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The under-eave dryer vent on my new house is pointed back towards the side of the house (instead of straight down, away from the house, or to one side). As a result, warm moist air is blasted at the siding directly under the soffit whenever we run the dryer. Is there any reason to be concerned about this (the moisture somehow getting through the siding and house wrap into the wall, steam entering attic through the little holes in the soffit, etc.)? I've never seen an installation like this and am having trouble finding any information about it online.

dryer vent directed towards house

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  • Yes you should be concerned about this. In fact NOTHING should be vented in a soffit. Whatever is exhausted will just travel into the attic or under the roof, let alone blast the siding with warm moist air.
    – RibaldEddie
    Dec 20, 2021 at 17:36
  • I am confused by the picture. From left to right, I see the siding, soffit, then the dryer vent with its opening towards the siding?
    – r13
    Dec 20, 2021 at 19:21
  • What's confusing? That's the crux of the question.
    – isherwood
    Dec 20, 2021 at 20:16
  • This is pretty strange. I'd like to know what the reasoning is behind it. Is there something outside the roof line that needs protection from moisture or lint?
    – isherwood
    Dec 20, 2021 at 20:23
  • @isherwood the builder said the vent is pointed towards the house "to avoid weather entering the vent when experiencing high winds"
    – dreadhawk
    Dec 21, 2021 at 19:33

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I don't have any particular concerns about the fact that the vent comes through the soffit. If you were to drill out the pop rivets and reverse the deflector, then add a sheet of aluminum to block the soffit perforations, your problems mostly go away. I wouldn't expect the small amount of moisture that wanders into the soffit to be a problem.

You generally don't want a dryer vent coming through a roof, so that's not a good alternative.

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  • I’ve seen vents like this cause mold and peeling paint.
    – RibaldEddie
    Dec 20, 2021 at 20:27
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    I mean it doesn’t matter what you do— venting under a soffit will result in problems. I’ve seen problems no matter the direction of the vent. Even if you put down metal that won’t rust easily, it will still cause problems with mold and discoloration.
    – RibaldEddie
    Dec 20, 2021 at 20:33
  • Whether you get mold is a matter of climate, and a little discoloration isn't a problem in the sense that there are problems now.
    – isherwood
    Dec 21, 2021 at 19:35

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