Importance of Garage Ventilation Air circulation in a garage is important, whether it is through a window, a fan, or a vent. Garages are kept shut most of the time and opened only when the car is being taken out or being brought in. This lack of ventilation could make the air inside the garage harmful to health.
What causes the build-up of toxins in the garage? When the car engine is running, it is giving out a steady stream of carbon monoxide. When you start a car and drive it out, or when you bring it back in, the brief time that the engine is running, you have trapped carbon monoxide in the garage. Over time, the percentage of carbon monoxide in the garage builds up and if there is no vent for it to be expelled and replaced with fresh air, it increases the toxicity of the air in the garage. Garages are used not only to keep cars, but they are also used to store other DIY paraphernalia like paints, chemicals, pesticides, etc. The fumes from these items contain toxins which are being released into the air in the garage. These toxic fumes can build up when there is a lack of ventilation. How does an unventilated garage affect the air in the house? Garage ventilation may not seem like a big deal to you as the time that is spent in the garage may be minimal. You may reason that the brief exposure to the toxins in the garage is not harmful to you or your family. But consider this! Is your garage abutting your home? Most do. Do they share a common wall? They probably do. This means that the carbon monoxide that has built up over time in your garage is permeating directly into your living spaces through the wall. The fumes of your DIY paraphernalia also build up in an unventilated garage, when temperatures go high and will seep into the house through tiny structural cracks that can occur between joints in any kind of home. It can even enter the house when the door between the garage and the main house is opened.