Recently bought my first house. Went to install my dryer and the duct has about 2 inches of lint all the way through it. There is about 60 feet of rigid and flex duct with a blower in the middle. My home inspector said the blowers are illegal due to the fire hazard. I want to avoid the fire hazard of the blower. At Home Depot I found a possible solution that is just 4 feet of flex duct that empties into a bucket that you put an inch of water into. However lint still goes everywhere and I’ve heard stories of the condensation caused by this causing mold. My dryer is located in the utility room in the basement and duct work runs along the ceiling and out the back of the house. There is no where else to move my dryer. What are your thoughts?
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<p>The dryer duct configuration you describe definitely sounds unsafe. Dryers should be ducted via the shortest distance possible and through rigid ducting, with as few turns as possible. Adding a booster fan is a possible solution but I’d make this a last resort. <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/Suncourt-4-in-Dryer-Booster-Kit-DRY04/203151203" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dryer duct booster fans</a> are specialized fans designed to turn on and off with the dryer itself. Ducting the vent into a pail of water is not a solution as the heat and humidity will be uncomfortable at best, and can also raise your energy bills and allow mold to grow. Given everything you said, I’d look for another location for the washer and dryer. Keep in mind that full sized-machines can also be stacked with the dryer placed on top of the washer to save space.</p>
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