Windows are important. However, they are needed not only as the way for us, the homeowners, to see what is going on outside in the street. The window is also a way to let some fresh air into our home. In fact, opening windows is a natural way of ventilating rooms.
However, in quite many houses and apartments, there are rooms that have no windows at all! We use them for various purposes, but those windowless rooms always become an issue.
How to improve air circulation in a room without windows? This is the most frequent question people ask.
In this article, we are going to find the answer for you. You will learn several ways how a room without windows can be ventilated thoroughly. Like this, you will be able to choose the ventilation method depending on your needs.
Also, we will explain why proper air ventilation is a must for any room, not only for the one that has no windows.
How to Circulate Air In a Room Without Windows?
A windowless room may serve different purposes in your home. For example, it can be used as a home office (which is much needed, especially for those who work from home!). Also, such a room can serve as a laundry room, a home workshop, a sewing room, or sometimes even a bathroom!
In each of these cases, thoroughly ventilating such windowless rooms becomes quite a challenge.
How to air out a room without windows, you may be wondering? Well, in general, we can offer you several methods that usually work the best:
- One of the simplest ways is to leave the door for a windowless room open and keep it like this for most of the day.
- You can install passive vents as an alternative to the previous method of ventilation.
- Another strategy you can try is to make use of ceiling fans and portable fans to boost air circulation in the room.
- There is one more option. You can use an air conditioning system to regulate the temperature of the room and circulate air.
However, some of the strategies listed may not be much sustainable due to different factors. For example, when you air the room by leaving the door open, it will lead to the risk of dust accumulation.
However, since proper ventilation is very important for every room in your living space, you need to find the most suitable and the best working option. You can’t just leave such a room without a constant air flow for the health and safety considerations.
Moreover, many building codes have very specific requirements regarding this issue. This is why below we have gathered the most effective and affordable ventilation strategies you can use in your house or apartment to get more fresh air in a room without windows.
Leave the Door Open
This is the method that we have already mentioned above.
The simplest thing you can do is to leave the door to a room without windows wide open for as much time as you can. It will be particularly useful and efficient during the day to help air circulation going.
But even though this approach does help with air circulation, it may not be much sustainable. See, when you leave the door to a room open for long enough, you run the risk of faster dust accumulation since it will find its way into the room easier.
Also, your pets and/or children could constantly be straying into the room, and thus they might potentially damage some valuable items you keep inside.
This is why this option makes sense only if you live alone with no pets or kids and only if you leave the door open to ventilate the room for a limited period of time. Otherwise, you might want to install passive vents or use other ventilation tools and strategies that we will describe below.
Use Ceiling Fans Or Portable Fans
A portable fan is very handy and effective when it comes to air ventilation, especially in a small room with no windows. However, since it can produce air drafts that nobody wants if it’s directed into the space, place your portable fan near the open door and face it away.
This will most likely slow down the cooling process, but on the other hand, the hot and stale air will be effectively removed.
As for the ceiling fans, some of them can operate in reverse gear. It means that the fan will be sucking in hot air away from those in the room when needed. Also, during the cold months, these fans can trap the hot air and bring it down from the ceiling to warm the air in a room.
Consider Using Mechanical Ventilation On the Outside
Rooms without windows often become a place where mold, mildew, fungi, and other humidity-related damage tends to appear and develop. In order to significantly reduce or even get rid of those unwanted “guests,” consider installing a vent fan via the outside wall of your windowless room.
Just the same way, if you have a kitchen without windows, for example, you can install a wall fan. It will help you to get rid of smoke, food smells, and hot air that typically accumulates while cooking.
As an alternative option, you can install hooded vent fans, those that are placed directly over the cooking stove. This way, your windowless kitchen will also be saved from cooking odors and smoke.
Make Use Of an Air Conditioning System
Using air conditioner in a room with no windows can also be a handy solution if you are trying to decide how to ventilate it. Air conditioner will not only bring down the room temperature when it gets way too hot.
Also, it can serve you as an effective ventilation tool since air conditioner can circulate the air in a windowless room.
See, an air conditioner works on the next principle: all the hot air that is collected in a room is processed and then it is released into the cold air in the same space. As a result, air conditioners can also eliminate dampness that is usually brought by high humidity.
Consider Using an Effective Extractor Fan
An extractor fan will be the best option for small kitchens that don’t have proper functional windows or don’t have windows at all.
An extractor fan’s major task in your kitchen is to capture all the smoke, moisture, and steam that builds up as you cook.
Then this fan redistributes all those captured odors and moisture inside the room, and thus it is subsequently ensuring proper and thorough ventilation. But this appliance doesn’t only prevent humid air from accumulating in your kitchen!
It also helps to solve the effect that excessive moisture has on paint and plaster!
Try to Use More Live Plants to Purify the Air
Green living plants are often used by us as aesthetic accessories in our homes. However, they can also serve us as effective air fresheners! As you might know, some plant species are able to make the air cleaner in your home, thus creating a safer and healthier environment!
So if you like plants, consider getting some of the following indoor plant’s varieties that can help purify the air in your space:
- Barberton Daisy
- Chrysanthemum
- Aloe Vera
- English Ivy
- Snake Plant
- Spider Plant
- Dragon Tree
- Weeping Fig
- Chinese Evergreen
- Broad Lady Palm
Of course, plants can’t be used as the only air cleaning option, but they will significantly help if you use them as an additional help. For example, if you are already using air conditioner or a fan.
Reduce the Amount Of Furniture In a Windowless Room
This advice may sound weird to you, but this is how it is!
If you want to improve the fresh air circulation in a room that has no windows, then you should consider reducing the amount of furniture it has.
Why is that, and how could that help? See, this is because a windowless room already lacks proper ventilation. And when there is a lot of furniture there in addition, it will make the free circulation of air almost impossible.
As a result, stuffiness and dampness will increase, thus making the space impossible to live in.
Use Porous Building Materials
This recommendation will be more suitable for those who have just started building their house, of course. By using porous building materials, you will be able to maintain proper airflow in a room that has no windows to ventilate it. What materials can be used?
- Standard bricks
- Special air bricks
Both types of bricks may come in handy when it comes to improving air circulation in your living space.
By the way, since we started talking about bricks, you can place those special air bricks high up inside the walls of a windowless room strategically. This will help mitigate your ventilation woes.
Use Of a Portable Evaporative Cooler
If for any reason, you don’t want to (or you can’t) use a portable fan, consider another option – a portable evaporative cooler! A portable evaporative cooler works the same way as a portable fan does. However, there is a distinction between these two appliances.
The difference is in the fact that an evaporative cooler circulates much colder air. You can even put ice or pour cold water into a tank. And then your cooler will convert them into a flow of very cold and pleasantly refreshing air that will be circulating in the room.
Install a Ductless Air Conditioning System
A ductless AC is a powerful ventilation system that can help you air the windowless room. This type of air conditioner consists of both internal and external units. The internal unit is typically attached to the wall or ceiling, whereas the external condensers are used to power the entire system.
Another good thing about the ductless air conditioning system is that it is relatively easy to install.
All you will need to do is to drill a hole in the wall in order to lay the pipes that will connect the internal and external units. This is something that most of us can do even without any help.
Use a Dehumidifier Or an Air Purifier
We guess that you already understand the major difference between these two. Air purifiers filter and clean air. This device has special fans. Those fans suck in the stale air in a room with no windows.
Then the sucked air goes through the filters that catch all the dust, pollen, and other air-born contaminants. As a result, the air becomes purified while it is being transported through the system, and finally, the cleansed air is released back into the room.
As for the dehumidifiers, their major function is to filter humid air and extract the moisture from it with the help of the cooling coils that are located in the device. The excess moisture condenses on these coils and then drips into a collection tank.
So, now you know way more about the ways your windowless room can be aired. We even told you what devices and appliances could be used to freshen and cleanse the air in it! With all that in mind, keeping such a room always properly ventilated should never be a problem for you anymore.
Why Is Room Air Circulation So Important?
Everyone knows that it is important to circulate air in a room properly. But why is that, have you ever wondered? There are several major reasons why a stable and proper airflow in a room is essential, and below, we will give you more information on each of those.
It Removes Condensation
Condensation typically appears and spreads in the form of dampness. And sooner or later, it leads to mold growth. And all of you know very well that mold causes damp patches spreading on your walls that could lead to the peeling of the wall paint and wallpapers, as well as musty smells and even health problems.
It Is Important For a Healthier Living Environment
If not only one room in your home but the entire home doesn’t have a proper and thorough ventilation system, the level of humidity is going to be high. As a result, it can end up in asthma attacks, eczema, and chronic sneezing.
Ventilation Helps to Alleviate Symptoms Of Hay Fever
An effective and well-working ventilation system is able to filter out large airborne particles, for example, pollen. As a result, it can serve you to alleviate certain seasonal health conditions such as pollen allergies and hay fever.
It Brings Down the Impact Of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
VOCs are nasty things! They are invisible gases that can lead to thousands of health issues! They take their origin from a wide variety of sources, from cosmetics and air fresheners to artistic paint.
If you have an effective ventilation system in your home (not only in a windowless room!), it can bring in more of fresh and clean air aand thus dilute and lessen the impact of VOCs in your living space.
So now you know a bit more about windowless room ventilation. If you do have a room that has no windows and you are not certain about using it due to lack of ventilation, try one of the handy ventilation strategies we described in order to make the space fresher and safer.
You can also combine two or even several of these life hacks and recommendations to achieve better results. And always keep in mind that proper and regular ventilation is a key to your strong health and safety!
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