I just moved in to a new apt with a washer and dryer. I noticed that everytime my next door neighbor turns on his dryer the gas that it emitts enters my apt through my dryer. My guess is that our vent is connected and clogged. He says the same thing happens when mine is on. What kind of gas is emitted from a dryer? Is it harmful or even deadly? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
2007-09-17 14:03:21 · 19 answers · asked by Wholesale F 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
I live in a three floor newly constructed apartment building in NY. There are twelve apartments each with their own washer and dryer. Where can the exhaust lead and where can it be clogged?
2007-09-17 16:03:42 · update #1
if u are renting it's the landlord's problem to fix. Else work with your neighbor to split the cost of fixing it. Call a licensed contractor.
2007-09-22 13:38:31 · answer #1 · answered by realme 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your dryers are working correctly they should be burning this natural gas off, your going to get some smell of heat and the clothes being dried but, you shouldn't be getting any "gas" from this. If you are, you have a problem.
Call the maintenance department of the building or the landlord, let him know. The dryer vents will have to be cleaned and your dryer will have to be checked. If your wrong and it's just dryer fumes and not harmful, you could be charged with the cleaning bill.
We've run into these problems with tenants before. The fumes from dryers are all the same, if every things working O.K. there's nothing that can be done. You will have to put up with it or move.
2007-09-18 01:26:47 · answer #2 · answered by cowboydoc 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, it's not deadly, but it's not the greatest thing in the world to smell or breathe. It also contains a lot of moisture, so can eventually contribute to mold/mildew. The lint that the vent blows out eventually congeals into a goopy mess below the vent too, leaving a nice mess to clean up.
You do want to get that vent run unclogged. As you said you are in an apartment, I would think that you could call maintenance. If you don't want to wait for them, you can pull the dryer away from the wall and clean the pipe by hand. Just be aware of possibly sharp edges if the duct is metal.
Remember, too, clogged dryer vents are fire hazards. Don't put this off too long!
2007-09-17 14:14:05 · answer #3 · answered by Sim - plicimus 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If it is an electric dryer, no problem. If it is a Gas dryer, it contains Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen and water vapour tiny problem. If the gas dryer is FAULTY, it could be emitting carbo MONOXIDE, and various nitrogen oxides. VERY BIG PROBLEM! Evan if it is an elecric dryer, the vent gases are humid, and hot. not what you want in your apt.! most likely, the vent is clogged with lint. The biggest threat this poses is a fire hazard. Your landlord probably has a tool for cleaning this it looks like a soft, giant toilet bowl brush on a stiff handle. Just shove it through the vent and remove all the lint!
The vent will take nearly the shortest way out. It is unlikey that it goes up to the roof, probably just straight out side.
2007-09-17 14:15:05 · answer #4 · answered by john the engineer 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If it's a gas dryer, it's natural gas (you know, from the gas company). Natural gas isn't harmful to breathe in low concentrations. In high concentrations, though, it displaces oxygen. It's also highly explosive if it reaches a high enough concentration.
In it's natural state, natural gas is completely odorless. So, they add a sulfur kind of sweet/stinky smell to it, so you can readily identify whether you have a gas leak.
What you are smelling is probably the exhausted gas from the burner. If your dryer vent is clogged in a common point to the neighbor's dryer vent (after where they both connect to a common vent duct), the exhaust from each dryer will have no where to go except to the other person's dryer.
A clogged dryer vent is a definite fire hazard. The owner of the building should be notified so they can get the obstruction cleared out.
2007-09-17 14:18:08 · answer #5 · answered by Paul in San Diego 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
What comes out of the vent is a mixture of heated air and steam from the water cooked out of the wet clothes.
My dryer is electric so gas is not an issue here. If you smell gas call the gas company in case it is anything serious. They find it quicker to respond and fix a problem than to spend the next week talking to reporters over whether they permitted a gas leak to explode your house.
2007-09-17 14:16:54 · answer #6 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gas dryers vent carbon monoxide . Deadly!! Get that vent cleaned out before winter when you close up the place.
2007-09-24 18:47:26 · answer #7 · answered by Mogollon Dude 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hes right 99 percent of the time its the electronic ignite, then its the safety switch on your dryer door after that its the gas valve itself, if you replace any of it be sure to clean out any lint with in the dryer, if its getting to hot no matter what you do it wont last long,
2016-05-17 09:16:23 · answer #8 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be. Get your dryers and vents inspected. If you in fact use gas for your dryers, you both could have a problem, either with the gas itself or with a fire hazard.
2007-09-17 14:10:30 · answer #9 · answered by Tigger 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
there shouldnt be any gas coming out of the venting but a lot of humidity and lint unless its totally clogged. then you need to call the landlord or who ever is in charge of maintenance. you could have a fire.
2007-09-23 11:35:38 · answer #10 · answered by Aloha_Ann 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋