Electric vs. Gas

• Under certain circumstances, it may be acceptable to vent your electric dryer's exhaust into your living area. Never vent a natural gas or propane dryer into your house. Carbon monoxide is only the first of many dangers connected with allowing combustible exhaust to build up in your house.
  
  Poorly adjusted or partially plugged gas jets could allow a buildup of unignited fuel. One spark or a buildup of heat could send you looking for your homeowner's policy.
  
  

Humidity

• If you live in a dry climate and use a humidifier during the winter, you may think that the humidity from a load of laundry will make your living area more comfortable. Be aware that the average load of laundry coming out of the dryer will have about a gallon of water in it. If it takes 45 minutes to dry, you are putting 1 gallon of water into the air in your house in under one hour. Most whole-house humidifiers would take 24 hours or more to put out the same amount.
  
  

Mold and Mildew

• If your laundry room is poorly ventilated or located in an unheated basement, excess heat and moisture will provide ideal growing conditions for mold and mildew. Getting rid of these conditions once they get going can prove to be more trouble than installing a vent.
  
  

Lint

• Several lint traps for indoor venting are commercially available. Mostly, they consist of a vented box that directs the dryer's exhaust over the top of a reservoir of water. They work on the theory that the water in the bottom of the tank will trap any lint particles being expelled from the dryer, leaving only clean, moist air to return to the interior of the house.
  
  

Housekeeping

• If you do decide to vent your electric dryer into the house, maintain an adequate airflow in the laundry area.
  
  Lint accumulation inside the house can be a fire hazard. Vacuum or sweep it up before it has a chance to build up in corners and around the bases of cabinets and appliances.