7 Tips to Prevent Garage Fumes from Seeping into Your Living Space

Indoor air pollution can find its way from your garage into your living spaces, creating poor indoor air quality. Fumes and gases can come from mowers, paints, turpentine, cars, and other things you store in your garage. They can find their way in through doors, gaps, ducts, and other spaces. Even worse, carbon monoxide from your garage can leak into the house and set off your carbon monoxide detectors. Luckily, there are some things you can do to prevent garage fumes from seeping into these living spaces.

1)  Reduce fumes in your garage.

One of the easiest ways to prevent garage fumes from seeping into your house is by first taking measures to minimize the fumes in your garage. For example, don’t run any gasoline-powered engines inside your garage like your car, lawnmower, etc. If you keep your car in your garage, then make sure to start it up only while your garage door is open, and shut it off as quickly as possible when you’re pulling into the garage.

2) Properly store chemicals.

Like the first example, properly storing chemicals in your garage will reduce the number of fumes and thereby help prevent their leaching into your home. So make sure that all the chemicals in your garage like turpentine, paints, etc. are completely sealed.

3) Ensure adequate ventilation.

Another great way to keep fumes out of your garage, and therefore out of your house, is by getting adequate ventilation into the garage. The best way to do this is by using a garage exhaust fan. An exhaust fan is an effective way of blowing the built-up fumes from your garage out. Just make sure the fan isn’t blowing into your house!

4) Install self-closing doors.

In instances where your hands are full after a run to the store, you may not be able to close the door from your garage to your home right away, in these situations, a self-closing door can help keep the fumes from seeping into your home. You can also get a remote garage-door control to keep in your car so you can quickly open and close the door before and after leaving.

5) Find and seal any gaps.

There’s a good chance that fumes may be getting into your house through gaps in your garage. Do a thorough inspection of your garage walls and ceiling and look for any gaps or cracks. Then, fill it with caulk or spray foam to seal it up.

6) Finish walls and ceilings.

Some homes have unfinished garages, which make it easier for trapped fumes and gases to seep through into your home. If your garage is unfinished, then cover finish it by adding drywall, making sure to properly seal all joints with tape and compound.

7) Install carbon monoxide detectors.

Carbon monoxide from your garage can make its way into the rest of your home. Therefore, your home must have at least one carbon monoxide detector.

The more of these things you do, the less fumes you should have escaped from your attached garage into your living space, and the potential for better indoor air quality.