Contents
In order for things to be stored in the dressing room under normal conditions, so that there are no problems with odors, dampness, good ventilation is needed. It’s unlikely to be possible without it. Dressing room ventilation is not the most complicated system, but you also need to know how to equip it.
Why ventilation is needed and its types
In storage areas for things and shoes, it is imperative to organize good air exchange. On things and shoes, particles of skin remain, skin secretions remain, dust accumulates. All this is an excellent environment for the development of microorganisms. Therefore, good ventilation in the dressing room is a prerequisite for maintaining the normal state of things and the absence of a musty smell.
In dressing rooms, as in any other premises, ventilation can be natural and forced. Natural ventilation works due to physical processes – cold air enters from below, heats up and rises up. Therefore, if you make a supply hole at the bottom, and an exhaust hole at the top, air will move at a certain speed.
If there are ventilation ducts near the dressing room, it makes sense to make a branch to the exhaust vent. This will solve many problems.
But the natural ventilation of the dressing room is far from always able to provide a sufficient air exchange rate. To increase it, put fans. They can be installed in both supply and exhaust openings. Most often, a forced exhaust is installed, and the air flow occurs naturally through ventilation gaps or openings. This allows you to spend not too much money, but to ensure a normal atmosphere in the room.
How to make ventilation in the dressing room without windows
Basically, dressing rooms are arranged in small rooms without windows. In this case, it is not necessary to rely on the flow of air through the cracks. You have to make holes. Inflow can be provided through:
- the gap between the bottom edge of the door and the floor;
- special door design for dressing rooms (with slots or inserted ventilation grilles);
- holes in the walls, which are located at a height of no more than 20-30 cm from the floor (it can be lower, immediately above the baseboards);
- technological gaps that were left during the construction of partitions;
- in private houses – through the ventilation hole in the floor (from the lower floor or from the basement, if there is normal humidity).
Has adjustable grilles
The dimensions of the supply openings depend on the volume of the room and the speed of movement of air masses. According to the standards in the dressing rooms for storing things, it is necessary to provide a single exchange of air. For example, if your dressing room has dimensions of 1,5 * 2,0 * 2,8 (width, length, height), then its volume (found by multiplying all the numbers) is 8,4 cubic meters. In an hour, to maintain a normal atmosphere, it is necessary to “pump” 8,4 cubic meters of air. So the ventilation of the dressing room will prevent the appearance of extraneous odors.
If ventilation works normally in the apartment, for these purposes it is enough to make an inlet with a size of 100 * 100 mm. Section – round, square, rectangular – no difference. The main thing is that its area remains the same or more. In general, this parameter is considered or found according to the table. But the tables show much larger volumes.
But the ventilation of the dressing room will work fine if there is an exhaust duct. It can be a similar lattice in the wall. It should be located on the opposite wall from the inlet, closer to the ceiling. Moreover, we must strive to spread these holes as far as possible – so that the air flow covers as large an area as possible.
If the air inlet is made in the door, and the doors are in the middle of the width of the room, then it is worth installing two exhaust grilles – on the right and on the left, stepping back 15-25 cm from the corners.
Where should the exhaust holes go? In the best case – in the ventilation duct. A possible option is to the street, if one or more walls of the dressing room face the street. In this case, it is possible to bring the supply duct outside, and the exhaust duct into the ventilation or any of the adjacent rooms.
If there are windows
If there is a window in the dressing room, there will be less problems with forced ventilation. If the windows are not airtight, natural inflow is usually sufficient. But, if there are plastic windows, it is possible to provide access to fresh air only through ventilation. In this case, it is ideal if there is a micro-ventilation function. Providing a small flow of air for some time, you can maintain a normal atmosphere.
If plastic windows have only standard modes, just below the window sill, on the side of the window or in any other place on the wall, you can build in valves for air flow from the street. These valves are usually adjustable and can pass air at different speeds.
Depending on the manufacturer, the inside can be round (as shown on the left) or rectangular (shown on the right). Their structure is roughly the same. – filter, insulation, external and internal grilles. A very handy thing not only for forced ventilation of the dressing room, but also for all other rooms, the walls of which face the street.
Do you need a fan
As already mentioned, the natural ventilation of the dressing room does not always provide sufficient air velocity and a musty smell still appears. This usually happens in the summer, when it is too hot outside and the natural air movement is minimal or there is a tipping of the thrust (air masses move in the opposite direction). In such cases, fans are installed on the exhaust openings. Their power is selected depending on the volume, but as a rule, the most low-power ones are enough – 10-50 cubic meters / hour. In this case, the main selection criterion is the noiselessness of operation. After all, many walk-in closets open into bedrooms or other living spaces.
Installing fans scares many people – they have to work almost around the clock. In general, it’s not necessary. It is quite enough if it turns on for 15-20-30 minutes every hour. This mode is provided by timers, controllers and other similar devices. All that is required is to select the operating mode and set the appropriate settings.
Yes, these are additional costs, but the forced ventilation of the dressing room works constantly and does not depend on the vagaries of the weather.
To ensure silence
If ordinary gratings are installed in the dressing room on both opposite walls, noise will penetrate through them. Clothing and space will muffle them somewhat, but some sounds will be heard. If that doesn’t scare you, great. But if you want silence, special bypass grilles or valves are placed in the holes.
They almost do not interfere with the passage of air, but they do not let light and noise through. These grilles are not cheap, but there is another way to ensure that the ventilation of the dressing room is effective and at the same time does not let in sounds.
Lighting in the dressing room
A dressing room is not a closet for you. This is a place where you can walk in naked and walk out fully dressed. The presence of a large number of shelves, drawers and cabinets requires good lighting. After all, only in bright light can you see everything you need without stress and evaluate the compatibility of the selected clothes in the mirror.
For normal lighting in the dressing room, multi-zone lighting is usually done. Some of the fixtures are located on the ceiling. If the ceiling is suspended, built-in lights with a large dispersion angle are suitable. If the ceiling is ordinary – bleached or painted, ceiling lamps or chandeliers of small height are selected. In this case, models with swivel shades are convenient – beams of light can be directed where required.
Separately, it is desirable to highlight the mirror. In this area, you can use sconces or tubular lamps. The same – long and thin – you can place the lamps above the pipes on which the hangers are located, above the large shelves. In general, there are a lot of lamps. So that they do not greatly affect the payment for electricity, it is best to take LED ones. It can be tapes, segments, lamps, lamps with a standard or small base. The form is unimportant. The important thing is that they “pull” very little electricity, have a long service life and at the same time almost do not heat up.
Another way to save money is to think over the lighting system at the dressing room planning stage, dividing the lamps into groups and turning them on the switches separately. Which group you need, that one and turn it on.
If you don’t like looking for switches/switches, you can install motion detectors. They will turn on the lights when there is movement. It is also quite convenient and economical. But in this case, you need to set a more solid delay for blackouts. And then freeze in front of the mirror, for example, and the light goes out.