[BB_TX]

Noticed a large crack in the frame of the dryer vent cover. Then noticed it looked chalky and brittle and when I touched it, it basically disintegrated. Great, something else to do.

Looking it over, I knew this ol' old boy was not going to get that washer/dryer combo out of that front closet by himself. So began looking at options. Wish I had taken pictures, but never thought about it at the time. So maybe I can paint a picture to help anyone who may be faced with it.

Bought a new standard 3 flap louvered dryer vent cover at Home Depot. Just like the old one.

Decided to gently pull the old cover off hoping the hose would pull thru the hole in the wall with it. Wishful thinking of course. The hose immediately fell off the extended tube on the back of the cover. That is when I noticed it had been held on by a hose clamp. I could put the new cover in place, stick my hand thru the hole, but no way to manipulate the hose back over the tube on the back of the cover.

Brain goes into overdrive. And I actually come up with a plan. Noticing the hose was the same diameter as the hole in the wall, I removed the hose clamp, and carefully inched the hose thru the wall, a fraction of an inch at a time as it was a tight fit, until it was all the way thru to the outside edge of the wall. It was very snug in the hole when finished, and I reached in and pressed the pleated aluminum hose firmly against the inside of the hole. (Note here that the old cover had about a 6" long alum tube on the back that the new one did not have. But I took that tube off the old one and put it on the new one. Perfect fit). I carefully eased the alum tube on the new cover into the hose in the wall. Again, a little at a time as it was very snug, and it went all the way in. Put the screws back in, caulked it, and done. What I thought may take hours, took about 30 minutes. Had I known what to do first, I could have done it in 10 minutes. And the hose is probably more secure now than it was with the hose clamp before.

A couple interesting observations;
- The hose came out of the back of the dryer, thru the rear wall of the cabinet, into a void between the rear of the dryer cabinet and the front cap, before turning to the side wall where it exited thru the wall. That could really have been a chore if I had to remove the dryer and part of the inside of the cabinet. I had been wondering why I could not see the hose inside by looking thru the narrow space between the dryer and the wall.
- I was a somewhat impressed with the sidewall insulation. I did not measure it, but it was something in the range of 3"-4" thick where they had drilled the large hole thru for the vent.

May not work for all dryer locations, but definitely worth a look before pulling the dryer.