Bathrooms need proper ventilation in all weather to keep the atmosphere fresh and healthy. All building codes require some source of ventilation inside the bathroom, such as windows, exhaust fans, and an outside ventilation door.
Should You Leave Your Bathroom Window Open? You can leave the bathroom window open because it allows proper ventilation and fresh air, reduces moisture and humidity, prevents mold and mildew, removes condensation after a hot shower, and avoids damage to the electric fixtures inside this place. You should leave them open for 20-25 minutes after a shower or for a few minutes once a day.
Opening the windows and doors inside the bathroom can help to maintain proper ventilation and creates a fresh and hygienic environment. However, you should not keep them open all day and night and close the doors and windows when sleeping.
Why you should leave your bathroom windows open?
Professional interior designers, electricians, and plumbers recommend opening bathroom windows because of the following reasons.
Reduce moisture and humidity
The bathroom has high moisture and humidity, and the atmosphere always remains damp, which causes many problems.
Bugs, insects, and other parasites are attracted to moist places and reproduce in damp atmospheres. Moreover, high moisture causes poor ventilation if you do not have an exhaust fan or window in the bathroom, which is against many building codes.
Therefore, leaving them open for some time in a day can reduce moisture and humidity and keep the environment well-ventilated.
A proper ventilated place can restrict the insects and bugs, as most bathroom insects and bugs do not prefer to lay their eggs and thrive in dry places. Dampness and moisture is their favorite environment to reproduce and survive. You can fix it by allowing air from the bathroom windows.
Prevent mold and mildew
Different types of mold and mildew grow and spread in moist and humid places. Many things inside the bathroom, such as shower curtains, towels, wood walls and floor, cabinets, plumbing fixtures, and wooden countertops, are prone to mold and mildew growth.
Black mold is dangerous and can spread rapidly from one place to another. Other kinds of mold inside the bathroom are Aspergillus, Penicillium, Chaetomium, and Alternaria.
Moisture absorption on the shower curtains and towels causes mildew and bacteria, and you have to clean or remove the curtains and wash them. Sometimes, mold growth is so severe that washing does not help to remove it, and you need to replace them with new curtains.
Wet towels after a shower do not dry in a moist and damp environment, which also causes mold if you keep them wet on the towel bar.
Mold can grow around the bathroom windows; therefore, it is better to open them for ventilation and reduce the moisture level in this place. As a result, the chances of mold and mildew in dry places are fewer, which keeps the atmosphere healthy.
Allow fresh air
Fresh air is essential inside the bathroom because there are more chances of bacteria and smell due to mold and dampness.
Opening the windows can allow the fresh air from outside to enter this place and reduce the smell and odor-causing bacteria.
Fresh oxygen air from your backyard can make the whole atmosphere healthy and germs-free. However, the bathroom can become smelly if you have a single toilet in the house and all family members and kids use this place.
Proper ventilation will reduce the smell if you open the window, which draws the fresh air in and smell outside.
Remove condensation after a hot shower
Condensation occurs when the warm air touches the cold surface. For example, a hot shower in winter causes condensation because you use hot water to shower, and this hot water causes steam and fog when it touches cool surfaces, such as walls and shower doors.
The wall paint can start peeling off because of condensation if you do not have a proper ventilation system in this place. Condensation on the wooden floor and walls also lead to mold and warp the wooden planks over time.
Therefore, keeping the bathroom windows open for 20-30 minutes after a hot shower can reduce condensation and keep the wooden floors and walls safe.
Avoid damage to the electrical fixtures in the bathroom
The building codes require a good ventilation source for the bathroom because of the electrical fixtures. The switches and light fixtures can get moisture without ventilation or do not keep the windows open for a few minutes a day.
There are chances of damage to these electrical switches and fixtures, which can cause electrocution or electric shocks.
Moisture and condensation can get into the switches and outlets, leading to sparking or fire if you plug in something and switch it on.
Leave the windows open to avoid damage to the electrical devices, switches, and fixtures.
How long should you keep the bathroom window open?
You can leave the bathroom and shower windows open 20-25 minutes after a shower or bathe to remove excess moisture and humidity.
It is better to open it every time someone takes a shower and also turn the exhaust fan on if the moisture level is high, and opening the window cannot remove dampness from the atmosphere.
Professionals recommend opening the windows when using harsh chemical cleaners or finishers in this place to remove the toxic fumes.
Why do some people avoid leaving the bathroom windows open?
Some people avoid leaving them open and select other ways to ventilate this place. Some reasons for not leaving the windows open are explained below.
Security risk
Leaving the bathroom windows open can pose many security risks, as home invaders or thieves can get into the house from the backside of the house.
Burglars can easily access the house if you keep them open at night. It is common in less populated areas and the chances of robbery increase.
Therefore, people avoid leaving their bathroom and bedroom windows open for a long time, especially at night if they live in unpopulated areas with a high criminal ratio.
Insects and mosquitoes
Opening the windows can invite insects and mosquitoes inside the bathroom. Mosquitoes can bite on your skin, which causes itching and irritation.
Different insects, such as spiders, grasshoppers, and bugs, can enter this place through these openings, which makes the environment unhealthy.
Therefore, it is better to install mesh bars in front of them to avoid these insects.
Constant temperature changes
Leaving them open for a long time will cause a fluctuating temperature inside this place. Turn the air conditioner on or increase its speed if you leave the window open for a few hours in summer.
Similarly, the heating system in winter will also face a changing room temperature due to these openings, which let the cold air into the bathroom.
This causes an increase in energy bills, as more energy will consume to set the room temperature according to the outside weather.
Rainwater and dust can get into the bathroom
The dust and rainwater can get in this place if you leave the windows open. In addition, the air contains some pollens and dust particles, which can make the plumbing fixtures, furniture items, countertops, and other things covered with dust.
You need to clean this place more often, and it becomes hard to take out extra time from your busy schedule for regular cleaning.
Rainwater can make the floor and walls dirty and cause you to clean them, which takes time and effort. Therefore, people avoid leaving them open to prevent the extra cleaning and hard work and keep their bathroom clean.
Not suitable in winters
Opening the bathroom windows in winter depends on the outside temperature, the wind blowing outside, and the heating system in this place.
It is better not to leave them open if the weather is severely cold and a strong cold wind is blowing outside because it becomes difficult to maintain the room temperature.
The cold air can get in and cause dampness in the atmosphere if the inside environment is warmer than the outside. However, you can open them if the weather is not too cold.
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