Exterior Dryer vent gaurd - Homemade or purchased?

Drawbacks from making your own from Hardware Cloth or .5"x1"?
The few I've done I've made my own but this job will be a 3rd floor exterior vent so customer won't be able to get to it for cleanout other than from the inside.
Ideas experience?

Thanks,
HJ

http://www.wildlifecontrolsupplies.com/animal/Vent_covers/WCSHEC-6.html

This!

IMO, this is the only vent we should be installing on dryers. I've been installing them for several years now and they are as close to self cleaning as I have ever found, seriously. I have one on my own home.
It's both overkill and an eyesore to use this one on bath vents (fart fans) so it's best to use either the deflecto or a metal guard depending on pressure.

The photo was pulled off the net. I always paint mine to match.

I live and work in a area that is not tight with their money, I have a couple pretty good sales guys that work for us, I however would be hard pressed to sell a 75.00 vent cover....That's just the base cost to us...by the time its all said and done you would have to charge 150.00 for that cover to clear your costs and labor plus make a profit...a 150.00 dryer vent cover?

Mike, look closer that's 72 per case of six or 12 per not counting shipping and I get 75 per install.

$12.95 ea. or a case of 6 for $72 I think it is.

FIRE..........aka liability

I will not install any sort of mesh screen type guard on a dryer for that very reason. You can tell, ask, beg and get it signed in blood your customers still won't clean the lint you trap in a mesh type guard.

Here is what we do: We order a case of plastic ones ( Mostly white & a few brown ) from Doug Fields at Fields Development. We also order a couple of stainless steel for those requesting it. ( Yes, they're expensive, but some customers don't care )

On my own house I have the kind that warrior has pictured. I would never suggest or install those because I don't know how they react to different weather. We had a lot of problems with the first bunch sticking in the up position but I'm betting if you ask warrior, Georgia probably had no such problems.

P.S. If I had to identify the most important thing that I have learned in talking to all you guys from coast to coast, it is this: We learn from each other! Red Green is right. "We're all in this together."

We install Heartland vents as well. Painted as per mfg. instructions to protect from UV as well as look better. Sticking in the up position has not been an issue here and have them on my house. Paul is yours a Heartland? There are some lookalikes on market. As I understand it Heartland vents (VENTS not covers-"covers" can be a code issue in some areas on dryers) were developed and made in one of the northern states (North or South Dakota?) to help with heat loss as well as wildlife entry. Have had a few with a burr that needs to be taken care of to allow free movement.

We install no screens plastic or otherwise over dryer vents (fan vents yes) due to lint build up which can pose a fire hazard (as Vinke said) or shorten the life of dryer/incomplete drying of clothes or running more cycles to dry clothes. I don't trust customers to remember to clean screens and don't want to be the one who put a cover over the dryer vent.

How a bout an add-on of return trips to clean them...not that I have the time to do this, but you guys talk about add-ons a lot...Idk....just sayin

Is an add on sale for us. Believe WCS still sells the kit. Just don't want to be the cause of the need for cleaning.

Charles, Menards sells the exact vent that David's got pictured in his post. You're right, it doesn't say Heartland and it costs $20.

I installed that $20 one about 18 months to 2 years ago after our Heartland died. I actually like this one better. I just took it off

so I could see how it was working. I'm sure the efficiency of your vent is directly connected to the efficiency of your dryer. I had

a lot less lint to clean out of the dryer tube this time. We have a better dryer, which probably explains it. My post was completely

wrong. We rarely install dryer vent covers, but we do a lot of bathroom vents. I need to read more accurately.

I was curious when I first got them so I put the first one on a quarterly customer's house so I could keep an eye on it. Never found it stuck open or closed and other than dust no lint clogs or blockages of any type. I put one on my own home and got the same results so now every house I roll up on gets one if they buy.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_34500-85334-VTL0018_1z11pkq+2z8vl__?productId=3203201&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1%26page%3D1&facetInfo=$15%20-%20$25

This is the best one I've found. It's completely metal. The metal damper has a gasket so it also airseals to a certain extent.

Matt

Never heard them called that David! That's a keeper!

I actually looked right past this one as I didn't see it had the swinging damper.
thanks everyone for the info!