My dryer does not vent outside the house.

Where is your dryer located within your home? I do not know what building codes are in IL, but just for fire safety reasons something does not seem right to me. I would investigate and vent properly to the outside.

You need to find a way to vent to the outside. Out a wall or the roof. First it is a building code violation which really isn't enforced. Then there is the heath hazard. Finally there is the potential of structural damage over time.

As the clothes dry, moisture is being removed and vented out of the dryer, which is why it’s so important that clothes dryers be vented all the way to the outside of the house. If not, you’ll be pumping a tremendous amount of warm, moist air directly into your home, which is a perfect recipe for creating mold growth, as well as potentially doing a lot of structural damage. That air also carries with it a lot of fine lint particles. That’s not something you want to be breathing, and in high-enough concentrations the lint is highly flammable.

The only reason that people vent dryers into water is to contain the lint so it doesn’t fly around. But that does nothing to solve the problem of getting the moisture out of the house; in fact, pushing moist air into a bucket of water simply makes the problem worse.

When the duct has a long way to go from the dryer to the exterior wall, a booster fan is actually a good idea. It can help improve the flow of the air so that it doesn’t get bogged down and deposit wet lint in the ducts, which can clog the inside of the pipe. However, you need to use a booster fan that’s specifically designed for dryer ducts; moisture and lint will quickly ruin a conventional exhaust fan.

I'm aware of the gadgets marketed with the claim that you can "safely" vent a dryer indoors. They're just lint traps, using the surface of water in a reservoir to attract lint. Some just slip a pair of pantyhose over the dryer outlet to filter out some lint. There are many other products and devices available in hardware stores and home centers that are not permitted by codes to be installed in homes. They're in the stores because building codes aren't enforced at the product manufacture and distribution level. They're also in the stores because folks buy 'em.

You really should have someone vent the dryer outside! The output of the dryer will, of course, be very moist. Have you kept up with cleaning the dryer filter? Not much dust should be coming from the hose. Think about also replacing the dryer hose.

We had the same issue after buying our house. We eventually purchased ventless dryer. Wow, what a difference!

It sounds like the gadget they sold to make your air more humid in the winter. It was also meant to keep the house warm by recycling the heat...It is a bit like leaving your oven door open after use, to let the warm air escape into the kitchen. I remember there being one in my house when I bought it, but it was attached to the outside vent, with a flapper to shut off the outside part when you wanted the humidity.

I would get rid of that thing and vent outside. If you are uncomfortable doing it, any handy person can do it for you just check Angie's List, or ask a neighbour who does their odd jobs.

I would have a contractor vent the dryer outside. This can be a safety issue.

I had this problem recently. Find the vent pipe starting from the dryer and follow it to where it leads outside. Many times duct tape us used at the seals or breaks and it may have come apart and your dust and lint is spilling out somewhere like the crawl space. It's usually a simple fix using just duct tape. A service call may cost over $100 or more.