Dryer venting and any appliance venting is an important consideration when purchasing your home.
Every appliance has design specifications and the appliance will have a warranty if you use it according to specifications. If you do not use the appliance as designed, you can have problems of water, fire, mold, energy losses, health and investment.
The leaky condo crisis on the lower mainland of British Columbia is an example of bad dryer vent design as well as other appliances. This page will deal specifically with dryer venting.
Dryers belong on an exterior wall because they are venting lots of humidity and lint. The further you are from an exterior wall, the more chances there are of problems. There is usually a serpentined hose behind the dryer and the number of turns or bends affect air flow. In multi-family dwellings and condominiums (condos) the laundry rooms are further away from exterior walls. The dryer specs showed the dryer isn’t designed to push hot humid air and lint the distances required.
Canada Mortgage and Housing reported to me that they did not consider the venting as a contributor to leaky condos even though the appliance manufacturer states potential water problems.
The construction industry doesn’t consider the type of appliance when they design the building so the exhaust runs can be long and therefore keep lint and water inside the building. I have actually consulted on buildings where the dryer vents went from the first floor up to the roof and there is no way they can push that far. It was further terrifying for the maintenance man to tell me of the dryer drums scored with heat because of lint falling back into the appliance.
I have attached specifications and considerations in a PDF format so buyer beware. When you sign on with a condo association you assume liability for your portion of the building. If one condo unit has problems with dryer venting, the fire and water issues threaten the whole condo complex.