Clogged dryer vent woes
Q: A serviceman told me my clothes-dryer vent is clogged with lint. The vent pipe goes up and down through the walls, or so I’ve been told. It is possible to make a new vent opening through a basement wall. Is this a good idea? — G. Frankel
A: The shortest and straightest path is the best one for a clothes-dryer vent. Long vent pipes with a lot of curves can trap lint, which can be a serious fire hazard. For this reason, I think you should disconnect, clean and seal off the old vent and install a new one with a short, straight path to the outside.
For the new vent, use smooth aluminum pipe rather than the pleated, flexible vent pipes sold at many home centers and hardware stores. Smooth pipes are less likely to trap lint and are therefore safer, according to most experts.
On the outside end of the vent pipe, use a cap that will allow lint to pass from inside but will keep out rodents and insects. A cap with small louvers that open only when the dryer is running seems to work well.
Check the vent cap occasionally to make sure it is working properly and that there is no lint buildup there. At least once a year, disconnect the vent at the dryer end and make sure it is free of lint on that end.
You should be able to clean any trapped lint out of the old vent pipe with a plumber’s snake, a flexible cable that can be worked around curves. Since the pipe is inside a wall, you might want to try and stuff some fiberglass insulation into it. Seal both ends of the pipe with cement.
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Q: Is it safe to use pressure-treated wood to enclose a vegetable garden? Would the vegetables be tainted by the preservatives? — P. Mack
A: Borders for raised garden beds are a common use for pressure-treated wood. The American Wood Preservers Institute, a trade group, says that independent tests conducted with wood treated with CCA (chromated copper arsenate) showed that the wood is “not harmful in garden use.” The research cited was conducted by county extension agents in Texas, working with the Texas A&M laboratory and Southwest Research Institute. According to the research report, preservative levels in soil samples contacted by treated wood were no higher “than what occurs naturally in any soil.” CCA was phased out last year as a preservative in wood for residential uses, and replaced by preservatives that contain no arsenic. Manufacturers recommend the same precautions for the new preservatives, most of which are copper compounds, as were recommended for CCA-treated wood.
I don’t know of any formal tests of garden uses for wood treated with the new preservatives, but the Southern Pine Council, a promotional wing of the Southern Forest Products Assn., says these woods are the “perfect product” for garden uses such as raised bed borders, tomato stakes, trellises and planters. “Any assertion that gardeners should not grow edibles in planters or raised beds made with treated wood using these preservatives is without basis,” the council says.
However, the Wood Preservers Institute says treated wood should not be used “where it is likely to become a component of food or animal feed, or where the wood is likely to mix directly with food,” such as containers for food or drinking-water, kitchen countertops and food cutting boards. In short, don’t let food or drinking water come into actual contact with treated wood.