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The louvers on my original (20 year old) outdoor dryer vent have practically seized up and I'm in need of a replacement. When I take to places like Lowes or Amazon, I only find the style which requires being screwed to the house. The style I have today is different though. It not only has retention on the circular portion, but also mounts securely to the square housing.

I'm having difficulties identifying what style of vent this is, or if it's even feasible for me to replace it as-is. Does anyone know what this is called? Should I move to the screw-in style? If the screw-in style, is there anything in particular I should remain cognizant of? Such as sealing the screw holes or caulking the vent?

Thanks in advance.

Also, sorry for poor photo quality. It's dark, cold, and I'm not ready to clean yet.

enter image description here cover

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  • 3
    Why throw it away? Give it a good clean and the flaps will probably work just fine.
    – GdD
    Oct 20, 2020 at 10:52
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    I see plenty of similar things when I search for "vinyl siding dryer vent" so you might try that... it's a design typical of or specific to a vinyl siding application, from what I see.
    – Ecnerwal
    Oct 20, 2020 at 13:59
  • @GdD one of the flaps has actually disappeared, otherwise I definitely would
    – hack3rfx
    Oct 20, 2020 at 17:03
  • @Ecnerwal thank you. Do you happen to know if I'd need to replace the whole assembly? It looks like they fasten behind the siding but I was hoping to find just the face stand alone.
    – hack3rfx
    Oct 20, 2020 at 17:06
  • That's annoying @hack3rfx! The problem I can see is that the siding is over the housing's rim, this will make it challenging to get the housing off. I'd start by measuring the tube and see if it is a standard size. If it is you should be able to get something that will fit over it even if it doesn't work with the housing.
    – GdD
    Oct 20, 2020 at 17:08

1 Answer 1

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You need to find an exact replacement, a new cover that's larger than the existing flange or replacing the whole vent cover. There may be markings visible if you clean both sides of the vent real well, you can even take the cover into your house and clean with warm water & soap, and look for a brand or model number you can search on. Until you find a replacement you can probably just spray some silicone lubricant on the hinged/swiveling parts in the meantime. If you find a large enough cover you can secure it to your house, just don't use a screw that's longer than the cover into the plywood house wrap. You can even trim your siding to accommodate a larger vent cover, just seal around the vent with silicone caulking. To replace the whole dryer vent it's not super difficult. To replace it, you'll lift the siding up at the 2nd & 3rd ridge are, behind that you'll see nails running along the line that intersects the dryer vent. Separate from the house those two pieces, ply/unscrew the old cover flange, then replace with the new cover, use silicone caulking on the back-side that faces the house, screw it to the house, cover the flanges/lips of the cover with weatherproof flashing tape, snap the siding back into place. Caulk around any gaps with silicone that matches the vent or the siding.

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  • Just be sure that your metal 4" exhaust tube is sealed to whatever new vent you attach it to. You don't want warm moist dryer air to leak into the under-siding wall area and promote rot or mold growth. Foil vent tape works well at the tube-to-vent connection.
    – Armand
    Jun 22, 2022 at 20:29

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