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Just moved in to my new condo and bought my first steam dryer only to realize that the condo syndicate prohibits us to use the steam function on our dryers because of a problem in the construction of the vents that would cause water to accumulate too easily.

My question is if this interdiction is founded in actual facts? My intuition tells me that the humidity that comes from completely damp clothes that come straight out of a washer would produce more steam from a normal dry cycle than it would from putting dry clothes in with the steam cycle. I see some steam dryers even have small water containers (instead of a direct hose connection) that some report they don't need to refill for many cycles. This tells me that the steam function probably doesn't generate that much humidity.

Does anyone with experience in the matter have an opinion?

Thanks!

user33355
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  • Prohibited? By whom? – Chenmunka Feb 24 '22 at 18:12
  • …and I assumed all modern dryers would be condensing, therefore doing little more than periodically trickling a bit of water down the same drain as the washer, rather than blowing out great gouts of steamy hot air down a big pipe like the olden days.. – Tetsujin Feb 24 '22 at 18:26
  • @Chenmunka prohibited by the condo syndicate. I am trying to understand if their decision is justified or simply intuition based. – user33355 Feb 24 '22 at 18:31
  • it doesn't ultimately matter _why_ they prohibit steaming, they just do. It's not a common clause AFAIK so there could very well be a good or at least some reason behind it. When steam is banned only outlaws will steam. – dandavis Feb 24 '22 at 19:49
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    Some vent systems don’t handle the extra moisture. yes at the start of a dry cycle the humidity is off the charts, however as the cloths dry and the same volume of air continues to be pushed out the moisture in the vent is reduced, with the steam setup some moisture is pumped into the vent but the cycle is finished quickly not drying the vent causing mold issues, I did maintenance for a slum lord friend and he had this problem with his fancy steam dryer some years back and thought it was electrical, after that steam dryers were not allowed, it was in his lease agreement sounds like the same – Ed Beal Feb 24 '22 at 19:50
  • @EdBeal thank you! Your explanation makes perfect sense, I did not consider the volume of air or length of the cycle and that would definitely play a role in this. If you don't mind posting it as an answer I would accept it. – user33355 Feb 24 '22 at 20:47
  • @dandavis it does matter for me to be able to debate it or be an "outlaw" and use it without actually taking a greater risk of causing water damage to my home or my neighbor's. If the steam function did produce less moisture it would've ultimately been beneficial to use but, as Ed points out, it does not seem to be the case. – user33355 Feb 24 '22 at 20:47
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    if you do go outlaw, run a drying cycle after the steam to flush out residual moisture. – dandavis Feb 24 '22 at 22:11
  • @EdBeal sounds like an answer to me – FreeMan Feb 25 '22 at 14:11
  • Condo boards are world-famous for being made up of insecure power-grabbers. Ignore them and don't tell anyone you ever select the steam-dry option. – Carl Witthoft Feb 25 '22 at 14:17
  • @dandavis good point - even a zero-heat "air dry" cycle would suffice – Carl Witthoft Feb 25 '22 at 14:17

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This is one possibility from my history. Some vent systems don’t handle the extra moisture.

yes at the start of a dry cycle the humidity is off the charts, however as the cloths dry and the same volume of air continues to be pushed out the moisture in the vent is reduced.

with the steam setup some moisture is pumped into the vent but the cycle is finished quickly not drying the vent causing mold issues.

I did maintenance for a slum lord friend and he had this problem with his fancy steam dryer some years back and thought it was electrical, after that steam dryers were not allowed, it was in his lease agreement sounds like the same issue to me.

Ed Beal
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  • What is the current best design for dryer vent systems? What materials? Without even being informed by the vendor we received a steaming dryer because the non-steaming one we ordered could not be delivered promptly. The installer from the vendor did not connect the water hose. I never considered hooking up the water. Seems to me like asking for trouble. – Jim Stewart Feb 25 '22 at 18:47
  • @jim Stewart my friend had smooth pipe but the moisture collected the lint and it really smelled bad. I think he had it for Over a month, I would think the flex pipe would be much worse, I have really not heard much about it , I also have a dryer that has the steam function that is not connected. – Ed Beal Feb 25 '22 at 19:18