I have a friend who lives in a Section 8 housing apartment and the dryer vent (that normally sticks out enough to connect a dryer to) is broken off flush with the wall by previous tenants. I believe it’s also glued/foam filled into place, so it can’t be easily pulled further out or anything. They’d probably get in trouble if they modified anything excessively anyway. No pictures, sorry.
They have a stacked washer/dryer that works, but cannot use them due to no venting. There is no way that the landlord will fix it, as they refused to fix many bigger, more dangerous things until the state forced them to. They are just stuck with the apartment that they have. Also, they currently have a negative income, so I’d have to fix it out of my pocket. Currently they just walk to a laundry place and pay a bunch of money (that they don’t have) to wash their things.
Is there some sort of trick that’s still safe, like a metal insert that you can put into the vent to extend it? Some way to make it usable without modifying the building?
This is Washington State, USA, so it’d need to pretty much follow laws/code if at all possible.
Thank you.
You are probably looking for something like a 'Dryer Wall Flange": https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-4-in-Dryer-Duct-to-Wall-Connector-EZDOCKHD/205046832
That would work if the vent were straight, most likely it is a bend. That could still work but the flange would need trimming to mate up properly and a high-heat sealant would be needed to ensure the lint doesn’t just get blown into the wall.