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Attention to the risk of mold: How to ventilate rooms without windows
Mold can quickly form in rooms without windows, especially in winter. Read here what you can do to ensure sufficient air exchange.
Pantry, guest bathroom or basement: Many of these rooms have no windows and, especially in winter, there is a risk of mold formation.
Interior bathrooms with showers in particular cause headaches. The high humidity after showering, coupled with the low air circulation, is a real mold magnet. You discover the black spots in joints and on walls faster than you think.
Reading tips:
Why do I have to ventilate rooms without windows?
If the humidity in a room cannot escape, mold quickly develops. Not only is it pretty gross, black mold can also be harmful to your health.
The ideal humidity in living rooms is 40 to 60%. In the bathroom it is a little higher. Here 50 to 70% is normal, after showering it can sometimes be 80%. The humidity in the basement should be between 50 and 65%.
Tipp:With a hygrometer you can easily measure the humidity in your apartment and the individual rooms.You can buy a top-rated hygrometer on Amazon here*.
How do I ventilate a room without windows?
You can provide fresh air in windowless rooms in a variety of ways and thus reduce the risk of mold.
Ensure there is a draft
This tip is really the easiest of all because every room, even if it doesn't have a window, has a door. Position it wide and, ideally, open the window in an adjacent or opposite room.
If you ventilate in this way, you should remember to close all other room doors. This is the only way the humidity can actually escape from the open window and not end up in another room. For an additional effect, you can also place a fan in the open room door.
This option is great for most bathrooms, storage rooms or bedrooms without windows, as they often adjoin rooms with windows. Things get a little more difficult with basement rooms. But here too, there are a few simple tips and tricks to get rid of the moisture in the air.
Dehumidifier
In rooms without windows or adjacent windows, a dehumidifier can help. These devices, as the name suggests, filter moisture from the air.
Electric dehumidifiers (like this one fromPro Breeze*) simply need to be plugged into a socket and they will absorb the moisture from the air. Some devices can even be attached to the wall, others have practical LED displays on which you can read the current humidity in the room at any time.
In addition to electric dehumidifiers, there are also chemical models. These draw the water out of the air using special granules. Even if you have to replace the granules every few months, these dehumidifiers are quite practical. They do not require a power connection, take up little space and are also silent.This chemical dehumidifier on Amazon has over 6,000 reviews*.
Also read:
Home remedies for humidity: cat litter or salt
These home remedies for ventilating windowless rooms basically work like chemical dehumidifiers. Salt and cat litter both absorb moisture.
For this household hack, simply fill a few bowls with table salt and place them in the respective room. In a pretty open container, the homemade dehumidifier also works as a decoration. If the container is wet and full of water, you should empty it and fill it with fresh salt.
Unfortunately, the cat litter version is not quite as pretty. To do this, half fill the largest, wide bowl possible with the cat litter. This allows it to attract as much moisture as possible.
Clean air duct
In Germany it is stipulated that rooms without windows must be equipped with built-in ventilation technology. Unfortunately, this technology is often outdated in older buildings. Sometimes it helps to clean the old ventilation properly so that it works better again.
To do this, remove the grille and the cover from the exhaust air shaft. These are often quite dusty. Clean it again with a damp cloth and some dish soap. You can also replace the filter inside with a new one.
Install breather
The last option, to ventilate a room without windows, is the most complex - but also the most lastingly effective.
If the room is on an outside wall without windows, the most effective method against moisture is to install a decentralized ventilation system. This sucks the moist air outside and allows fresh outside air to flow in. Such a decentralized ventilation system can be installed comparatively easily because no exhaust pipes need to be installed. If you live in a rented apartment, you should definitely consider talking to your landlord about it. After all, it is also in the landlord's interest that the rooms remain mold-free.
