever tardily to topographic point, especially if it is covered with a fresh coat of pigment.

Thirdly, they volition consider the toll of having to right the violation.

You tin can sell a domicile that violates edifice regulations if you lot do 1 of the following:

Fix the violation together with whatever impairment that it has caused.
Lower the selling cost or offering the abode “every bit is” for cash value.

Depending on how long your dryer has vented into the attic, each choice has its pros too cons that volition demand to live considered depending on your state of affairs.

However, if you desire the full request price for your holding, yous’ll near probable involve to take the dryer’sec ventilation upwards to code too fix whatsoever other issues that came along amongst the violation.

Voiding Insurance

Insurance companies reserve the right to void your insurance policy if they feel that in that location’s an strange issue of claims or in that location were undocumented changes to the property. These are the ii nearly probable outcomes inwards the state of affairs of a dryer venting to the attic.

Depending on the severity, multiple rooms could live affected by the problems with venting into an attic. Insurance companies could sentiment this as fraudulent action. Not because the claims are fraudulent themselves simply because of the number of claims inwards a certain sum of time.

Also, if you lot bought your home and and then decided to vent the dryer into the attic, this volition nigh probable not be covered. Insurance companies would not allow this to live done every bit it violates code and, so, would’ve been done off the record.

While venting into the attic is a terrible thought, venting through it can be a groovy one.