Tips to Ventilate Your Home This Winter

by George Karonis

We think of ventilating our home during the summer when it’s warm—opening up the windows and letting in the natural breeze—but what about the winter?

Ventilation isn’t just about finding a comfortable temperature, it’s about keeping the indoor atmosphere of your home dry, cool, and free of pollutants.

While it’s important to seal and insulate your home for the winter to save you money and keep you warm, keeping your home sealed up year-round can actually cost you. Some of the negative impacts of an unventilated home during the winter include:

  • Condensation on the windows, walls, or floor.
  • The buildup of polluted air.
  • Mold and mildew.
  • Rot, structural damage, ice dams.

To avoid these problems, you don’t have to keep your windows open all season long, just take some steps to ventilate your home now and again.

Open up your windows.
In America, this might sound crazy, but in other countries, like Germany, opening up your windows for a few minutes every day, even in the winter, is a normal practice.

Switch off your heat and then open those windows for about ten minutes to allow the air to circulate. Ideally, you should be opening windows across from each other to provide cross ventilation. It doesn’t have to be for long, but doing so will reduce the moisture and pollutants in your home.

Use bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room exhaust fans.
Exhaust fans in your kitchen, laundry room, and bathroom should be used whenever appliances that create smoke or moisture are running. This will help keep the air inside your home free of pollutants and moisture.

Use a garage exhaust fan.
Garage exhaust fans prevent moisture and pollutants from building up in your garage. With a garage exhaust fan, you can quickly and easily ventilate your garage in the wintertime.

Replace filters.
Check and replace HVAC filters in your home frequently to ensure they’re doing their best to reduce moisture, mold, and other pollutants.

Decrease or eliminate VOCs.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are found in many household products. They can irritate your respiratory system and even cause cancer. VOCs can be found in cleaning products, scented candles, and wood-burning fireplaces.

Use a whole house fan.
Whole house fans can be used to quickly ventilate your home by turning it on and opening a couple of windows, making these handy appliances perfect for all seasons.

Ventilate your attic.
An unventilated attic can suffer from ice dams, rot, mold and mildew, and structural damage during the winter time. Therefore, ensure your attic is well-ventilated with vents or an attic fan.

WholeHouseFan.com has a wide selection of attic fans, garage exhaust fans, whole house fans, and their respective accessories. Call us with any questions: 1-661-775-5979

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