okay, so for longer than i'd care to admit, we've been experiencing an unpleasant smell when using our dryer. like a B.O. smell. like we weren't using soap in the washer and our wet, grimy clothes were leaving their rank stench within the dryer. a really nasty smell, and i began to be afraid if we had a real hygiene problem.
i never suspected any issues with the dryer itself, because it's a fucking awesome dryer. seriously. this thing is so cool. er... hot. courtesy of my dad's Sears card, and the Sears Outlet in Houston, the Kenmore 80 Series is one of the sweetest electric dryers 2004 had to offer. which is good, because despite my best efforts, and my not being a machinesmith, i was unable to repair the timer mechanism on our old unit when it crapped out.
there's only one tiny flaw with this fabric heater - the positioning of the rear vent. it's a little too centered (based on vent port placement at two different apartments now), which makes a straight line connection impossible and you're forced to use a flexible vent duct or maybe one of these things here (just found this one while looking for examples and this may be the better fix).
so because of the snaky double-back action i've got going with the vent duct (which i know is inefficient) i have been figuring that maybe there was a collection of lint that wasn't quite getting through and a smelly, stinky clog of sweat-scented lint had amassed. while doing laundry today, as i moved the first load from the washer to the dryer i reluctantly decided i should solve the odor dilemma.
so i pulled the dryer out away from the wall, and i noticed there wasn't much resistance from the duct, as though it wasn't attached to the wall vent port. with a few more inches cleared, i decided to peer back and see how things looked. my assessment yielded the sight of a thin layer of lintsprayed onto the wall and back of the dryer. apparently the duct had been loosened and detached from the wall for some time.
and then i saw a strange lump of what didn't look to be soft, fuzzy lint.
i knew instantly what it was. what it couldn't be. i warned the wife away, telling her to wait until i could confirm. the light wan't good so i searched out a flashlight and took another, illuminated look. and then i asked my wife for her rubber gloves, some paper towels and a plastic bag.
curious as ever, she asked what it was and i told her: "it's a bird."
yes. a bird had somehow navigated its way from the exterior vent exhaust to the tiny, crooked bend in the pipe at the start of hot air's escape. a warmth the bird desired and sought out, from which it had no escape.
so the baked bird count for this season is:
the wife - 2
the Kenmore - 1
excitement over, i then proceeded to Dyson the lint fallout from the floor, the wall and the dryer, and then to take a look at the duct and make sure everything was clear. i used the Dyson's standard brush tool attached to the Quick-draw Telescope Reach wand and made quick work of the task (i love the Dyson!) and then i tuned the wand to the wall vent.
and then i saw it.
another fucking dead bird!
its gnarled, withered claw foot was sticking down from up inside the vent pipe. i asked my wife for her rubber gloves, some paper towels and another plastic bag. i won't go too far into this one, but trust me in knowing that it was slightly more unpleasant than the first, which simply lay motionless on the floor.
so the amended baked bird count for this season is:
the wife - 2
the Kenmore - 2
(someone's got something to prove.)
* sigh *
when i woke up this morning i didn't really have much planned for the day. but i can say that i didn't plan to clean the dryer vent duct out. and i can say, with all certainty, that i hadn't planned to dispose of two fucking dead birds who gassed themselves in our Kenmore! now i know that there's a crapload of solace that should comfort me to know that my wife and i don't reek so much that our washer can't rid our clothes of the stink, only for it to ferment in the twisty coils of our sweet ass dryer, but... ick!
i never suspected any issues with the dryer itself, because it's a fucking awesome dryer. seriously. this thing is so cool. er... hot. courtesy of my dad's Sears card, and the Sears Outlet in Houston, the Kenmore 80 Series is one of the sweetest electric dryers 2004 had to offer. which is good, because despite my best efforts, and my not being a machinesmith, i was unable to repair the timer mechanism on our old unit when it crapped out.
there's only one tiny flaw with this fabric heater - the positioning of the rear vent. it's a little too centered (based on vent port placement at two different apartments now), which makes a straight line connection impossible and you're forced to use a flexible vent duct or maybe one of these things here (just found this one while looking for examples and this may be the better fix).
so because of the snaky double-back action i've got going with the vent duct (which i know is inefficient) i have been figuring that maybe there was a collection of lint that wasn't quite getting through and a smelly, stinky clog of sweat-scented lint had amassed. while doing laundry today, as i moved the first load from the washer to the dryer i reluctantly decided i should solve the odor dilemma.
so i pulled the dryer out away from the wall, and i noticed there wasn't much resistance from the duct, as though it wasn't attached to the wall vent port. with a few more inches cleared, i decided to peer back and see how things looked. my assessment yielded the sight of a thin layer of lintsprayed onto the wall and back of the dryer. apparently the duct had been loosened and detached from the wall for some time.
and then i saw a strange lump of what didn't look to be soft, fuzzy lint.
i knew instantly what it was. what it couldn't be. i warned the wife away, telling her to wait until i could confirm. the light wan't good so i searched out a flashlight and took another, illuminated look. and then i asked my wife for her rubber gloves, some paper towels and a plastic bag.
curious as ever, she asked what it was and i told her: "it's a bird."
yes. a bird had somehow navigated its way from the exterior vent exhaust to the tiny, crooked bend in the pipe at the start of hot air's escape. a warmth the bird desired and sought out, from which it had no escape.
so the baked bird count for this season is:
the wife - 2
the Kenmore - 1
excitement over, i then proceeded to Dyson the lint fallout from the floor, the wall and the dryer, and then to take a look at the duct and make sure everything was clear. i used the Dyson's standard brush tool attached to the Quick-draw Telescope Reach wand and made quick work of the task (i love the Dyson!) and then i tuned the wand to the wall vent.
and then i saw it.
another fucking dead bird!
its gnarled, withered claw foot was sticking down from up inside the vent pipe. i asked my wife for her rubber gloves, some paper towels and another plastic bag. i won't go too far into this one, but trust me in knowing that it was slightly more unpleasant than the first, which simply lay motionless on the floor.
so the amended baked bird count for this season is:
the wife - 2
the Kenmore - 2
(someone's got something to prove.)
* sigh *
when i woke up this morning i didn't really have much planned for the day. but i can say that i didn't plan to clean the dryer vent duct out. and i can say, with all certainty, that i hadn't planned to dispose of two fucking dead birds who gassed themselves in our Kenmore! now i know that there's a crapload of solace that should comfort me to know that my wife and i don't reek so much that our washer can't rid our clothes of the stink, only for it to ferment in the twisty coils of our sweet ass dryer, but... ick!
About me
- MWM
- from Houston, TX
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