you find yourself in a stuffy room

August 27, 2006 4:29 AM

I'm in a rectangular room with no windows. The one door is near the end of one of the long sides of the rectangle. Other than just putting a fan by the door, blowing in, is there anything I can do to optimize ventilation? Another fan pointing out, perhaps (and sitting lower or higher)? The ceiling is high. This is my bedroom.
posted by bingo to home & garden (13 comments total)

there's only one opening into or out of the room?

fan 1, near the floor, blowing air in from the door.

fan 2, near the ceiling, blowing air out of the room.

convection!
posted by sergeant sandwich at 4:32 AM on August 27, 2006

A ceiling fan might also help create some air currents.
posted by joannemerriam at 6:04 AM on August 27, 2006

Depends if you want hot or cold air. If you want more hot air, put a small fan near the top of the open door blowing in. If you want cold, put it at the bottom. I used to have poor ventilation in my bedroom at my parents house whereas the rest of the house would be just fine, and this trick sure made my stuffy room very cooled in a jiffy.
posted by vanoakenfold at 6:36 AM on August 27, 2006

If you've got a window out in the hall, put an air conditioner with some good sized btu's out in the hall. An A/C WILL cool more than one room.

I have one in my bedroom and one in my living room in an apartment. Sometimes I run one or the other, sometimes both. You definitely can cool the whole area with one.

Roasting to death sucks.
posted by bim at 8:01 AM on August 27, 2006

You sleep in a windowless room with only one way out? This has got to be against code, no matter where you live. Get out of there now - if there's a fire, you're doomed.

If you rent this room - report the landlord to the local authorities.
posted by Jos Bleau at 8:30 AM on August 27, 2006

Use one Vornado Air Circulator. Place it on the floor in the doorway with the fan aimed at the far end of your rectangular ceiling.
posted by plokent at 8:58 AM on August 27, 2006

Depends if you want hot or cold air.

Cold. There is a radiator in the room, so come winter I'm not worried.

If you've got a window out in the hall...

Nope, but the hall leads to the living room, which has an air conditioner. The thing is that even just opening the window and setting the air conditioner on 'fan' cools the whole living room (at least it did yesterday), but not my room. In the other direction, the hall leads to my roommate's room, and he has a window. He will leave his door open most of the time, using a curtain for privacy, but when he's out of town, like right now, he leaves the door closed.

This has got to be against code...

Technically, there is another way out of the room. It's a pair of glass french doors that lead to my roommate's room. But our agreement is that they are to remain closed all the time. I suppose that in the event of a fire, I could open them and go out his window if necessary. Anyway, it's certainly not the landlord's fault. This setup is obviously intended for one person, using the place as a sort of 'one bedroom with an additonal anterroom' sort of situation.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm going to the hardware store later and will see what I can come up with. For the vornado air (which looks like a fan), I might have to wait til tomorrow, which is not impossible.
posted by bingo at 9:39 AM on August 27, 2006

Point it at your feet. Even the smallest fan can cool you off if it's pointed at your uncovered feet.
posted by popechunk at 9:48 AM on August 27, 2006

You sleep in a windowless room with only one way out? This has got to be against code, no matter where you live.

It is against code no matter where you live.

I second getting out of there asap. Better safe than dead.
posted by comatose at 11:28 AM on August 27, 2006

Thanks for your consideration, but I just moved in yesterday with my eyes wide open about this situation, and I plan to stay here for at least a year. Also see above my explanation of another way to get out of the room.
posted by bingo at 11:46 AM on August 27, 2006

I think a ceiling fan will make an enormous difference, and they are much quieter, so I would start there.

A ceiling fan may not be enough when the weather is hot, and it may actually interfere with whatever doorway in/out airflow scheme you come up with.. However, you will really appreciate the noise reduction come winter.

Sorry to continue the derail.

I'm not at all sure, but I think the exit issue relates to entire living units, not individual rooms. After all, a window in a third floor room is hardly "a way out".. Sure, you can make it a way out, but do codes typically require fire escape ladders from every bedroom? However, I do get the impression that codes typically require windows in bedrooms.. So my guess is that it is a ventilation thing. Some hard information would be helpful here.
posted by Chuckles at 12:01 PM on August 27, 2006

Make darn sure that roommate doesn't lock those French doors, at least.

Chuckles, a window on a third floor isn't exactly a way out, but in the case of a fire it can still save your life. Hence the requirement.
posted by litlnemo at 1:01 PM on August 27, 2006

Interesting addendum. I was going to go out and buy a Vornado Air Circulator tomorrow, but the roommate has just given me a small fan. So I have put the small fan near the floor by the door, pointing to the opposite corner of the ceiling, and the difference is noticeable. So...if tomorrow I buy the Vornado anyway, what should I do with the regular fan I already have?
posted by bingo at 7:33 PM on August 27, 2006