A Turkish writer and thinker, Mehmet Murat Ildan, famous for his quotes, once rightly posited, “You can give up the walls of your house, but never give up the windows.” This quote stresses the importance of windows to your property, no matter the space or room in which they are installed.
Does my bathroom need to have a window? This is a question you might have when you are constructing a new house or organizing a home renovation project. The quick response to this question is yes. Installing a window in your bathroom has a lot of benefits for you and other future occupants of your building.
Your bathroom needs to have some kind of ventilation to get rid of the excess moisture. While a vent can be purchased to get rid of this kind of moisture, installing bathroom windows is the simplest and least expensive solution.
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The international residential code for house owners and occupants states that bathrooms may not require windows if they have a ventilation system as well as an artificial power bulb. Without any of these prerequisites met, it is mandatory for a bathroom to have at least one window installation.
Why Does My Bathroom Need a Window?
1. It provides an adequate lighting solution for your bathroom
A window not only provides effective ventilation but also brightens the space with its abundance of light. Installing tinted glass or hanging a customized bathroom blind can effortlessly address the problem of a bathroom window that is located too near to your neighbor’s and lack of privacy. Good lighting is particularly beneficial for small spaces like bathrooms, as it can give the impression that the space is larger.
2. It helps to effectively remove moisture and bacteria from your bathroom
The main objective of having a window in your bathroom is also to help eliminate moisture in the air. In the absence of a window or other ventilation system, the said moisture can encourage the growth and spread of mildew and mold, endangering your family’s well-being. Additionally, high humidity can serve as a haven for bacteria that continues to spread diseases like the common cold and throat infections.
3. It helps to reduce the time spent cleaning a windowless bathroom
With a windowless bathroom, you will need to be extremely diligent in your cleaning and sanitation in order to prevent sporangial accumulation and fungus growth because your bathroom won’t ventilate and dry as efficiently and successfully as it should. This implies that maintaining your bathroom will be very difficult. In order to avoid wasting time and energy on regular and thorough cleaning, it is recommended you have a window in your bathroom.
4. It increases the market value of your property
Due to the advantages they provide for each and every home, windows significantly raise the value of your home when you decide to sell it or rent it out. A property’s absence of windows necessitates future modifications, which no homebuyer truly desires to make. Generally speaking, a property with more windows will be significantly more in demand than one with fewer windows.
What Should I Do if My Bathroom Is Windowless?
If you have already bought a house without windows inside the restroom, you might have to install one or two windows, which calls for the use of specialized tools to cut through the wall and put in the window frames. This renovation process could very well incur significant material and labor costs. If you do not want to go through this process, you can do the following:
1. Organize your bathroom
You can create more room for yourself and allow fresh air by removing items from your cramped, windowless bathroom. To help with illumination and visually expand the space, add a few reflectors, such as mirrors. Making a windowless bathroom appear larger and brighter is psychologically convenient.
2. Get an exhaust fan
This is a great idea when you want to bring in fresh air from the outside while also removing too much humidity. Basically, an exhaust system is a network of fans that pull cool, dry air from outside and replace it with your hot, humid bathroom air.
A ventilation system will enhance the quality of air inside the bathroom, stopping that irritating musty smell and aiding in preventing mold growth. It might be trickier to install one in a bathroom without windows. You will need to engage a professional to smoothly install the power cables and drill the fan holes of your exhaust fan.
Pro tip: Make sure the exhaust fan you buy will fit in your bathroom. For instance, pick a fan only with 200 CFM value if your restroom is 200 sq. ft. Anything less won’t work as well.
3. Select a palette of light colors
To make your bathroom more inviting, employ the use of warm colors on your wooden surfaces, a yellow-brown color on your walls, or choose from an array of several light colors. Because a bathroom without windows typically appears to be a monotonous or dark space, you can liven it up with a few colorful accessories like yellow bath linens, plush and welcoming floor rugs, and you can finish it off with a stylish set of lighting bulbs to enhance and illuminate the bathroom.
4. Make minor changes and adjustments
You can improve the experience of using your windowless bathroom by making even minor adjustments. You can follow the steps below to allow for a comfortable user experience in the bathroom in your home:
- To keep the bathroom smelling fresh and looking organized, keep your dry towels in the closet nearby or in your room cabinet. You should also wash wet towels as soon as possible.
- You can also purchase fragranced dispensers for your bathroom, which allow you to pick from various flavorful scents rather than unpleasant smells from body odor and mold.
- If you are not using the restroom, you should leave the bathroom door wide open to increase air circulation and quality.
- Adding a 2-way vent to your bathroom door’s top or even bottom will enable clean air from the other rooms in your house to enter.
- You can install a small ceiling fan for better air circulation.
A window in your bathroom can be a valuable addition to your property because it offers low-cost, dependable methods of natural lighting and ventilation for the moisture and air in your bathroom. Also, an exhaust fan is an alternative for houses with windowless bathrooms. It is considerably more effective at removing excess moisture from your bathroom, but it can cost more due to utility costs.
It is critical to follow local laws and codes when performing any home renovation work; otherwise, you risk paying fines and being forced to undo or tear down any previously completed work.
