Building a Home Home Repair Laundry Room

hot laundry room in Florida

last year

I included pictures of how the room looked when we bought it and what it looks like now below.

We have a laundry room in our converted car port that has killed two new dryers in four years. It’s a tiny room, full sized washer/dryer and before we buy a third , I’m thinking that maybe it gets too hot in there? The dryer is vented out the side of the wall and another vent that she ems to have no purpose. The walls should be insulated , idk what to do at this point.

I’ve considered taking the door off and putting a beaded curtain for airflow? The door opens up to the lanai

Featured Answer

dadoes

last year

"Erica C: We have a laundry room in our converted car port that has killed two new dryers in four years."

Killed in what way? Insufficient airflow can be a factor in premature failure of thermal safety devices (the parts can easily be replaced, the dryer doesn't need to be trashed) but ambient heat (or cold) shouldn't directly be a factor. My family (parents) had the washer and dryer in the garage at our 1964 house. The original dryer was a 1965 model that was replaced in 1977 to update to a larger-capacity model, not because it failed. We moved to another house in 1983 which also has the laundry in an outdoor room adjacent to the carport. It ran until replaced in 1994 when the washer failed. The subsequent machines also had no failures related to location.

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Comments (14)

apple_pie_order
last year
Have you asked your repair technician what they think is happening?

To check out the temperatures:

Buy a thermometer that measures minimum and maximum temperatures. Also buy a min/max humidity gauge. See what happens over the course of a week.
cat_ky
last year
last modified: last year
Have you tried running a dehumidifier in there. I notice the bottom of the machine on the right, looks like it has been subjected to extreme moisture. If there is an outside wall, I would also put another vent in there. Or even a ceiling vent, if that is possible. I most certainly would never remove the door and end up with critters in there.
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chispa
last year
I googled and these opinions came up ...

https://www.reddit.com/r/BigIsland/comments/1d661q6/recommendations_for_outdoor_washer_dryer/

I don't think you are going to get W/D that lasts in the FL heat/humidity. The real issue is the humidity. Many of the outdoor W/D write-ups are for people that live in southern CA, where there is low humidity.

Look for outdoor rated machines with the least amount of electronics.
ci_lantro
last year
Agree with Dadoes. Insufficient air flow is the likely cause. The unfinished before laundry was leaky.

The dryer is vented out the side of the wall and another vent that she ems to have no purpose.

If there was originally a gas water heater or gas dryer, vent was for combustion air. Probably undersized for the volume of air that a vented dryer consumes.

Now that you have insulated and made the room more airtight, I would replace the door with a louvered/ half louvered one. Or cut a vent in the wall. Finish with HVAC vent covers or vents like what are used for attics/ gable vents.

Repair the dryer or replace with a secondhand old school Whirlpool dryer and learn how to repair it. No fancy electronics, very simple machine, very easy to repair/ rebuild, will run next to forever.
apple_pie_order
last year
You can download the installation manual for the dryer from the manufacturer's website. It will show what the required ventilation is.
Erica C
Original Author
last year
Excellent feedback everyone thank you very much. I am working on a solution this week. The size r. The size the vent
w0lley32
last year
Did you check the wall discharge vent for blockage? Even though the dryer has a lint filter, it is not 100% efficient and over the years the conduit slowly gets blocked with lint. When is the last time it was cleaned?

As others have pointed out, the major cause of failure of dryers is insufficient airflow through the discharge vent. The dryer's blower is also used to cool down the appliance, and if there is insufficient airflow down the conduit line, it creates a back pressure that prevents the dryer from evacuating the heat and moisture properly.

And usually what fails is a temperature limit switch, which is fairly easy to replace.
User
last year
Just a thought: would a dehumidifier make a difference for the short-term?
w0lley32
last year
A dehumidifier wouldn't help at all. It's more than likely not the room that's too hot for the dryer, it's the dryer that's overheating due to a partially blocked exhaust vent. Before I do anything else, I would make sure the dryer exhausts to the outside through a conduit with a minimum diameter of 4 inches. If it's already the case, and it has been there for many years, I would buy a dryer vent cleaning kit such as this one and clean the vent thoroughly. You will be amazed at how much lint collects inside the conduit over the years.
PRO
Charles Ross Homes
last year
I suspect the longevity (or lack thereof) of your dryer is being affected by the amount of air flow and/or the properties of the air (i.e., relative humidity and salt content.) If you intend to run the dryer with the door to the laundry room closed, make sure there is a vent opening in the exterior wall that allows air to easily enter when the dryer is operating. Not much you can do about the salt content if you're near the coast. If you want to eliminate the problems, I suggest you condition the Laundry Room space and install a heat pump clothes dryer.
PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
last year
I thought this would be a discussion about color selection.
woodbutcher_ca
last year
Hi, Maybe leave the red door open when running the dryer.

Good Luck, Woodbutcher
ci_lantro
last year
Just a thought: would a dehumidifier make a difference for the short-term?

No.

Your dryer is essentially an exhaust fan that removes air from the room at the rate of 150-200 cubic feet per minute. Assume a laundry room that measures 10x10x8. 800 total cu ft. The dryer will remove all that dehumidified air in the first 5 minutes or so of the cycle.

Short term solution is to leave the red door open.