Louver Doors Let Storage Breathe

Crystal They look very nice...until you have to clean them. One..louver..at..a..time.

courtneyeyster Crystal- you should use swiffer dusters!

aeykelbo Swiffer dusters are disposable, aren't they? If they weren't, I might consider them. I'm trying to buy everything reusable now.

But vacuuming them with a soft brush would work.

kmorgan That was going to be my question. What is the best way to clean them. I have several sets and cleaning them isn't easy.

kennedytarheel Cleaning these are no different from cleaning blinds. Swiffer works well. Vacuuming can spread the dirt around, not leaving them truly "clean"....but they are dust magnets...as I've learned.

coligny For temperate climate they might be ok... But I have these for every room in my building... In summer they let the cold aircon air escape and in winter they let draft in... Lose-lose situation... I taped them shut with cardboard... (yay for design and style)

prejza I think vacuuming does the OPPOSITE to moving dust around. It sucks it up. Then, granted,
you might have to follow with a wet or damp rag to remove more greasy dirt adhering, but
vacuuming first is a good way to contain the dust.

kattiana If you can easily remove dirty louvered doors, take them outside and lean them on something, spray them with water, let them soak half a minute, rinse, spray again with a mild cleaner, scrub (carefully) with a soft brush, rinse again, and let them dry. After a good cleaning like this, you can get by with wiping them with a damp sponge or cloth.

suedee I had louvered closet doors throughout a previous home. While I loved the look, ditto others' comments...keeping clean, repainting--big chore. I would never have them in a kitchen.

thereaa We have louver doors in our finished basement enclosing the two side by side "storage areas that house" our gas furnace and water heater in one and our holiday storage in the other. They look symmetrical, but a byproduct has been energy efficiency. In the winter, if we're downstairs, we can open up the doors on the area with the heater and never turn up the heat on the thermostat--true energy efficiency. The heat given off by the unit, heats the entire finished portion. Saves energy and money.

sclawson Traditional vacuums do move dirt around, but central vacs do not. One great advantage of a central vac is the dusting brush attachments which making cleaning just about everything simpler. I still wouldn't have louver doors, though. Grew up in a home where they closed off the family room from the rest of the house. Too much sound transfer, too much dusting.

rosebud3 Was so happy to see the louver door on the bathroom. All my closets have louver doors. I removed one small closet from my "studio" room and wondered about reusing the door on the bathroom. Think I'll try it.

Mine are stained, not painted. I use my brush attachment on the vacuum and a rag for what that misses. Seasonally I do spend a lot of time applying a wood oil, but they are worth the effort. I love how they look. I just turn up the stereo and daydream, lol.

Randi Crawford I love louvered doors - had the opportunity to live in an 1700's Caribbean home once, had floor to ceiling length louvered double-door/windows along the front porch. Yes, they require dusting, but they are worth it, nothing looks as elegant and atmospheric!

rbthat I just added them as a pocket door in the master bath which allows the humity from evryday showers breathe. I also special ordered the bahama shutter doors which are 31/2'' louver, looks nicer than the skinny louver and they match my Hunter douglas shutters. Also Great for a/c closets! I love them!!

Gretchen125 Our 60s ranch has louvered doors throughout (original). Every summer I take them off the hinges and wash them outside. Seems tedious, but I can do all the doors in a few hours. A small price to pay for the function and beauty they provide. Throughout the year, I just wipe them down with a wet rag as part of my weekly cleaning.

Amanda Simons Anyone know if it is ok to enclose a furnace behind louver doors or would that not be enough air flow ? Our laundry hookups are located right next to the furnace and I want to close it off to make a nice laundry room but still maintain adequate air flow.

artzi In our previous house, the laundry rm, closets, & pantry had louver doors & the bathrooms had a section of lovers you could open & close as you needed. I loved them! I am going to replace those same doors in this house ( I've been intending to for years, so this article is the nudge I needed! Thanks.) In this house the closet doors have to be left cracked to prevent mold since we live in the humid south. The hassle of cleaning & dusting is much better than cleaning mold off the walls or shoes. style wise they are traditional down here.

Nat The first time I ever noticed louvred doors was when I watched E.T. and saw him peeking through the slats. Loved them ever since