Did you read the instruction manual for your new clothes dryer?  Are you protected against a possible tragedy - resulting from a dryer vent fire?

Lucky for me that I'm a total geek.  I always read the manuals that come with appliances, electronics and other types of equipment.  That has probably saved me a tremendous amount of anguish, and it's a good thing that I'll never know how much.  Of course, even when I follow all the instructions, I still end up have some type of frustration ... but that's probably just due to my amateur skills at doing anything technical ... and the fact that I'm a wimpy-armed woman.  And the frustration is usually only because I end up doing everything myself, rather than pay the extra money hiring someone to do it for me.

Anyway, I was certainly glad I did my nerdly duty when I found out about the dangers of improperly installed clothes dryer vents.  My Roper Heavy Duty Extra Large Capacity clothes dryer (purchased around 2004) specifically stated on the front cover that a flexible dryer vent would be a fire hazard and would void the warranty.  So I went through the extra effort of buying the recommended rigid steel dryer vent and performed the required acrobatics of leaning over the back of the dryer (up against the wall) in order to get it screwed securely into place.  No big deal, really.

Of course, I'd be really ticked if I had paid a professional to install the dryer and then later found out that I still had to go out and buy a new vent, and go through the acrobatics of installing it anyway because they hadn't followed the appliance manufacturer's instructions - thereby voiding the warranty. 

But how mad would I be if my whole house burned down because of a ridiculous $8 dryer vent?  Or how dead would I be?

This is why I not only recommend reading the appliance installation manuals, but I recommend reading them while your professional installer is at your home doing what you've paid them to do - properly and safely installing your appliance!