How to Vent a Clothes Closet

If you have a closet that smells musty and is stuffy, add a vent to improve air flow, reducing the stuffiness. There are two options for venting a closet. The first is to install an exhaust fan, like those found in bathrooms. While this will vent the closet, it will also blow air into the attic and requires moving or adding duct work along with extensive electrical wiring. The other option is to add a two-way vent above the closet doors.

Drop cloth
Stool
Safety glasses
Dust mask
Two-way vent
Pencil
Cold chisel
Hammer
Drywall saw
Screw gun

Instructions

- 1
  Empty the closet of clothing to keep dust and debris from falling onto your clothes.
- 2
  Lay a drop cloth under the door frame and place a stool on the inside of the closet.
- 3
  Put on safety goggles and a dust mask. Hold a two-way vent against the inside wall of the closet, about 4 inches above the door frame. Trace around the vent with a pencil.
- 4
  Hold a cold chisel against the drawn line on one corner and hammer into the drywall. Put the chisel and hammer aside and grab a drywall saw.
- 5
  Insert the drywall saw blade into the hole you just hammered and saw along the traced lines to create an opening.
- 6
  Insert one side of the two-way vent into the hole from the inside of the closet, and then insert the other side of the vent into the outside.
- 7
  Hold the two sides together while fastening them in place with a screw gun. The outside and inside vent facades will lock together as the retaining screws are tightened.
- 8
  Remove the drop cloth and stool. Clean up as necessary and put your clothes back into the closet. The new vent allows air to travel freely in and out of the closet.

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