Installing a Dryer Vent in a Mobile Home

If you have a mobile home, you may sometimes miss the luxuries of life such as the dryer vent. These vents can help you to rid your home of moisture and mold and are also useful in places where people suffer from asthma, as it removes too much humidity from the atmosphere. Installing a dryer vent into a mobile home can seem like a lot of effort when the windows and doors can easily be opened, but if you live in a confined space, you will soon appreciate the difference in air quality. Rather than pay someone to visit your home and install the vent for you, you can do it yourself if you have some simple home improvement skills and time enough to get the job done quickly.

Step 1 - Install the Vent Hood

The first thing that you will have to do is to install the vent hood into the wall of your mobile home. Where you wish to place the vent does not matter, as you will be using pipe work to carry air from the dryer to the vent. Carefully measure the dryer vent hood against the wall, and then cut into the wall using your saw. You should not cut much more of the wall than you need to in order to install the hood. Screw the plate onto the external wall, and then fit the internal plate. These two pieces of metal will ensure that your vent stays in position on the side of your mobile home.

Step 2 - Install the Pipes

You should now fit a suitable piece of pipe, either an elbow joint if you need the pipes to go upright, or a regular pipe if you just want to take it towards the dryer. Place the pipe around the home until it reaches the back of the dryer. You can prepare an elbow joint.

Step 3 - Fit the Dryer Vent

Take the piece of metal which fits into the dryer. Ensure that all water and electricity is turned off, and then open the panel at the back of the dryer. You should be able to see the connections that the vent should be fitted to, so secure it into the space, and then put the panel back onto the dryer. Add the piece of elbow piping and push the dryer back into its usual position. When this is done, join up all the pipe work so that it forms a single continuous tube.

Step 4 - Finishing

When you have completed the vent, go back over to the external vent, and caulk around the edges of the metal plates. Follow the pipes back towards the dryer, caulking over when you feel that it is necessary. Once this is done, turn the electricity and the dryer on, and ensure that there are no leaks from anywhere along the vent pipes or the external plates. If this is satisfactory, you can now use your dryer in your mobile home.