Clothes dryer vent

**1100011CS** · 06-10-2011, 09:29 AM

Would it be a fire hazard (or some other hazard) to run my dryer vent out through the vent from my water heater? That is, 'T' the dryer vent duct into the water heater duct. The water heater duct is smaller so I'm thinking this would be a bad idea but it would make things a lot easier since the water heater is right next to my dryer and the previous owner have my dryer vent running out through my garage.

**bos** · 06-10-2011, 09:31 AM

Does a water heater ever pull any air back in for anything? I know dryers throw some lint with the air so if it would get sucked back in that could be bad.

**SuperCy** · 06-10-2011, 09:46 AM

The geniuses that put my central A/C in a few years ago put the unit about a foot from the dryer vent. Now, the A/C gets completely plugged up more than it should and I need to pull the cover off to clean it. Those things throw out more lint than what you'd expect.

**JP4CY** · 06-10-2011, 09:56 AM

If it is a gas water heater it might be. Lint is flammable.

**c.y.c.l.o.n.e.s** · 06-10-2011, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by 1100011CS

Would it be a fire hazard (or some other hazard) to run my dryer vent out through the vent from my water heater? That is, 'T' the dryer vent duct into the water heater duct. The water heater duct is smaller so I'm thinking this would be a bad idea but it would make things a lot easier since the water heater is right next to my dryer and the previous owner have my dryer vent running out through my garage.

Seems like a really bad idea to me. It would be both a fire hazard and a CO gas hazard.

When the dryer is not running but the water heater is, the water heater would be forcing Carbon Monoxide into the dryer duct, which could leak into the house.

And... When the dryer is running but the water heater is not, lint would be forced down onto the water heater. Lint is one of the most flamable things in your home.

I would think that most places would have codes that prohibit any kind of modification to a gas vent.

**clone319** · 06-10-2011, 10:03 AM

Don't do it. Besides the fact that lint is flammable, i'm assuming the water heater vent is put together with zip screws. It is best not to use zip screws (or any type of screws for that matter) when running a dryer vent, the lint gets caught on the screws and builds up rather quickly. Run a seperate dryer vent. And this would be the least of your worries.

**Senolcyc** · 06-10-2011, 10:15 AM

Originally Posted by 1100011CS

Would it be a fire hazard (or some other hazard) to run my dryer vent out through the vent from my water heater? That is, 'T' the dryer vent duct into the water heater duct. The water heater duct is smaller so I'm thinking this would be a bad idea but it would make things a lot easier since the water heater is right next to my dryer and the previous owner have my dryer vent running out through my garage.

I won't pretend to be an expert, but it sounds like a bad idea and there's probably a reason (or many reasons) it isn't done this way. Dryer lint is very flammable, we know that. Don't mess with trouble if you don't have to. Probably violates code and would nullify your insurance if you did have a fire. Can't be enough of a reward to justify the risk.