Why does my dryer vent thru the roof?

This is a question that many Wesley Chapel, Land O Lakes, Odessa, New Tampa and Tampa area homeowners regularly as us. Fortunately, the question "Why does my dryer vent thru the roof" has a pretty straightforward answer.

Tampa, Florida roof dryer vent hood

For many Tampa, Florida area homes, venting the dryer thru the roof is the shortest route to the exterior of your home.

Depending on where your laundry room is located inside your home, venting your dryer straight up thru the roof is the shortest and most efficient path to the exterior. Not only does this allow laundry to dry faster, using less energy, but building code requires that residential dryer vent systems generally not exceed 25 feet without having a supplemental blower installed in the vent. To avoid this additional expense, most builders choose the shortest distance under 25 feet - which typically is straight up thru the roof.

In some cases, where the laundry room is located near or adjacent to an exterior wall, side-wall vents can be installed - creating a much shorter dryer vent system - and making it significantly easier for the average homeowner to inspect, clean and test it themselves. There are some disadvantages, of course, to side wall vent set-ups in Florida - one important disadvantage being that if a high-quality hood and backdraft damper is not installed, it is relatively easy for critters such as snakes, frogs and gecko's to crawl into the dryer vent fairly easily. This can be prevented by regularly inspecting the damper to ensure it properly closes after use.

Regardless of where your dryer vent system is set up to vent your dryers hot air, moisture and lint, we recommend having it regularly maintained to ensure that it is efficient and safe to operate per manufacturer specs and building code.

We proudly service the greater Tampa Bay region including Brandon, Valrico, Riverview, Temple Terrace, New Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills, Dade City, Land O Lakes, Lutz, Odessa, Trinity, New Port Richey, Brooksville, Spring Hill, Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor, Clearwater, Pinellas Park, Largo, St. Petersburg, South Tampa, Westchase, and surrounding areas.