Improve Your Garage's Ventilation with These Four Tips

Neither entirely indoors nor entirely outdoors, the garage is equal parts foyer, patio, and attic. Some folks rarely go into the garage. Others enter and exit several times every day in their car and use part of it as a workshop or studio. If you spend a lot of time in the garage you know how important good ventilation is. After all, cars can fill the space with carbon monoxide and fumes from paints, solvents and other materials stored in the garage can linger in the air. In this post, the garage door installation team at C & M overhead door company address the issue of improving ventilation in the garage.

How to Improve the Ventilation in Your Garage

Between car exhaust, paint fumes, mold, allergens blown in on the wind and other airborne pollutants, your garage must be well-ventilated. That’s particularly true if you plan to spend any time in the garage working or working out. The following tips will help ensure your garage space is not a danger to you or others.

Tip 1: Open the Door

Duh! Right? This ventilation option leads off the list for the simple reason that it’s the most obvious solution. The thing is though, it’s not always practical. On sub-zero nights in Loveland, the last thing you want is to have the garage door open.

You may also live in a place where neighbors and others have a clear view into your garage if the door is open, and you may not enjoy living in the spotlight. Of course, you could just open it a little, as long as you remember to close it afterward.

Tip 2: Install a Window or Windows

Other than opening the garage door this is the second most obvious option for introducing ventilation into the garage. Installing windows will take longer than overhead door installation but it’s still a pretty straightforward process that won’t break the bank.

Having a window or windows you can open will help ensure the atmosphere inside the garage is always a healthy one. The potential downside is that when you install a window you install one more potential entry point for a burglar.

Tip 3: Install Vents

Vents are a great way to enhance the ventilation of your garage. They come in a range of styles and sizes and can be simple louvered vents that allow natural aspiration of the garage, or have blowers that pull air from the garage and generate robust movement that way.

Vents are also easy to disguise so that they do not detract from the overall appearance of your home. Vent covers can be easily painted to match their surroundings, or you can choose to install the vent in a place where it is not visible from the street.

Some might worry that a vent provides yet another potential entry point for a would-be burglar. But most vent openings are far too small for a human to fit through. More likely intruders would be squirrels or birds, although with proper precautions the chance of that can be minimized too.

Tip 4: Integrate the Garage Environment Into the Rest of the Home

This is not a practical option for those who just want to vent fumes and stale air from the garage. However, if you plan on transforming your garage into a home gym or man cave that’s insulated and has finished walls, extending your home’s HVAC components into the garage space may be a good idea.

There are a couple of things to consider, however, before you do this. First, will your current heating and cooling system withstand the extra demands placed on it by adding the garage? And second, do you still plan on using part of the garage to park your car?

You don't want to overwhelm your HVAC system after all, nor do you want car exhaust possibly being pulled into the HVAC system and distributed throughout the living quarters of the house. In either case, you'd be better off installing an isolated system just for the garage.

The Benefits of Improved Ventilation

Here are some of the benefits of improved ventilation in the garage.

1. Ventilation prevents overheating in the summer
2. Good ventilation prevents mold from gaining a foothold in the garage
3. Proper ventilation means better air quality year round
4. Enhancing ventilation removes noxious fumes and odors

Ventilation is necessary for any space where humans are present. The typical garage doesn’t need a lot of active ventilation, however, because people only spend a few minutes at a time there. Still, enhancing the ventilation using passive methods like windows can prevent mold and help make the garage environment more palatable. And don’t forget more involved efforts to promote ventilation are imperative if you plan on spending significant time in the garage.

For Expert Garage Door Installation in Loveland Contact C & M

It’s important that you have ways to control the ventilation in your garage. It’s equally important that you don’t allow a creaky old garage door to let cold and hot air enter the garage at will and wreak havoc with your home’s energy usage. If the time has come for new overhead door installation call C & M Garage Doors and speak to a member of our garage door sales team. They’ll make sure you get the right door for your home at the right price. Call C & M today at (970) 663-7335.