Please help..I know this is random and I feel very "I love lucy" but long story short my flash drive went down my dryer vent. I was cleaning it out and had too many things in my hand. On top of that...I am in Austin (where it is flooding). I don't think it made its way outside b/c I wadded through some water looking (and I think it is too heavy). I took the back of the dryer off and the "tubing" but don't see it. I think it was too heavy to make its way all the way out. WHAT CAN I DO? I AM SERIOUSLY PANICKED. Am I just screwed?
Thank you in advance.
Flying Dragon2007-06-27T23:50:30Z
Favorite Answer
If you were Lucy, you would have got your arm stuck in it trying to get it out!
It is a little ambiguous just where you lost the flash drive; did it fall into the place in the drier where the lint filter goes in? Or did it actually fall into the flexible outlet hose? If it is the first case, first, unplug the drier, then look in where the filter belongs with a flashlight and see if you can see it (I don't think the air comes out of a drier fast enough to blow a flash drive through the vent tube) I think it is still in the machine. If you can't see it, and there is enough space, tape a small mirror to a stick insert in filter slot and use the flashlight to see around the corner and see if is is visible. (Note: they sell a tool that has a small mirror mounted on an extendible handle specifically for these kind of problems). If you still can't see it, drag the machine out from the wall and try looking into the tube where the hot air comes out of the drier (the place where the vent hose would be attached). If still no luck, try carefully tipping the machine each direction (you'll need to really tip it; almost laying it on each side) and listen for object(s) sliding around inside. If you don't have a boyfriend or husband, you might need to "borrow one" if the machine is too heavy for you to tip it yourself. (Note: If it's an old drier, there may be a lot of random objects, coins, paper clips, jewelery etc that have accumulated over the years, so noises are not a gauranteed success). It is also possible that it is caught somewhere between the filter slot and the outlet and won't just fall out by tipping the machine; in this case, you're going to have to take it apart! You might want to get some help with this. For a lot of driers, the whole front comes off just undoing a few screws and a couple of wires; just keep careful track of where all the parts go! (Because there are so many brands, I can't give you detailed instructions for dissassembly).
If you mean the flash drive fell into the flexible drier vent hose that comes out of the back of the machine; you are going to have to follow the hose; the drive will probably be at the first place where the vent hose stops going downward and becomes horizontal. Shake the hose and you should be able feel it moving around inside. Once you have located it I would just make an "incision" and preform "flash-drive-ectomy"! You can seal it with duct tape, or better, use the aluminum foil tape.
No I don't think you are screwed, It's got to be there. It's to heavy to have gone anywhere, but down from where you dropped it. So when you say you dropped it down the dryer vent, does that mean you dropped it in the lint trap? In that case that's where you need to look. Pull the back off the dryer and look inside the lint trap. Good Luck also try calling the manufacturer and tell them what happened and they may be able tell you over the phone how to get to it. Good Luck! If you need my help send me an e-mail.
If you're saying it went down the clean out trap when you were cleaning the screen of lint, then it's still iside you machine. There is NO WAY a dryer will blow hard enough to push it out through the vent pipe. You'll have to take the back off your machine and get at the piping from your lint trap to the bottom where the piping hooks on.
Not sure what a flash drive is. But my goodness, if that dryer vent you're talking of is on the floor it may be a tough challenge. I asked my boyfriend and he said you need to get it out, or it will block the ventilation. And if it's on the floor then it probally has a bend in the tubing and that you should try and see if a plumbing snake might work. If not call a local heating and air company to assist you.