Venting a washer dryer with a "Water Box"

[Matt Faircloth]

Hey BP,

We are buying an apartment complex in Kentucky.  One of the value-adds we want to do is add a washer dryer hook up in the units as we can get a nice rent increase for it.  We are running into a problem on finding a clear way to vent the dryers outside, and our construction manager is recommending a Water Box.  For those that don't know, this is exactly what it sounds like, a small box of water that the dryer vents into.  The water traps any lint and drops out the water from the dryer discharge.  The problem with them is that if there is not enough water in them they can discharge lint throughout the unit (fire hazard) or cause water and high humidity to the unit (mold).  They need to be properly maintained with the right amount of water to avoid these issues.  I don't want to rely on the tenants so we would be integrating that into the on site maintenance program (it's a 166 unit with two on site staff maintenance techs so we could do that easily).  The installation of the boxes will run around $30 a door versus around $500 a door to run the vent outside.  

I wanted to see if any landlords out there had any experience with Water Boxes, good or bad.  Please chime in!  I will tag a few - @Andrew Cushman, @Brian Burke , and @Ben Leybovich

Thanks!