One of my dad's friend's lost his son, DIL and grandchild in a fire caused by a dryer. It's definitely something people should be more mindful of. We've replace flex dryer hose annually in every place we've lived. One of the first things I did to this house was replace flex hose with metal ductwork for the vent. Now we only have about 18" of flex from the dryer to the duct in the wall. The solid duct gets much less buildup of material than the rougher texture of flex hose. I still disassemble and clean the pipes every year.
@Crown Royal I am interested in this heat diversion kit you mentioned. Got a link? I did not know you should just replace the flex annually. Hubs did recently clean out the whole inside, since a belt slipped and he had the thing apart anyway. Gonna pick that up today.
I have a magnet attachment kit that eliminates most of that flex hose. https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/sho...IKKjKeP9Kvj27yHMeY8MpymhxQIhqd_UaAtpbEALw_wcB
If I'd have know about that back then I would have used it. I have about the same amount of flex as that, without the convenience of the magnetic connection. Ours was entirely flex, from the dryer through the wall and subfloor, through the crawlspace to the outlet in the foundation. I replaced all that with solid duct.
Home Depot for sure has them. They’ll probably run you about $25 and they’re an easy DIY. Just split the flex hose coming out of your dryer in half, screw this thing into the wall and ring-clamp both the hose splits. Done and done. Here is the lint chamber I just installed. You can have both chambers, just put the lint filter before the heat filter:
About once a year I take apart the dryer to clean out the insane amount of lint that gets everywhere. The blower fan is usually super fucked and compacted. First time I did it I fought that stupid hose forever to get it hooked back up. It was after that I saw the magnet and bought it and left it on the shelf until it was again time to clean the dryer, then put it on. Future me really appreciated that foresight.
Not everyone recommends annual replacement, including some pros and contractors. However, since the extreme end of the spectrum of consequences is a house fire with loss of life, one of the worst tragedies a family can go through, I go with the more cautious people and their recommendations.
That's just crazy, and surprisingly normal. There should be more education about this, not enough people know to do this type of maintenance. My parents didn't do it when I was kid. It didn't become part of my annual to-do list until dad called me after that family died. Big fucking signs in Lowes and Home Depot telling people to do it or have it done.
The other day I noticed a small section of the foundation under my bedroom had collapsed in on itself, so I’m getting a crash course in masonry from my Dad: I’m honestly surprised I’m not more sore than I am. This is not ideal or easy access stuff. Of course Dad wants to get in there but I won’t let him. I told him I can’t learn if I’m not doing it myself. Plus, his back is fucked up enough already. Ah the joys of home ownership.
I know that feeling of shock, when you wake up and don't hurt like you thought you would. I experienced it when I dug nearly 300' of trench for a french drain. I ordered 16 tons of stone to go in the trench, which means I moved somewhere between 25 and 30 tons of material with a fucking pickaxe, shovel and wheelbarrow.
@Fiveslide Rep was too long but all the words were SO important. WHAT IN THE FUCK. You did that in..... A day, two? And weren't sore? I'm fucking sore from looking at this goddamn picture. I would have rented a ditch witch!
Spent a couple weeks on it. I'm going to add about another 100' to get all the water off my shop. I'm stubborn and miserly, so I did it by hand. I always say I have more time than money, Going by those trees, the roots almost broke me and had me googling rental equipment.
Oh, ok.... From the context of the post I thought you did that in a very short period. Still though. I'd be a damned cripple by the end of it. Good job!
In the easy parts, I could dig 50-60' while my kid was in school. The hard, rooty, rocky parts, had me down to about 30' in the same timeframe.
I don't think it would help as much as you think. I still would have been scooping into a wheelbarrow, because none of the dirt was going back into the trench. Good, compatible fill went in the back yard to level a spot for a fire pit and patio. I can't take equipment in the back because of the type of septic system we have, drain field is only a foot in the ground. Topsoil went to cover exposed roots at other trees. If one piece of equipment would have solved all my issues, I would have rented it.
No shit, I'd never get away with that around here. Most of this land is rocky, heavy clay... I'd be limping and in pain for a damned week. Somehow I got really, really lucky and the soil on that corner of our house is very loose and was simple to dig out by hand. About the only thing that's gone right this week. Oh and hey, did you guys know that ant spray is oil based? I do now. There was a swarm of piss ants piled up on our new sidewalk again, and I'm sick of them so I sprayed and massacred them. They got the last laugh, because the shit stained the stone. I scrubbed it down good with soapy water and if that didn't work, can only hope the staining will eventually fade from the sun.