this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2026
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There are kits like this sold online, the one linked, specifically type 4 with a drawer, work as follows.

  1. Put about 1-2 cm of water in, optional an icepack.
  2. Run your dryer.
  3. At the end of the cycle, dump the collected condensed water, optionally swapping the ice pack.

Do these work well enough to dehumidify dryer output in a rental environment?

Edit 1: For those recommending me to buy a ventless / condenser / heat pump dryer.

Feel free to send me $50-100 each, as I cannot afford one.

Do note, I do have a vent near where my dryer is, it is just very loud. Thus why I was thinking of supplementing it with this.

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[–] MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I don't see how it could condense the very hot damp air from the drier without an active refrigerant loop drawing a fair amount of power. It would also heat up the laundry room like crazy.

[–] doomsdayrs@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Already pretty hot, that's why I am trying to figure out solutions 😭

[–] MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Is there any window in the room (or close by) where you could stick the vent outside when drying stuff?

[–] doomsdayrs@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 week ago

Nope, If I put in my bedroom I wouldn't have any spacr

[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I mean, if you can't have the vent go outside, it's better than nothing, but it won't pull a majority out of the vented air without passing over the ice pack multiple times.

Only people I've ever known to try them thought they weren't worth a dime

[–] doomsdayrs@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 week ago

The sentiment of the others mirror yours, yeah I think its more worth it to aim the exhaust towards our vent fan.

I would sooner invest into a really long, reasonably well insulated hose to hang out the nearest window. If you can manage that sub 3 yards and the hose doesn't dip too much below it's exhaust vent height, I think this solution might beat DIY ice pack dehumidifiers.

[–] zigmus64@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

I have zero experience with these things (never even heard of them), but if you’re talking about some sort of passive system designed to condense water vapor out of conventional dryer exhaust, there’s no way something relying on an ice pack is going to make a meaningful dent in the water content of that air.

Dryer vent air can be about 120F at ~20% relative humidity (per a Google search). Looking at the psychrometric chart on engineeringtoolbox.com, if you were to cool that air down to 70F, it would be at 100% relative humidity (otherwise known as the dew point), meaning you wouldn’t have removed any moisture from the air…

Practically speaking, you’d basically just be massively increasing the humidity in your space… eventually it would likely condense on any surfaces in your home and increase the likelihood of mold growth.

[–] yaroto98@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

Maybe if you get a dedicated dehumidifier for the room. I don't see those options doing enough. Dryers output a LOT of water vaper. Especially with heavy loads like towels and sheets. Even then you'd want a continuous draining one otherwise the bucket will just keep filling up.

Those condenser kits are mostly bullshit. If you can't vent outside get a heatpump dryer.
They're expensive to buy, cheapest to run.

[–] August27th@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Had one of these over 20 years ago, along the lines of the one you linked. It was positively useless. Never again. The air in your home becomes saturated with water so quickly, and your clothes stop drying because the air can't accept any more moisture. A lot of heat comes out of the vent, ice or an ice pack would be done in less than 10 minutes, you'd drive yourself insane putting new ice in to condense upon, even if it worked, which it doesn't.

It might work if you put a couple of dehumidifiers in the room with it, but there is just so much moisture output from a dryer I am certain it would overwhelm them in short order because they are not built for that crazy level of moisture. Also, even though your dryer has a lint screen, a ton of lint makes it out anyway, quickly clogging the one in the kit, messing with the throughput. So you take the filter out of the unit so it can breathe, and lint gets absolutely everywhere. It sucks. Don't do it. Live with the outdoor noisy vent until you can save for a heat pump dryer. Don't waste your money.

[–] doomsdayrs@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Thank you for your story! I appreciate it.

[–] August27th@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 week ago

Np. Rereading it now, I'm sorry my wording was so firm and final, but my experience was so terrible I felt I couldn't let it happen to another person.

I am almost convinced these things are actual scams just to make money no matter the costs, not just a poor product that underperforms. I think they persist because it seems so plausible that it could work, but it just flat out does not, and the manufacturers just don't care as long as it still sells.

[–] Sickos@hexbear.net 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Not remotely. I had an indoor vented heated dryer and needed a huge dehumidifier running all the time. It actually just evaporated the water inside too, and made it even more humid. It DID catch the lint though, and I feel like the water helped with that.

I would recommend against one that was permanently mounted to the wall, like the one that was linked. Wall mounting is fine, but you're gonna need to give it a good clean every few loads. It's gonna get nasty.

[–] doomsdayrs@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

good point about the complexity, does your room also not have a vent?

[–] Sickos@hexbear.net 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Nah, this was in a basement, far from windows

[–] doomsdayrs@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 week ago

I wish we had the money for condenser dryers...

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Do you need to use a dryer or could you hang clothes up to dry instead? Would be free and doesn't damage your clothes as much.

[–] doomsdayrs@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The landlord stripped down the air dry lines, and did not give us a window / skylight for the shared room.

Sadness indeed.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

You could just tie a line between something, or airers are not that expensive if you don't want to make something yourself for it.

[–] doomsdayrs@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 week ago

I own a rack dear, It's a matter of time. 😉

[–] blackbrook@mander.xyz 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

What do you mean the vent is loud? Is the dryer so far from an exterior wall that there is some kind of fan apparatus to push the air there instead of a simple duct?

[–] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

There’s no way I would use this. Buy a ventless dryer.