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Proper air circulation means you can keep your home air comfortable, prevents the build-up of mold, and simply makes breathing and relaxing easier for everyone.
But keeping good ventilation without windows is a real challenge.
Thankfully, there are ways to help. As someone who used to cook in a small windowless kitchen, I know the struggle of battling against the heat, steam, and unventilated air.
To improve ventilation in a windowless kitchen, you need to open doors and turn on any fans well before cooking, open windows in nearby rooms, replace your range filters, add a tabletop fan blowing out of the door, and include a few air-purifying plants to help you out!
That’s the short answer, but it’s worth covering each of those points in detail.
If you’re looking to improve ventilation in a windowless kitchen, then let’s get started.
Working with What You Have
The main suggestions in this list focus on different types of fans and other tools you can use. But first, let’s focus on improving circulation without any additional cost.
First, make sure to ‘prep’ the air before you use the kitchen. Open the door(s), and switch on any range hoods or fans for a few minutes before you start. This will start to cycle air in and out of the kitchen, meaning things are already flowing by the time you’re in there.
The worst way to handle an enclosed kitchen is to put the fans on after it gets too hot/steamy. It’s works much better to encourage the airflow before the air gets warm.
Next, open up any nearby windows. Your kitchen may be windowless, but I’m sure you’re home isn’t! Aside from external fans, your main source of fresh air is from the rest of your home. So let’s make sure to keep that as fresh as possible, too.
Opening windows on the opposite sides of your home/apartment encourages a lot of circulation – which is a big helper in getting air moving.
Finally, direct any small fans out of your kitchen. If you have any small countertop fans (these definitely help), make sure to point them across the kitchen towards the door. This encourages the hot air to flow out, rather than just circle around your space.
Exhaust Fan
You can also consider installing an exhaust fan. This can be ideal if you have a small, windowless kitchen.
What an exhaust fan does is that it captures and distributes steam that you make while you are cooking. Doing so prevents moisture to build up in the ceiling, which can cause the ceiling paint to peel.
Mind you, this is a home maintenance hassle that you would not want to encounter.
Range Hoods
If you are bothered with the left-over cooking odor in your kitchen, aside from the fact that it is windowless, then you will need to install a range hood.
Doing so helps improve the air circulation in your windowless kitchen, as well as mitigate the odor and trap the particulates from burnt cooking and grease.
Range Hood Filters
A kitchen can become super greasy and grubby without a good filter above your range. Make sure to keep these filters clean – especially in a kitchen without windows! They can make all the difference, particularly if your range hood doesn’t actually vent outside but solely through the filters and up to the ceiling.
Air Purifying Plants
Other than aesthetic value, an indoor plant can also help purity the air in your house. It is just a matter of choosing the right plant.
According to Samantha Prattey, here are the ten indoor plants that can help purify the air in your home:
- Barberton Daisy: Helps cleanse toxins like formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, and benzene that are present in household materials like paint and synthetic fibers.
- Chrysanthemum: This pretty bloom does not only beautify your space, but it also filters a lot of toxins like ammonia and benzene.
- Aloe Vera: What makes this plant ideal to be placed in the kitchen is the fact than it can help soothe kitchen burns. Plus, it helps purify the air from formaldehyde and benzene.
- English Ivy: This is good for reducing airborne fecal particles. Meaning, you can also place this plant in your bathroom.
- Snake Plant: This yellow-tipped succulent releases oxygen at night, helping you breathe better when you are asleep. Hence, it is also ideal to have this in your bedroom.
- Spider Plant: This resilient house plant is ideal for plant newbies, as well as pet owners. Not to mention that it battles toxins like monoxide and xylene.
- Dragon Tree: Aside from adding color to your space, this indoor plant can help fight pollutants like trichloroethylene and xylene.
- Weeping Fig: A popular indoor plant since the Victorian era, Weeping Figs fight formaldehyde, xylene, and toluene in the air.
- Chinese Evergreen: This shade-loving indoor plant cleanses formaldehyde and benzene in the air. And other than your kitchen, you can place a pot of Chinese Evergreen in your bathroom.
- Broad Lady Palm: This plant can help reduce the level of ammonia in your home. The only caveat is that the Broad Lady Palm can be expensive.
Keep in mind, though, that there are varying ways to take care of any indoor plants. Hence, it is best to do some Googling before you purchase one.
Conclusion
Proper air ventilation is so important to keep you and your family healthy.
Not to mention that it helps maintain the quality of your house. And just because your kitchen does not have any windows does not mean there isn’t anything you can do about it!
I hope the tips in this article have given you some ideas on how you can improve the ventilation in your windowless kitchen, and here’s to a much more breathable room!
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