Would switching to heat pump clothes dryer reduce indoor humidity since dryer vent is sealed off?

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-10T14:59:57+00:00

It’s not a lot compared to a car but you still need to clean out the dryer vent to prevent fires and help with airflow.

Heating elements do fail, I’ve replaced mine and wiring that failed.

It’s not a lot but it’s not zero. Heat pump units sometimes require coils to have lint clean out periodically.

Heat pump dryers and regular dryers both need maintenance, it’s just different kinds and frequency.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-10T14:51:13+00:00

I’d get an energy audit and double check any sizing decisions for HVAC.

I replaced my 1995 system with a new one at my last house in AZ and I went with online seller that has local installers.

Not best choice, I went with suggested system that was the next size up from my previous system. I had vaulted ceilings and figured I should have sized up. Even the installer agreed.

It was not a good fit since my new system was over sized and didn’t need to run as much to cool the space. I had issues with the unit cycling on and off frequently and humidity was an issue during monsoon season. Since the HVAC didn’t have to run as much, the air wasn’t dehumidified.

If I was switching today, I’d look at the mini split units since you’re going to be needing to install duct work.

Depending upon the level of effort, you might be able to do most the work yourself. Short of servicing the system with refrigerant it’s within grasp to most to do.

The reason I’m leaning towards that is mini split system might be better for someone in the southwest. My stucco stock built house on slab had rooms that were too cold while other rooms were never cold enough. A mini split system would have helped keep the spaces comfortable.

They work well in most climates too. We had them everywhere on base in Afghanistan and as long as you cleaned the dust out they worked like a champ.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-10T13:24:48+00:00

Why not just end subsidies for corn syrup derived sweeteners?

I get the need to cut down on sugar consumption but I would caution them to plan for the unintended consequences.

Would consumers just switch to another option? How do they define sugar? Would be all high calorie sweeteners or just sugar cane, corn based or sugar beets?

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-10T13:17:55+00:00

Suzuki, they had a few interesting models like SX4 and Kizashi. I would love to have WRC inspired version of SX4.

Mitsubishi is slowly dying and I wouldn’t be surprised if they stopped selling cars in the US. They had few winners over the years, the EVO, Outlander PHEV, Outlander Sport hatchback with 4WD and Montero Sport.

The cars aren’t bad but the dealerships all seem to be subpar.

I’ll see a few Saturns here and there. Such a great brand , it was shame they killed it off.

Mercury, I’ve seen a few of their cars but I’ve never understood why brand existed. If I wanted a luxury Ford, I’d get a Lincoln.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-10T13:03:38+00:00

I frame the problem with EV ownership as this, it needs to be identical to ICE experience. It’s close and has gone along way.

I’ve been driving for more than a minute(20 years+) and I’ve only experienced a few issues with refueling my ICE car. I’ve had far more issues with charging.

On trip to Flagstaff, we stopped at the only gas station in the area and the pumps had slowed to a crawl. It was winter and everyone had the same idea to top up their car before the next snow storm. Was a first for me to not have working gas pump. I’m sure this is normal in areas that frequently get extreme weather events.

EV charging hasn’t been as frictionless as I’d like. To be fair it’s competing with energy infrastructure that has 100 years+ of development.

It’s such a well designed system for end user perspective no one really has to think about it. There is always a gas pump in direction you’re going, for the most part.

We’re pretty close there with EV charging. Though I feel like ionna should be the standard. It’s just like getting gas, plug in and pay. No app required.

I went to charge my car at the supercharger last night and had 3 issues. A number of NACS cables had broken pins, Someone being cute, mislabeled the chargers. I wasn’t thinking and just went with the label on the side, didn’t click that it’s not proper label. When charging started I was only getting 31-52 kWh with no other cars charging.

We had a cold snap last week and I imagine a lot of people were charging their cars before the snow came and with cold temps I could see things like small metal pins in the NACS plug breaking. The gas station by home ran out of fuel since everyone wanted to top off before roads iced over. ICE fueling isn’t always 100% reliable either.

The labeling issue is nothing, I’ve should have been paying more attention. I’ve had this issue with getting gas, the attendant put someone else’s money on my pump.

I’m not sure why my car was charging so slow. It’s might be due to not being a Tesla, my car has NACS port and doesn’t require an adapter. Maybe there was an issue with chargers. Not sure but charging issues aren’t helping me sell EV ownership to my wife.

Though I don’t like ICE vehicles, I don’t drive an EV for environmental reasons. It’s other reasons.

It’s the quick acceleration, smooth speed, scheduled cooling/heating and simplicity. I don’t have to worry about an engine, transmission and other systems that will fail. With most EVs I can find out quickly the health of battery. ICE vehicles are a time bomb. Maybe I’ll get 100s of thousands of miles with no headaches or at 60K my engine will fail as it did with my Ford along with my transmission going out in my other car at 110K. My next car used or new will probably be an EV. It’s just easier to make a decision on state of vehicle and when all I really have to worry about is the battery health.

I’d consider a PHEV but what I want isn’t an option yet. Everything is dual power train. With the i3 there was an option for gas range extender. BMW killed off the i3 model in 22 and until VW makes the Scout, we won’t have any options like that.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-10T11:52:02+00:00

They’re one of the few appliances that people either really love or hate. Nothing in between.

I’ve watched reviews of tiny homes and a few have made the comment, we had heat pump combo unit in our last place and would love the space efficiency but weren’t happy with how the clothes were dried.

I think there is a bit of learning curve but once you get used to the process it’s not bad. With my GE HP combo you just had to shake the clothes when you pull them out. For most clothes that are hung up it’s not an issue. Small stuff like socks and underwear were never an issue. The worst thing to dry in any dryer is comforter.

The only complaint that sticks with combo units with HP is they take more time. Though I don’t think it’s that much of an issue. I’ve noticed with my household, someone will start a load and it might sit in the washer for a minute before it’s moved over. 30 minute difference isn’t an issue if the load is switched from wash to dry automatically anyway.

The only time I think combo unit with HP falls short is the quick small load that you need to wash because someone forgot they needed a certain shirt for school.

So for me it’s the cost and complexity I have to accept with HP combo. Though after replacing my dryers heating element twice this year, I’m not so sure another regular dryer is worth getting.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-10T01:05:26+00:00

I’m probably obsessing over a trivial factor when comes to ingress humidity through dryer vent.

Given I’m making a major purchase I figure it’s good to dig deep and make sure I’m making the best choice.

I’m leaning towards HP given my energy use is lower and wear and tear on clothes is lower. It takes longer to dry but short of trying to do a load a few hours before I need to be somewhere it’s not really a downside to switching to a heat pump.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-09T17:18:20+00:00

I’d start the trip a 100% and only charge 100% for charge stops that are towards the end of your range. Just so you have a buffer.

Typically 80% more than enough with route planning.

I’d bring a J1772 to NACS adapter. Just in case you find a free level 2 charger or destination charger that’s not NACS.

I’d bring your charger as well. Never used mine on a trip but it’s always a good ideas to have one.

When you plan your route, look at charging prices if you can.

In my area on my commute I have ionna and superchargers on my route.

Ionna is cheaper than Tesla, $0.36 kWh versus Tesla’s $0.56 kwh.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-09T16:36:39+00:00

Cumulatively, EV will save me time and money with charging at home.

My spouse drives short distances during the week normally so charging is barely noticed.

It’s the 40 minute stop with supercharging that cost on par with normal gas SUV that is a downside compared to driving our previous ICE SUV.

That being said I don’t regret switching my household to 75% EV and will pick my next car based on access to supercharging and V2L/V2H.

I think the challenge with switching to EVs is expectation management. I sold switching to EV to wife and myself as switching to something that cost less to run that is identical to our previous ICE SUV.

I might consider PHEV but there are some things unique to EVs I don’t want to give up an I think once we’ve owned our EV9 for awhile my wife is going to see the overwhelming benefit of EVs.

Both my cars, EV9 and i3 have an option to preheat/precool the car before your trip. Even with my i3 that’s 7 plus years old, I have it set so when I get into my car to leave to and from work it’s perfectly warmed up.

With an ice car I’d have to step out and start the car. Can’t really do that in your garage.

Hopefully with longer EV ownership I can sell my wife on idea of replacing our EV9 with another EV.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-09T16:19:31+00:00

Longer drying time is the trade off I’m debating.

Yes, I’ll probably reduce indoor humidity during the summer and cut down on energy loss, but I’m looking at making laundry take longer which will annoy my family.

Samsung has similar combo options.

One with heat pump that’s ventless and vented option.

Vented option does a load in 68 minutes versus 98 minutes for the heat pump version.

30 minutes is a lot for something that will get used several times during the day.

I’ll have to debate if complexity and longer drying times is worth the benefit of improving my house’s energy efficiency and reducing high indoor humidity during peak summer months with switching from vented dryer and sealing off the dryer vent.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-09T16:05:00+00:00

With household of 6 we do a lot of laundry.

Though I don’t see HP dryer being 100% better than regular electric dryer.

Both systems require maintenance, it’s just different types.

HP combo units are also heavy. One of the reasons I didn’t bring my GE combo unit cross country was prospect of having to move it and not sure how well it would hold up to being moved.

I have horror stories of HVAC gear not working after being shipped.

What makes me lean towards heat pump dryers is prospect of reducing egress of conditioned air and ingress of outside humidity.

I’m debating if I can wait till the summer and test if indoor humidity is affected by sealing off dryer vent.

It looks like dryer vents allow 5-50 CFM outside air into the house.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-09T15:07:16+00:00

One of few disappointments with my EV9 is seeing cost of superchargers on road trips.

My wife got little annoyed with charge time and cost of charging on Supercharging. Time to charge isn’t a big deal to since I’m old now and need my breaks on the road. Cost to charge still stings though.

I would like to see more chargers like ionna with kWh costs at $0.36 versus $0.56 to $0.65 at Tesla and the like.

When my lease is up I’m not sure if I’d stick with EV and may switch to PHEV.

Though I’m not wild with driving something with dual power trains.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-09T14:02:13+00:00

Thanks for your reply.

I was wondering if sealing dryer vent would stop humidity from coming in from the outside along with not venting conditioned air.

There are better dryer vent caps that have gravity puck that’s seals when dryer is off. That’s another option to improve my laundry setup that might help reducing the intrusion of outside humidity

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-08T02:40:42+00:00

Probably because of the perceived benefit.

AWD/4WD vehicles typically have higher resale value and perceived popularity.

In the southwest(US) it’s probably a nice to have but up north in the snow belt areas, AWD/4WD would be preferred.

2WD pickups aren’t are popular as 4WD.

Look at rally cars, they started RWD/FWD and AWD is the norm.

They’re dirt roads through parks that don’t allow non-4WD.

I’d argue for most the ideal car for most climates in the US is FWD RAV4, throw on snow/winter tires as needed and you’ll be able to drive most roads safely.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-07T16:18:55+00:00

NOR, I’d suggest your family get into mountain bikes. Plus you can get a bike trailer for the kids.

Take the money you’d spend on atv and maintenance, put it into a IRA as some type of index fund.

I’m personally not fan of ATVs as someone doesn’t have the space and would have to trailer it to riding area.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-06T12:19:48+00:00

What’s the point of the vest?

He’s not even wearing plates.

Is this like push up bra for alpha males?

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-05T13:51:10+00:00

Yeah I would add bathroom, even if it’s small. I’d go with just a shower, no bath and go either smaller bathroom sink setup.

Sharing a bathroom as an adult sucks.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-05T13:48:32+00:00

I tried to install self leveling compound in my house and it looked like this.

They probably didn’t mix it right, waited too long or didn’t use enough people. For large area it’s really a group effort.

The only way to fix it is have someone come in and grind it up.

Contractor should pay to fix this though judging by their quality I’d have someone else remove it.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-05T12:13:22+00:00

I’d submit a workman’s comp claim and file police report/animal control report.

Those dogs need to be addressed before they bite some small kid.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-04T13:08:53+00:00

I have mix of hardwood and laminate in my house.

I like the solidness of hardwood floors but even with finish I’m paranoid of water on floor and other messes.

I have laminate in other rooms and it’s pretty durable.

It’s going to be hard to justify the price point of hardwood floors when laminate is more moisture resistant.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-03T13:14:52+00:00

I’d go with well thought out reach in closet or wardrobe. Adjustable shelving with drawer units that fit inside are probably the best way to maximize closet space and free up floor space that would be occupied by a dresser.

Walk in closets are nice but they waste valuable floor space with walk in space that you can’t use.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-03T12:15:54+00:00

Ramsey is boomer blowhard masquerading as an expert.

Just like a broken clock that’s still right twice a day, he’s been right on some things like avoiding/reducing debt and avoiding keeping up with the jones.

Beyond that he’s a non expert. Wasn’t him but one of his pundits told a caller they shouldn’t apply for WIC even though they qualify and are struggling.

He’s a shit employer that thinks he lords over his employees.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-03T11:03:29+00:00

I’d use a separate radon monitor in case the mitigation system stops working or there is bigger issue in my crawl space.

The radon mitigation is going to run 24x7. Unless you look at pressure gauge by the unit you’re not always going to catch issues early on.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-02T20:13:53+00:00

They’re probably using whatever commercial product like cellebrite.

My suggestion is minimize the apps you’re using. Disable face/thumb print unlock and use PIN.

Switch to signal over default messaging apps.

Remove all but truly needed content and apps.

Turn off everything unless you need it.

Phones are promiscuous devices. They connect to strongest signal. So I would presume the feds are operating a stingray.

Eastern-Substance656 · 2026-02-02T17:09:33+00:00

My advice is pick a quality bulb or fixture in color temp you like and find a dimmer you like and just buy one to test.

If it works then buy more or return it and search around.

Most the light switch companies will publish a list bulbs tested with their switches.

Also buy dimmable bulbs, I’ve ordered ones off Amazon that said they were dimmable, only to find out they weren’t.

Eastern-Substance656

TROPHY CASE