I was once in my rental room when during winter season i saw certain white-colored mold developing over my clothes in closet. I realized, it was the excess moisture in my closet that caused it. Then i thought about louvering the doors of my closet to keep the moisture in check.
I did some more research of my own and here’s what i found about louvering closet doors.
If the average indoor humidity level is between 30 – 45 % then closet doors can be louvered whereas if the average humidity levels is greater than 55 % in the room then it is best to not install louvers in closet doors.
The problem with louvering closet doors
The biggest benefit of a louver is actually its biggest disadvantage also when it comes to keeping the moisture levels in check.
There are two methods by which moisture can enter inside the closet i.e either from outside or from the wall within the closet (if closet is wall mounted)
When the moisture is coming from the inside of closet due to leaking wall , then louvering the closet door can help to regulate the moisture level. That’s an ideal situation where louvering the closet doors is a must.
However, when the source of moisture is the outside environment then closet doors should never be louvered because the louvers can provide east entry for moisture to the enter in closet.
What happens to clothes if closet doors are not louvered?
Except nylon, polyester and acrylic clothes all clothes inside the closet (both natural and leather) are prone to absorb humidity from the surroundings.
It is therefore important to keep the humidity levels inside the clothes relatively lower to the outside levels.
When the closet is in a area with high humidity level, the moisture can enter inside the closet by louvers. This moisture then gets absorbed by the clothes which overtime can degrade the quality of clothes.
On the contrary, if the closet is in an area where there are lower levels of humidity, there is no affect on the clothes inside the closet.
Clothes are in their best condition when they are kept airtight as new clothes from factory also comes in airtight packets.
Do closet doors in a walk-in closet also need to be louvered ?
A walk in closet is basically a small room. Just like most indoor spaces there is also a chance of humidity level to be high in walk in closet provided the outside environmental conditions are humid.
It is therefore a good practice to keep the closet doors in walk in closet without louvers if the closet is in high humidity area.
If only the average humidity level remains less than 50% inside walk in closet then louvering of closet doors can be done.
Where to install a louver on closet doors?
For the purpose of decorating the closet doors can be partly or completely louvered.
If there is a change in humidity levels during seasons then the louvers on the doors should be placed on the bottom parts of the doors as the water vapours always rises up.
At the bottom level of door , the moisture content is comparatively lower then the top most parts.
Whereas if the closet is in an area where throughout the year the humidity levels are low then the entire closet door can be louvered. If the closet have two doors ,then whether to louver only one door or both doors depends upon the size of louver.
Designwise, if only a small louver is to be installed then only one of the two doors should be louvered Whereas if the louver covers half the length of closet door the both doors should be louvered.
What kind of louver goes in closet doors ?
For closet doors either wooden louvers, metallic louvers or plastic louvers can be used. Glass louvers should be avoided on the closer doors as it may cause unwanted glares especially when the closet is in the bedroom.
If the closet doors are wooden, the wooden, as well as metallic louvers, should be used. Whereas for closet doors that are made or metal, metallic as well as plastic louvers should be preferred on it.
Plastic louvers provides the look of metal and look good on wooden doors.
Normally the color of closet doors and the color of louver is kept same for a clean look. However, it is not important for the louver color and closet door color to be exactly same.
In fact with the correct color combination the louver and closet door provides many opportunities to give a unique look to the closet. For example black louvers on a brown door is a good color combination.
Here’s a video on youtube to see how louver is installed on a door.
The process of installing a louver on a closet door requires drilling a hole on the closed door of the exact size as the size of louver grill.
To get the exact size, simply place the louver on the door where it is to be installed and mark its boundies with a marker.
Afterward, with the help of a drill, make the hole. After cutting the hole the louver grill is fixed in the hole with the outer frame that comes with the louver grill
Do laundry closet doors need to be louvered?
The simple answer is no they don’t need to. It is best to keep the closet doors in the laundry room without louvers. If the laundry room gets splashes of water even on the floor the water will evaporate and may enter in the closet.
Whichever indoor place is exposed to moisture the closet doors there should be without louvers and laundry room is no exception.
But to match the basket design in laundary room louvers can be used. For that see how long a particular piece of clothes stays in the closet of laundry room.
If the clothes in laundry room closet stay there temporarily then the closet doors can be louvered. But if the same piece of clothing stays inside the closet for more than a week then simply avoid louvering if the moisture levels are high.
Are adjustable louvers effective in controlling moisture level inside closet ?
An adjustable louver even when it is fully closed, there are still tiny gaps and openings left throughout the louver which can provide entry of moisture inside the closet.
Though they may reduce the amount of moisture that can enter at a particular time in the closet but overtime if the area has a high humidity level then the moisture levels in the closet would definitely increase.
Hence, adjustable louvers should be used only to block light to enter in closet and not to block moisture.
Wrapping up
Whether to louver the closet doors or not almost entirely depends upon the humidity levels of that area. Measure the humidity levels of the room in which the closet is placed and get a average value of humidity.
If the average value of humidity (say for 4 -5 months) remains below 50%, louvers can be installed for decor only. Clothes in particular are better when they are enclosed in a area with normal humidity.
Hope this helped 🙃.
