If you are having a problem with clothes that have gone through a cycle in the dryer still being damp, it may be due to inefficient dryer vents.  These are long hoses that are designed to resist heat and moisture that is created from your dryer, and it will carry all this outside for you.  The longer the hose you have, the harder it is for it to be properly vented outside.  One way to prevent this problem is through power dryer vents.  These incorporate the use of an electric fan in the vent system to propel the air better.  This is a guide to installing power dryer vents on your own.

Items Needed:

• Crimping tool
• Foil tape
• metal vent sections
• tin snips
• drywall screws
• screwdriver
• electric drill
• measuring tape
• exhaust fan for dryer

First: Location

You will need to use the tape measure in order to find the spot that the fan should be installed.  It needs to be a minimum of 15 feet in from the place where the air is vented from the back of your dryer.  What this does is to ensure that there is no lint getting caught in the fan and causing problems.  This will keep you from having a fire in your home.  After you have made sure that you are past that measurement, then you can choose a place that will work best for attachment to install the fan.  One of the best places is anywhere that the wiring for the house is easily accessible and you have enough room to do the work to get it put in.  After you have chosen a place, you will find a joint in the vent hose and take off the tape or the screws that hold it in place then pull the two sections apart.

Second: Prepare Junction

There will be instructions from both the manufacturer as well as your local codes for  buildings that will tell you about a box or cable connector in your junction box that is located on your fan housing.

Third: Prepare Housing

You will need a joist available so that you an attach your plastic housing for the fan to it with the steel brackets.  The holes for these brackets will have to be drilled into the housing before you can do this.  If you are wanting to find the best place to drill the holes, you will need to put the housing in place and then make marks for the brackets.  This may require another person to help you hold it while you make the marks. When you begin drilling, you will want to use a drill bit that is 1/16 of an inch.

Fourth: Install

Take the drywall screws and use them to attach your brackets to your joist.  Make sure that the grommets stay in the correct position and attach your housing to your brackets.  The screws need to be driven all the way through your grommets.

Fifth: Cut Vents

After you have put the fan where it needs to be, you will attach it to the vent hose for the dryer.  Use your measuring tape so that you can measure from the connector on your  fan to the ends of the vent that you already have in place.  You will then add half an inch to the measurement.  With your tin snips, cut your sections of dryer vent hose to the proper length.  This is easier done when you have the seam open rather than closed.

Sixth: Assemble

Close off the seams on the vent hose that you have cut by simply pressing together the edges.  Use the crimping tool to make a crimp about every half inch around the ends of the hose.  Attach one end of the hose to the vent hose that is already in place, and the other to the fan connector.  Use the screws and your foil tape to make sure it is sealed and secure.

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