Window Coverings for Humid Rooms – Best, Better, and Not Recommended
Looking for window coverings in humid spaces like your bathroom or laundry room? When choosing window coverings for your home, there’s far more factors than most people consider at play. Humidity can make or break your window coverings, and so certain choices will always be preferred over others. Poor choices can end up with unwanted discovery of things like warping, mildew, or even mold.
If you’re considering new window coverings for humid rooms, look no further!
Let’s break down Best, Good, and Not Recommended for the most common humid rooms in your home.
the best window coverings for humid rooms
The best is subjective, but what we mean is these are options that will not struggle with repeated exposure to humidity or even direct water or cleaning. Window coverings should last you for years, and these will stand up to the test.
Faux-wood Shutters
Faux-wood and composite shutters are great choices that also look beautiful. Unlike real wood, they will not absorb moisture and warp or crack over time. They’re made to be water-resistant as well. Steam will build up on the outside coating as little beads of moisture rather than be absorbed. While you can just wipe it away with a cloth, it’s not even necessary. They also look beautiful and modern, and don’t ever go out of style. Because shutters don’t use strings, they have simply metal hardware and coated louvres and frames. You can rest assured that your shutters can be wiped clean, be splashed, and handle it like a champ.
Good window coverings for humid rooms
Solar & Roller Shades
Solar shades are a great choice for rooms where you don’t necessarily need full privacy, like your kitchen. Roller shades grant you far more privacy, especially at night due to their higher opacity levels, all the way up to blackout levels of light control.
The materials they’re made of are easy-to-clean and essentially impervious to moisture as well. Some lines from Graber are made from recycled ocean plastic! Others are made from woven synthetic materials that won’t react to humidity either. This puts them almost in the “great” category too due simply to the lack of effects from moisture overall, as well as being easy to clean. Again, the only reason they don’t match faux-wood shutters is strings!
Faux-wood Blinds
While the material of faux-wood and composite blinds is identical to its shutter counterpart, the only reason blinds are not considered in the “best” category is because of the strings between slats. If it’s a cotton-based string as opposed to a type of plastic, humidity will get to it over time, weakening, lengthening, or even shredding or breaking the cords. If you do opt for blinds instead, try to not operate them when the string may be moist to prevent damage. Otherwise, the blinds themselves have all the benefits of faux-wood shutters!
Aluminum & Vinyl Blinds
Much like faux-wood blinds, the only moisture issue you’ll run into here is with the operating strings themselves over an extended period of time. However the blind slats themselves are basically impervious to moisture and mess. You can steam your aluminum blinds all you want and zero changes will occur to the slats, and vinyl blinds won’t care unless you throw boiling water at your window (but… why?). Both are simple to clean too, since you can scrub with soap if needed. Just beware those strings.
Fabric Roman Shades or Draperies
Thick fabrics are going to be a bad idea in any humid area. They will dry slower, strongly increasing the likelihood of harboring mildew or even mold. If you have to have draperies, go for sheers that will dry quickly. HOWEVER – some water-resistant, mildew and mold-resistant coatings can be available. If you are able to add a coating, then you could negate any of the issues, and if you select a cord-free operation method, you may be able to avoid any issues and get your beautiful fabric in anyway! Then the only concern is cleaning. If the window is near a kitchen workspace, you may still want to avoid this unless you want to take down and launder fabrics regularly. Which, let’s face it, no one wants to do.
NOTE: In places like here in Los Angeles, our air is much drier than in other parts of the country. This makes our options a little more forgiving as low humidity means things dry faster which is key to preventing mold and mildew on various materials. In higher humidity areas, like the southeast parts of the country, the potential for mold and mildew on some “good” items may be problematic enough to move them down to “not recommended”. Here, you may find that strings are never an issue, allowing many of these options to be comparable to “best”.
not recommended for humid rooms
Real Wood Blinds or Shutters
Real wood is not a fan of humidity. Especially on a regular basis. It causes warping, cracking, and overall damage over time. Simply put, real wood is not a good choice in areas it will regularly be exposed to high humidity or steam.
NOTE: If your windows are nowhere near the source of humidity, then it comes down to how much does the humidity spread in the room? Bathrooms, even with vents on, fog up everywhere. This tells you humidity will permeate a window covering even across the room from the source of the water. But if your kitchen is large and the windows are nowhere near your sink or counters, humidity may not be a big concern, especially if you live in a dry climate. The photo above of wood blinds is a great example of where humidity may not affect the windows, even in the kitchen!