Use the hot air exhaust from your electric clothes dryer is like using three space heaters without any extra cost. As an added bonus for dry climates you get a humidifier! Plus another hidden bonus – your dryer will use less energy to heat the air it takes in if its already warmed! After all, why waste dryer exhaust heat by venting it outside?

Electric dryers use 5,000 watts of electricity – that’s about the same as three space heaters. Numerous cheap ($10) and simple products exist that make it super simple to divert your clothes dryer vent heat inside your house rather than outside.

Some make it a snap to flip a switch so you don’t heat your house when it’s warm out through some sort of diverter. Most offer some degree of additional lint filtering in the form of a mesh screen or panty hose stocking. The model I use (pictured left) uses a tray of water to collect finer particles of lint (it’s the only one with a water+screen filter and is the most expensive; I would avoid the Heat Saver Tee they sell since it tends to leak a ton of heat which is inefficient in the summer). If the one you choose doesn’t have a filter (and it should) you can attach a panty hose or vacuum cleaner bag to catch the small stuff. In any case, it’s essential to keep these traps clean to prevent fire.

But this technique isn’t for all homes: don’t use this with gas dryers (carbon monoxide in the vented air); the exhaust air is wet, so don’t use in poorly ventilated, wet or closed spaces (could result in mold); the air will smell like the fabric softner or other things in the dryer (Trader Joe’s makes nice lavender dryer bags).

Check out the inline diverters from Ace. Dundas Jafine makes the inline and end style.

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