A U.K. homeowner looking for a temporary way to seal an unused dryer vent took to social media for advice.
They ended up with a surprisingly practical list of options, including rockwool, steel wool, expanding foam, a vent cover, or even a few bricks and mortar.
Here's what to know
The question surfaced in a Reddit thread on the site's r/HomeImprovementUK forum. The original poster asked how to shut off an unused dryer vent in an exterior wall and specifically wondered if expanding foam with a cap would do the job.
The OP also said they were "not the most handy person" and hoped an inexpensive DIY fix would be enough because they likely needed larger renovations within the next two years.
Because the repair only needed to last until that later work, commenters mostly favored simple stopgaps over a more polished rebuild. Suggestions included, "Just push some rockwool up it for now you are doing a full renovation shortly," and "Buy a vent cover from a DIY shop."
Pest prevention was another common theme in the thread. One commenter recommended, "Stuff it with steel wool and then expanding foam, [that] should tide you over until you can [get] it taken care of as part of the renovations with new bricks. Rodents don't like steel wool so they won't chew through it."
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
Another preferred a masonry-style fill, arguing that "I'd want to fill it with bricks and cement. Another option is cement in the core from a new boiler flue or soil pipe. [The] main thing is to stop rats."
More background
Some of the thread's ideas came from personal experience. One commenter said, "I put a polythene bag in mine and filled it full of foam so it wouldn't overspill onto the brick. Still going 10 years later."
At the simplest end, commenters approached the vent as something to pack and then cover. Commenters suggested Rockwool, newspaper, or a polythene bag as filler, then used some kind of exterior cap to keep the opening closed. But expanding foam came up most often when paired with something else in the hole.
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
