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Dryer Vent Accoustics vespaboysf-shopping 06-30-2007
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Posted by on June 30, 2007, 1:05 pm
Problem:
Our house in the city shares a common wall with our neighbor. At the
back of the house, our dryer vent is positioned about 8 feet from this
common wall. Nothing is wrong with the dryer according to a repair-
person and anyone's casual observation. The vent pipe is not
obstructed at any point. The exhaust vent fan (or dryer blower?) does
make a typical "whirring" noise which escapes from the vent and
resonates in a way which disturbs the neighbor. As crazy as it seems,
I now believe it's a legitimate problem for them due to the
configuration of the buildings and back yard.

Considerations:
-- I could possibly re-route and add to length of vent (limited by
dryer spec, of course), but would prefer not to. Besides, I'm not
sure it would help much by itself.
-- This is actually a dispute between our tenant and our neighbor, so
I'd like to keep them both as happy as possible. It's also been a
long-term problem.

Proposal:
My idea is to build a "sound-absorbing" box (approx 2' x 2') which
simply attaches to the building, over the existing dryer vent. I
don't want to restrict air-flow in any way, so the box would have to
have to have an appropriate opening for the air to escape. I'm
envisioning a simple box [a] lined with some sort of thick, sound-
absorbing foam, [b] having a hinged door to allow any cleaning/lint
removal, and [c] having a sufficient design to allow for adequate air-
flow.

Questions:
1. I know acoustics is a complex area. However, could something like
this actually mitigate the "whirring" sound of a clothes dryer as it
exits at the vent?
2. I've researched acoustic foams on the web. Any thoughts on what
types might work best for this application?
3. Would the placement of the air-flow exit hole(s) within the box
impact the efficiency of any foam?
4. Any other design elements (or other suggestions) which I should
consider?

Thanks!!!


Posted by hallerb@aol.com on June 30, 2007, 2:56 pm
On Jun 30, 1:05?pm, vespaboysf-shopp...@yahoo.com wrote:
> Problem:
> Our house in the city shares a common wall with our neighbor. At the
> back of the house, our dryer vent is positioned about 8 feet from this
> common wall. Nothing is wrong with the dryer according to a repair-
> person and anyone's casual observation. The vent pipe is not
> obstructed at any point. The exhaust vent fan (or dryer blower?) does
> make a typical "whirring" noise which escapes from the vent and
> resonates in a way which disturbs the neighbor. As crazy as it seems,
> I now believe it's a legitimate problem for them due to the
> configuration of the buildings and back yard.
>
> Considerations:
> -- I could possibly re-route and add to length of vent (limited by
> dryer spec, of course), but would prefer not to. Besides, I'm not
> sure it would help much by itself.
> -- This is actually a dispute between our tenant and our neighbor, so
> I'd like to keep them both as happy as possible. It's also been a
> long-term problem.
>
> Proposal:
> My idea is to build a "sound-absorbing" box (approx 2' x 2') which
> simply attaches to the building, over the existing dryer vent. I
> don't want to restrict air-flow in any way, so the box would have to
> have to have an appropriate opening for the air to escape. I'm
> envisioning a simple box [a] lined with some sort of thick, sound-
> absorbing foam, [b] having a hinged door to allow any cleaning/lint
> removal, and [c] having a sufficient design to allow for adequate air-
> flow.
>
> Questions:
> 1. I know acoustics is a complex area. However, could something like
> this actually mitigate the "whirring" sound of a clothes dryer as it
> exits at the vent?
> 2. I've researched acoustic foams on the web. Any thoughts on what
> types might work best for this application?
> 3. Would the placement of the air-flow exit hole(s) within the box
> impact the efficiency of any foam?
> 4. Any other design elements (or other suggestions) which I should
> consider?
>
> Thanks!!!

first try sitting a box or something several feet from the vent, and
large enough to block the noise, see if this helps.



Posted by mm on June 30, 2007, 6:03 pm
On Sat, 30 Jun 2007 10:05:04 -0700, vespaboysf-shopping@yahoo.com
wrote:

>Problem:
>Our house in the city shares a common wall with our neighbor. At the
>back of the house, our dryer vent is positioned about 8 feet from this
>common wall. Nothing is wrong with the dryer according to a repair-
>person and anyone's casual observation. The vent pipe is not
>obstructed at any point. The exhaust vent fan (or dryer blower?) does
>make a typical "whirring" noise which escapes from the vent and
>resonates in a way which disturbs the neighbor. As crazy as it seems,
>I now believe it's a legitimate problem for them due to the
>configuration of the buildings and back yard.
>
>Considerations:
>-- I could possibly re-route and add to length of vent (limited by
>dryer spec, of course), but would prefer not to. Besides, I'm not
>sure it would help much by itself.

I don't think so either.

>-- This is actually a dispute between our tenant and our neighbor, so
>I'd like to keep them both as happy as possible. It's also been a
>long-term problem.
>
>Proposal:
>My idea is to build a "sound-absorbing" box (approx 2' x 2') which
>simply attaches to the building, over the existing dryer vent. I
>don't want to restrict air-flow in any way, so the box would have to
>have to have an appropriate opening for the air to escape. I'm
>envisioning a simple box [a] lined with some sort of thick, sound-
>absorbing foam, [b] having a hinged door to allow any cleaning/lint
>removal, and [c] having a sufficient design to allow for adequate air-
>flow.

I think any box, even without a lining woudl do a lot if it stood in
between the noise and the people listenign. But a lining would be
good too. Any lining would be good, an old shirt, an old flannel
shirt, part of an old blanket. That's assuming the open end points
down and it won't get wet.

I think you can just omit one side of the box, a side that doesn't
point to any people, and that will make cleaning easy, and assembly
quicker.
>
>Questions:
>1. I know acoustics is a complex area. However, could something like
>this actually mitigate the "whirring" sound of a clothes dryer as it
>exits at the vent?

There must be an acoustics newsgroup (or a music one) or yahoo list,
or even a web list of some sort.

You shoudl be able to pin down all the places where the noise is
coming from by using an automotive stethoscope, which JCWhitney and
maybe Harbor Freight has sold very cheaply, under 5 dollars. But if
you don't have one of those, you can use a stick. Even a wood ruler
or a yard stick. Two feet is a convenient length. Touch it to the
various spots and hold it near your ear, and you'll hear things that
only owls and leopards could hear without the stick.

Narrow down whether it is the air coming out of the pipe that has the
noise (You need something else to hear the air**, but if nothing else
is making noise, it's the air, I think.) or the end of the pipe, or
the louvers there or whatever.


>2. I've researched acoustic foams on the web. Any thoughts on what
>types might work best for this application?

I don't think you need best. Any foam, including the left over
peed-on mattress from the crib, will do 75% of what the best foam will
do. Anything that's not hard, whether foam or not, will do 60%.
These are just my guesses.

>3. Would the placement of the air-flow exit hole(s) within the box
>impact the efficiency of any foam?

>4. Any other design elements (or other suggestions) which I should
>consider?
>
>Thanks!!!


Posted by on June 30, 2007, 10:12 pm
Thanks, mm. Appreciate the thoughtful reply. Much appreciated.


Posted by Molly Brown on June 30, 2007, 8:33 pm
Armaflex. You can get it at an HVAC supplier, but noise is a very
subjective problem. If you think you hear it, you will.


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