Lara G. does not like calling moving into her new condo as downsizing. It’s true, she sold her large colonial home recently and moved into her smaller and newer abode just yesterday. To her absolute delight this new place is all and more than she could have dreamed of. Although her prior home was larger, this one is definitely more convenient and comfortable to her senior needs. The home she just sold was “old” although she would never admit it to her three adult children. Whenever they complained and explained that a woman living alone does not need such a large house, she always countered that she loved her home dearly; this was the place that she and her husband brought up their family and additionally, Lara claimed that it is not healthy to relocate seniors into strange territories.

All this changed when her close friend, Clare announced that she had bought a brand new condo not too far from where Lara lived and she begged Lara to at least take a look. Reluctantly, Lara allowed Clare to pick her up on that fateful Sunday several months ago to check out an apartment in Clare’s complex. It was perfect! Along with a new kitchen and bathrooms came three bedrooms for all her children to visit at once with their spouses and a laundry room, all on the same floor.

Lara did have a laundry room in her previous home, the problem was it was in the basement of her three level home. When she was working downstairs in the kitchen it wasn’t that difficult to go down to the basement to put in a load, but when she was already upstairs in her bedroom and she remembered that she had to transfer the damp load to the dryer, it was getting arduous climbing up and down the steps. Anyway, she would never start a dryer cycle when she was putting herself to bed because she has read enough stories online of the dangers of fires from dryers unattended.

Now that Lara has decided to relocate, a few challenges still lay before her. She bought every single new appliance for her new apartment including, a dishwasher, freezer, side by side refrigerator, cooktop, stove and washer and dryer. The refrigerator has an ice maker but that has not yet been connected so too with her dryer. When she called the plumber to install the washing machine she included connecting the ice maker. However, when the plumber attached the special hose for the icemaker in the back of the fridge, her fridge was no longer even with the cabinets. Setting up her frig to be even with the cabinets and not sticking out was a priority when she purchased the fridge and now the fridge was protruding. The plumber tried convincing Lara that it looked fine, but she insisted he find a different type of tubing that was flexible. She compared it to clothes dryer tubing which is like an accordion that can be compacted easily.

As far as hooking up the ice maker, Lara could live without it, and she still had one or two ice trays from her old freezer that she had packed. However, a more serious consideration was the connection of her clothes dryer.

The day after moving into her new apartment Lara decided to put a load of laundry into her newly installed washing machine. Her work clothes were soiled with dust and grime from her newly painted condo. The painters were professional and thorough which meant they did lots of sanding before even painting the primer on the walls. Lara’s cleaning crew that she hired was amazing and the apartment looked dust free as the movers brought in the furniture, boxes and other paraphernalia. However, as well as the painters cleaning up their mess and the crew that came after them, her clothing was full of white dust. “I’ll just hang the clothes up to dry if I don’t have a working dryer. What could be so problematic? Besides, didn’t I have a folding clothes rack installed for just this reason?”, Lara thought to herself.

Unfortunately, Lara had placed a couple of towels in the load along with her clothes and when she began removing the laundry from the washing machine, she realized that it was infeasible to hang all the laundry on the drying rack. She would definitely need the service of a clothes dryer, no doubt about it. Towels that are not put in the dryer are not usable to Lara or most other people and particularly to Lara since she has sensitive skin. There is nothing as luxurious as a fluffy towel straight from the dryer.

Lara moved the dryer away from the wall and checked out what was going on back there. The plug was easy to secure but the vent hose looked more challenging. The hole in the wall was cut the right size and it looked like there was a twisting part on each end of the hose that could fit easily both into the back of the dryer and into the wall.

Lara felt that she was up to the job and as she moved the dryer it was such a pleasure to see such a clean floor in back of the dryer. “I’m going to keep up this immaculate space in the back of my dryer. No more lint buildup for me.”, pledged Lara to herself. In Lara’s previous home she dreaded spring cleaning behind the dryer. Besides all the dust she felt uneasy when she spotted the vent hose. Not that she saw any specific holes but she was definitely apprehensive about the fact that it was older and should be replaced. Now she had a fresh start in her new abode she wanted to be assured of a completely safe laundry room with no scattered lint around.

As an excellent instructions follower (unlike her creative sister who would waste lots of time figuring out how to fix and put something together), Lara searched her I phone for instructions on how to attach this type of dryer vent hose. It took her some time, but she finally succeeded in attaching the hose on both sides, the dryer and the vent hole in the wall. Lara inserted the plug into the wall easily and then following the instructions on her phone was able to configure the vent hose into the dryer and hole in the wall. She carefully pushed the dryer back against the wall as gently as possible. She placed her laundry in the dryer and was about to turn it on when she got cold feet. What if the hose disconnects and lint starts flying all over the place or catches on fire?

Nowadays installing a new dryer is not that complicated assuming that your home has a hole cut out in a window or outside wall. When the tubing is installed snuggly it will stay in place and prevent any wild lint from entering back into your home. (Even if you do not need a new dryer a new venting hose is always a good idea, and not only will you rest easier, but your dryer will work more efficiently).

Gas and Electric Options to Power Your New Clothes Dryer

There are two ways to power a new clothes dryer, electric and gas. In certain instances, gas may be a more economical alternative, but many condos will not give you that option. So, if your only option is electricity, all you have to do is plug in the machine and have someone fit the venting tube. Today’s venting tubes have fittings that click and lock into the outdoor opening and to the machine itself and will not come off when done right. Some folks are intimidated to do a self-installation of the venting system, especially senior citizens. If the tubing is straightforward and the hole is ready, then it should not cost too much to call in a professional. In case you are confused and don’t know if you have a gas or electric machine, the best way to tell is to look behind it, noticing the kind of plug you have. While electric dryers have a recognizable four-prong plug,  gas dryers have a three-prong plug.

A dryer vent is essential in the home to guide wet exhaust air out of the house preventing it from mixing with hazardous gases. Some folks think that installing a new dryer vent hose to be a difficult procedure, but it is actually pretty straightforward if you have easy to understand instructions. Some folks think they can install electrical devices by themselves but when it starts getting complicated, they get scared. There is a connector for under ten dollars and it’s called Dryer Dock Dryer Vent Quick Release. This distinct option is easy to attach, saves space behind the dryer, and is also relatively easy to maintain. It has a “Quick Release System” that gives easy access to the dryer vent hose and vent pipe, so it can be easily removed for cleaning.

Final Words

It’s such a pleasure moving into a new home that has brand new appliances. For seniors who are downsizing and moving into condos or apartments, learning how to use those updated appliances could be daunting. Some appliances do not even come with paper instruction manuals and instead the consumer must download the instructions from the internet. The clothes dryer is probably one of the easier items both to install and to learn how to use. Just make sure before you buy a new washer and dryer that your condo association allows these appliances in the unit. Gas dryers need special hookups and typical gas, and electric dryers need a vent leading to the outside. There are certain types of dryers that are without vents but they are not the norm.

The one challenge for the condo owner when trying to self-install their clothes dryer is the venting tube. If possible, it would be more convenient if the tubing opening would be on the side of the dryer as opposed to the back of the dryer. This is not always possible but is certainly recommended for two reasons. You can easily check if the tubing is attached correctly in case the dryer moves. Also, if space is limited the dryer can be moved further back and most dryers today have two options, on top of the washing machine or on the side of it. This means that you can have full size washers and dryers as long as they are approximately the same length and width. Today’s clothes dryers have lots of options as far as length of time, size of load, type of clothes and even an option for a mixed load. Lint traps are also easier to clean since they are made of softer material.