New dryer doesn’t fit? Hose too long?

Step-by-step repair

News 6 Sports Director Jamie Seh bought a new clothes dryer, but the installers used a dryer vent hose that was too long so her closet doors wouldn’t close! If your hose is too long (or too short), this is for you.

We purchased:

Short dryer vent hose

We brought with us:

Phillips screwdriver

We recommend:

A pair of pliers

Find more DIY guides from the Handy Newsman on YouTube:

Step 1

Asses. How long is your dryer vent hose? Jamie’s hose was waaaay too long – so long that it snaked around the back of her dryer and bunched up against the wall so Jamie couldn’t push her dryer back far enough to fit in her laundry closet. Her hose was probably 5 feet long. We only needed a hose that was about a foot long.

Step 2

Buy a new hose, or cut your old one. Remember, dryer hoses compress and expand. They come in maximum lengths but if you compress them together like an accordion they are much shorter. We purchased one that we could expand to attach both ends and then compress it when we pushed the dryer back in. If yours is too long, you can use scissors to cut the hose and wire clippers to cut the circular wire that gives the hose its shape.

Step 3

Make sure to attach the clamps! Usually dryer vent hoses come with clamps. If they’re the kind that you squeeze the ends to expand them, you may need to use a pair of pliers to hold the clamp ends squeezed together while you slide the clamp over the end of the hose. Worm clamps are better - they have a screw that loosens and tightens the clamp. Either way, make sure to attach a clamp to the end that connects to your dryer vent and the end that connects to your wall.

Step 4

Move your dryer back into place – carefully! Slowly and carefully slide your dryer back against the wall while looking over the top of it to make sure you don’t pinch or crush your new hose. It’s ok if the hose arches and curls as long as it isn’t crushed.

You just got results at home!

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About the Author

Erik von Ancken anchors and reports for News 6 and is a two-time Emmy award-winning journalist in the prestigious and coveted "On-Camera Talent" categories for both anchoring and reporting.

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