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Do Electric Dryers Produce Carbon Monoxide? (Answered)

Electric dryers are an essential part of a residential building. It helps to dry out washed wet clothes in a short period.

It is known to many that dryers create various harmful gases such as carbon monoxide. You may ask whether electric dryers produce such gas or not. Let us help you answer that question along with some necessary information regarding it as well:

Do electric dryers produce carbon monoxide?

Electric dryers do not produce carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is created by dryers where gas is used to dry clothes. But electric dryers do not use gas to dry clothes. It uses electricity to create heat using its heating element which dries the clothes and doesn’t create any harmful gas.

There are multiple types of dryers in the market. Such as gas dryers, tumble dryers, electric dryers and so on. Some dryers like gas dryers intend to use gas to dry the wet clothes that are put inside the machine. It dries the clothes by burning gas.

While burning gas, the gas has carbon particles in it. These particles incorporate the wet warm air inside the dryer. Therefore, these carbon particles bond with the oxygen particles and create a lethal gas called carbon monoxide. This gas is harmful to both humans and animals.

But electric dryers do not emit carbon monoxide. The reason behind this is that the dryer itself does not have any connection with any gas source whatsoever. It dries clothes solely using only electricity. Therefore, the wet air has no chance to mix with any carbon particles. 

So, the electric dryer does not get the chance to put out carbon monoxide.

A tumble dryer can not set off a carbon monoxide alarm. The reason behind this is that it does not use gas to dry clothes either. Tumble dryers use electricity to move clothes inside the dryer.

It tumbles the wet clothes inside the dryer in various motions using a drum and dries the clothes.

As a tumble dryer is not using any kind of gas to dry the clothes, there is no way for it to create carbon particles which can later become carbon monoxide gas. Thus, it cannot set off a carbon monoxide alarm.

Can you get carbon monoxide poisoning from an electric dryer?

No, you can not get carbon monoxide poisoning from an electric dryer. Electric dryers do not have any connection with any gas connections. It uses electricity to dry its clothes. The electricity that it consumes is turned into heat. The heat then dries the clothes inside the dryer.

As it dries clothes solely using electricity and there is no connection with any gas connections with the dryer, there is no way that the warm wet air inside the dryer will get the chance to mix with any carbon molecules. 

Therefore, no carbon monoxide can be formed in an electric dryer and you will not be poisoned.

What causes carbon monoxide from the dryer in a house?

There are many reasons why it causes carbon monoxide from the dryer in a house. Let us help you know the key causes behind this issue:

Using gas dryers:

Gas dryers are traditionally used in the United States for quite some. It has been used since the early 20th century and is still being used for its reliability. It is a favorite to almost all people due to its effectiveness and fast-drying feature.

But these gas dryers emit a lot of carbon monoxide as it uses gas to dry clothes. Therefore, these dryers are cause a lot of harm to

Clogged dryer vent:

Often almost all dryers require vents to emit the warm air and other gases out of it outside your house. But when your dryer vent gets clogged with dust or lint, it blocks the exhaust from getting out. Thus, carbon monoxide can start building up in your house.

Venting inside your house:

Sometimes people vent their dryers inside the house. As dryers release warm air, some people think that venting the dryer inside the house may help them keep their home warm and reduce some costs of heating.

But if their dryer creates carbon monoxide and that is vented inside a closed house, it may cause dangerous consequences and may harm the people and animals living inside that house.

What are the safety measures to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning from a dryer?

Carbon monoxide is bad for anyone. Not only human beings, but it is also bad for any animal. It causes various life risks. It is a must for everyone to take safety measures to avoid any kind of carbon monoxide poisoning from a dryer.

There are many ways you can avoid any catastrophe due to this gas. But here are our handpicked safety measures to keep you safe from this kind of issue:

Use a carbon monoxide alarm:

To know if there is any carbon monoxide build-up in your home or not, a carbon monoxide alarm is the best possible solution. 

It will warn you instantly whenever it detects any carbon monoxide buildup in the house and can help you get into any harmful situation.

Replace your old gas dryer:

If you are still using an old gas dryer, then it might be time to start using something modern. Use a tumble dryer or electric dryer. These do not use any gas to dry your clothes and will not exhaust any carbon monoxide. 

Therefore, these are safe to vent inside your house if you want to.

Vent your dryer outside your house:

Whatever dryer you use, you should vent it outside the home. It is the best possible solution to avoid any kind of carbon monoxide poisoning. 

Venting your dryer outside will exhaust all the warm air and gas outside the home and will prevent any kind of gas buildup in the house.

Clean the vents regularly:

Cleaning your dryer vents regularly will help you prevent any kind of blockage which may prevent any kind of harmful event like this.

Is electric dryer exhaust harmful?

No, electric dryer exhaust is not harmful. The exhaust of the electric dryer only consists of warm wet air which usually consists only of vapor. This vapor is harmless and is not dangerous for health. 

Although the exhaust may consist of lint, which might cause breathing and dust issues. But it is a lot harmful for health.

Other dryers like gas dryer exhaust are harmful to health as they consist of carbon monoxide. This gas is not good for humans and animals. It causes breathing issues and may cause the person to suffocate. It may cause various life-threatening problems. 

Therefore, an electric dryer is safer compared with it.

Is it safe to vent an electric dryer inside?

Yes, it is safe to vent an electric dryer inside. The main problem of venting a dryer inside is if it exhausts carbon monoxide gas through the vent. When you vent a dryer that exhausts this gas through the vent, it may cause the house to fill in with carbon monoxide gas.

Carbon monoxide gas is harmful to health. It causes various life-threatening diseases to both humans and animals. It may cause breathing issues and may cause life-threatening consequences. 

Therefore, before venting a dryer inside the house, the user must check if the dryer that is being vented inside the house exhausts this gas or not.

Electric dryers do not emit this gas through the vent as it does not use any gas to heat. Therefore, it is safe to vent an electric dryer inside.

How to vent a dryer without a vent to outside?

There are many ways to vent a dryer without a vent outside. If you want to do this, you may follow the following simple steps that we recommend:

Purchase the necessary accessories:

Before you start doing this, you need to purchase the necessary equipment for this. The accessories you might need for this are a window dryer vent kit, duct increase, foil tape, extender joints that come with the dryer and many more.

Connect the extender joint with the dryer:

The extender joint comes with the packaging of the dryer. Attach that with the dryer’s venting hole with a Phillips screwdriver.

Connect the duct:

After you are done with that, connect the duct with the extender joint using foil tape.

Connect the duct with the window dryer vent kit:

In the end, connect the duct with the window dryer vent kit using a duct extender. Secure it properly with foil tape.

Final thoughts

Electric dryers do not produce carbon monoxide as it does not use any gas connection to perform their drying operations. It can be said that you want to vent it inside the house if required using a window dryer vent kit or indoor dryer lint trap. Thus, you can save some money on indoor heating.