apartment size dryer in furnace room?

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Our laundry room contains 4 washers and 4 dryers that we do not need to plug quarters into. The cost of doing laundry is covered by our Association Fees.
On owner has put an apartment size washer and dryer in the unit. Each unit has a separate furnace room within the unit. The dryer is in the furnace room of the apartment.
I am wondering (in your opinion) how safe this is.
Could the humidity from the dryer cause the furnace to quit working?
How much of a fire hazard (in your opinion) do you think this presents?
The furnace does not have a pilot light.

CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563

Posted:

Just to get things, started, Bonnie.

Knowing little about such matters, I think the Board, & you're on it, should contact your (1) utilities company. Electricity, I assume. (2) Your local Building Department. Some questions to answer that might help other on the forum who know about such things:

What fuels the furnaces in each unit? Electricity? in units

Who's responsible for maintaining the furnaces?

How is the dryer vented and to where? If to the outside (one hopes!), did the owner get permission from your Board to knock a hole in the exterior wall?

How is the washer plumbed? Did the owner get permission from your Board to run the plumbing to this washer from somewhere else in the unit?

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By CarolR11 on 03/23/2014 3:25 PM
Just to get things, started, Bonnie.

Knowing little about such matters, I think the Board, & you're on it, should contact your (1) utilities company. Electricity, I assume. (2) Your local Building Department. Some questions to answer that might help other on the forum who know about such things:

What fuels the furnaces in each unit? Electricity? in units

Who's responsible for maintaining the furnaces?

How is the dryer vented and to where? If to the outside (one hopes!), did the owner get permission from your Board to knock a hole in the exterior wall?

How is the washer plumbed? Did the owner get permission from your Board to run the plumbing to this washer from somewhere else in the unit?

The furnace is a gas furnace.
The owner is responsible for maintaining the furnace.
The dryer is vented to a small box. It is not vented to the outside.
The washer is made for apartments and the resident drains the water either into her tub or toilet.

PeterD3 (Florida)
Posts: 708

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By BonnieG1 on 03/23/2014 5:37 PM

Posted By CarolR11 on 03/23/2014 3:25 PM
Just to get things, started, Bonnie.

Knowing little about such matters, I think the Board, & you're on it, should contact your (1) utilities company. Electricity, I assume. (2) Your local Building Department. Some questions to answer that might help other on the forum who know about such things:

What fuels the furnaces in each unit? Electricity? in units

Who's responsible for maintaining the furnaces?

How is the dryer vented and to where? If to the outside (one hopes!), did the owner get permission from your Board to knock a hole in the exterior wall?

How is the washer plumbed? Did the owner get permission from your Board to run the plumbing to this washer from somewhere else in the unit?

The furnace is a gas furnace.
The owner is responsible for maintaining the furnace.
The dryer is vented to a small box. It is not vented to the outside.
The washer is made for apartments and the resident drains the water either into her tub or toilet.

You sound a little paranoid.

Those units are designed for inside use, sink supply/drain.
They are typically 115vac 15 amp so assuming she is using existing electrical service and the electrical outlet is properly wired and protected you have no worries.

The little vent box is likely a water filled lint trap. The dryer does not need to be vented outside, these are typically 1000 -1500 watts, however the furnace room will get hotter but that in itself is not a fire hazard. Once she gets here power bill she may reconsider!

If you have no rules or restrictions regarding this than you should just drop it.

Calling all these agencies sounds alarmist.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Carol,

Are there any restrictions on having a washer/dryer?

If not, based on what Peter has said, it sounds like it's not that much of an issue.

If there are restrictions, now that the Association is aware of the issue, they need to decide to either enforce those restrictions or allow anyone else who wants to do the same thing to have a washer/dryer.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Err, Bonnie (not Carol).

sorry about that.

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Without going into detail, the dryer in the furnace room is not the main issue. A furnace repair that she thinks the Association should pay for is the main issue. She says our PM caused the damage but has no proof of who cause the damage. Our PM was not even hired yet when the one service company was in her unit. There is more to this situation than I want to post on this site.
The only way the dryer in the furnace would would be an issue is if puch came to shove on who should pay for the furnace repairs.

CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563

Posted:

Nice info, Peter! I only know about the stack washer/dryers in our condos & they do vent outside. And the washer has its own hot/cold water coming to it. In addition, plumbing changes need to be approved in our condos. Sounds like the set up in Bonnie's attached two-story units are different.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By BonnieG1 on 03/23/2014 7:39 PM

A furnace repair that she thinks the Association should pay for is the main issue.

This is the first you posted about repairs to a furnace being required. I thought you were just posting about concerns.

The only person who may be able to identify the cause of damage to the furnace would be the repair technician who sees the actual damage and the condition of the surrounding area. Once the Board is made aware of what the damage is, what may or may not have caused the damage and what your governing documents specify on who's responsibility the furnace is, you can make an informed decision on who should pay for the repairs and how much the Board desires to fight any challenge to that decision.

JayP3 (Florida)
Posts: 154

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By BonnieG1 on 03/23/2014 7:39 PM
Without going into detail, the dryer in the furnace room is not the main issue. A furnace repair that she thinks the Association should pay for is the main issue. She says our PM caused the damage but has no proof of who cause the damage. Our PM was not even hired yet when the one service company was in her unit. There is more to this situation than I want to post on this site.
The only way the dryer in the furnace would would be an issue is if puch came to shove on who should pay for the furnace repairs.

This accusation regarding the PM could be the case regardless of the presence of this W/D unit.

Call a furnace repair expert and be sure you tell him/her the main issue(s).

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JayP3 on 03/24/2014 5:01 AM

Posted By BonnieG1 on 03/23/2014 7:39 PM
Without going into detail, the dryer in the furnace room is not the main issue. A furnace repair that she thinks the Association should pay for is the main issue. She says our PM caused the damage but has no proof of who cause the damage. Our PM was not even hired yet when the one service company was in her unit. There is more to this situation than I want to post on this site.
The only way the dryer in the furnace would would be an issue is if puch came to shove on who should pay for the furnace repairs.

This accusation regarding the PM could be the case regardless of the presence of this W/D unit.

Call a furnace repair expert and be sure you tell him/her the main issue(s).

The furnace has been repaired. I talked to the owner who as of the date I talked to her had not received a bill for the repairs. The Board is quite certain that our PM did not cause the problem. The owner's mother who lives in the unit has changed her story at least three times. One of her stories would have happened before we had even hired our PM. We were self managed until the PM was hired.
I was voted in as President on a Tuesday in February and woke up to this problem on Wednesday.

JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265

Posted:

As one poster said. There are "small, portable" washers and dryers that run on 120v. The washers hook up to a faucet and discharge into a sink. The dryers have a type filter that allows them to vent inside. Portable does not mean they have to be moved. I have seen some more permanently mounted with the hoses run across a room when in use.

They have been an item of discussion and contention in many condo associations.

SteveM9 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 3,699

Posted:

Quote:

I was voted in as President on a Tuesday in February and woke up to this problem on Wednesday.

The owner is responsible for maintaining the furnace. Doesn't sound like a problem to me.

Letter:
We have received your request for reimbursement for repairs. The CCR/Bylaws state the owner is responsible for maintaining their furnace thus no action taken for reimbursement. Request denied.

SteveM9 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 3,699

Posted:

You must also follow the CCR/Bylaws, sometimes this makes people unhappy. Its not your job to make people happy.

BonnieG1 (Nebraska)
Posts: 1,186

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By SteveM9 on 03/25/2014 8:02 AM

I was voted in as President on a Tuesday in February and woke up to this problem on Wednesday.

The owner is responsible for maintaining the furnace. Doesn't sound like a problem to me.

Letter:
We have received your request for reimbursement for repairs. The CCR/Bylaws state the owner is responsible for maintaining their furnace thus no action taken for reimbursement. Request denied.

For most of our owners this would not be an issue. However the owner of this unit is a realtor who has caused problems before. She is claiming our PM caused the damage with no proof to back this claim. I persoanally think the last company that worked on the condensation line is the company who caused the damage, but I have no proof of that either other that the furnace quit working about 4 months after the company worked on the condesation lines. The owner claims the condensate line was left on top of the furnace or something like that. The last company that worked on the furnace is the company who repaired the furnace and to date there is not bill for repairs.

SteveM9 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 3,699

Posted:

Respond to her claim, then forget about it. Not your problem.