Installing a Dryer Heat Deflector

Dryer Heat Deflector

I saw this little device at an appliance parts store and couldn't resist picking it up. I figured anything to add some more heat and humidity to a dry, cold house. The dryer heat deflector installs between two dryer vent lines. This one came with a small, screen filter. I'm a little worried that the screen filter won't be enough to deal with all the lint that comes out of the dryer. But we'll give it a shot anyway. The deflector has a little flap that deflects the hot, humid air coming out of the dryer back into the interior of your house. I wouldn't use it in the summertime but, in the dead of winter, it may not be a bad idea.

Preparing to install

First, disconnect the dryer vent hose from the bottom of the dryer. I didn't want to mess with disconnecting the top of the vent hose because it would too much of a pain in the neck to deal with in winter. Cold air would just start rushing in the house. I took a phillips screwdriver and loosened the hose clamp.

Connect vent hose to deflector

Using the metal clamp that I took off of the bottom of the hose, I connected the hose to the deflector.

Connect 2nd vent hose to deflector

At this point, I was out of metal clamps so I tried the plastic tie-downs that were included with the deflector. The tie-downs broke almost immediately, so I had to run out to the hardware and get 2 more metal clamps. Do yourself a favor and buy 2 metal clamps if you pick a deflector up. The plastic tie-downs were worthless.

Dryer connection

I connected the second vent hose to the bottom of the dryer. Ignore the extension cord here. I just don't have an outlet nearby for a dehumidifier in the stairwell.

Finished product

I didn't want to buy two short dryer vent hoses so I propped the deflector on the top of the dryer so that it wouldn't hang to the ground with all the slack I had. I'm interested to try this out and see how it works. Stay tuned for final report.

This contraption throws out a lot of humidity and heat. Humidity levels in the same room went up 30% in about 30 minutes. Great in winter but don't use in the summer. Luckily, you can switch the deflector off so that the dryer exhaust passes outside. The screen filter works great at keeping lint out of your home as well.