Kitchen Plinth Vent

[wassupjg]

Hi,

Have just installed new kitchen base units myself along a wall that is outside facing, after a couple of months am having a bit of an issue with condensation and mould forming on the inside wall surface. Am planning to have a passive vent core-drilled into the wall to improve ventilation there but was wondering if kitchen plinth vents below the units could also help:

https://www.howdens.com/kitchens/kitchen-fittings/plinths/stainless-steel-effect-plinth-vent-obj-sku-family-gir0960

Apparently encourage air circulation under there but was wondering if they might also add to the issue by allowing more humid air to enter as well? Or is it a case that as hot air rises and these are at the bottom it wouldn't hurt to have them as well? I know they're usually used under ovens.

Am having a better extractor fan put in too but just curious if these vents could improve air circulation around the base units in a kitchen that tends to get humid.

Any insight very much appreciated.

 

[JohnD]

cold air from outdoors holds less water than warm air from inside. So ventilating the void to outside will reduce condensation.

but why is your kitchen damp?

do you use the extractor fan enough?

does anyone drape wet washing around?

do you have water leaks, for example under the sink?

 

[wassupjg]

cold air from outdoors holds less water than warm air from inside. So ventilating the void to outside will reduce condensation.

but why is your kitchen damp?

do you use the extractor fan enough?

does anyone drape wet washing around?

do you have water leaks, for example under the sink?

Cheers I think it's due to being a smaller kitchen, poor extraction unit before, solid brick walls with no cavity, and now a new dishwasher which is adding heat to an area that never had it before (no leaks there), some of the base unit backboards have holes for sockets etc so I'm sure condensation is rushing in once the unit doors are opened as well.

Do you think plinth vents would hurt?

 

[JohnD]

yes, they will allow more warm, humid air to enter the cold void and condense on the walls.

 

[foxhole]

A kitchen should never be a humid place if we’ll ventilated .

 

[Deleted member 174758]

yes, they will allow more warm, humid air to enter the cold void and condense on the walls.

Against that, what about dishwasher (in particular) which require a large cut-out at the top of the plinth to give clearance for the drop down door, also built-in gas ovens which can require a vent in both the plinth and the worktop above and behind the oven? Surely warm air will tend to rise rather than sink, so having vents front bottom and rear top (either through an air brick or a vent in the worktop) will help air flow.

Having said that the wall at the back of my washing machine is really bad because I currently can't get that airflow I need Hopefully to be cured when I install some wall insulation and replace the kitchen in the future (cavity wall, but very old - 1880s - so not much like a modern cavity wall)

 

[JohnD]

A kitchen should never be a humid place if we’ll ventilated .

warm air holds more water than cold air

so when it hits a cold surface, condensation occurs.

the wall behind the units is cold, and the air in the kitchen is warm

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Maybe it's my kitchen, John, but the air at floor level isn't that warm. The joy of having a stone flag floor, I suppose. Most of the heat in the kitchen is produced by the hob (910mm above floor level) and oven (about 300mm above floor level)

 

[foxhole]

warm air holds more water than cold air

so when it hits a cold surface, condensation occurs.

the wall behind the units is cold, and the air in the kitchen is warm

Shouldn’t be any air movement behind units .