Closets in Master Bath a bad idea?

9 years ago

Hi everyone,
The plans for our new home call for two closets (his/her) in the master bath. My husband also does not want to use doors to the closet. Is this a really bad idea because the moisture from the bath will create mold in the closets? Thoughts? Anyone have current/previous experience with this issue?
Thank you!

Featured Answer

PRO

Brickwood Builders, Inc.

9 years ago

Since this is a new build, you have the opportunity to get the ventilation right - which is key to this set up. If there is attic space (or open space) above, we recommend that you put in an in-line ventilation fan for the master bath areas. You can get at least two, and sometimes, three ducts into the bath area - placed at shower, at toilet area and possibly near vanity area (less critical). The actual motor and blower are mounted up in the attic and the duct lines feed to the master unit and then one larger duct vents out to the exterior. Should install a humidistat with this unit so that it cycles on and off automatically as needed to maintain the humidity in the room at a constant.

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Comments (23)

User
9 years ago
I have a large master closet off of my bath and rarely do we close the door, but we have one. We have never had a single issue in 20 years. I would definitely recommend having a door, even if it's not often used. In the winter I close the closet door to help keep the bathroom warmer, and I have a full length mirror on the back of the door which is nice. If the bath is vented properly it shouldn't be an issue. I really like having an area dedicated to showering and dressing, though others might disagree. I can close the door to the bathroom and my bedroom is all bedroom.
PRO
CDR Design, LLC
9 years ago
I have the same situation as bluenan. Walk-in closet off the master bath. I have 100% of our clothes in that closet. No issues.

There should be no problem as long as the bath in vented correctly and you use the fan.

I would recommend doors on the closets. If you find there is an issue, you can always lead them open.
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I'm with Enduring in that I would prefer the space given to the closet instead of the toilet. In the last house, the toilet in the master was crammed into a tiny space shared with a tub/shower combo. Really, really disliked the space. Would traipse down the hall and use the other toilet. (I used the shower in the master only one time in all of the seven years that we lived in that house.) Also, I would not put a tub in but that may be just me. (The house already has one tub.) I would much rather clean a shower once every six weeks or so (we squeegee after a shower) than have to clean the tub (bent over and on your knees) every single time it is used. Tubs use a lot of water vs the lo-flo shower heads. But, if you love tub baths and routinely use a tub to bathe, that's another story and you'll want to include it in the remodel. (If you're thinking a cast iron tub, the floor framing will probably need to be beefed up.) Not a huge deal since the ceiling below will likely be torn out anyway for the plbg. changes. The other thing I see as a problem is the door opening directly in front of the vanity. That is going to be a pain if this is a shared bath and someone else is standing in front of the vanity.
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I met with a designer today about the whole house and she gave me some good ideas. For the bathroom we discussed a number of options. Of all the things we talked about the bathroom was the most challenging one. The kitchen (which I had thought to be more difficult) was much easier to deal with. The option that had the most appeal to me: Turn the hall closet and part of the office closet (secondary bedroom "beneath" the master) to open into the master and be one closet. That would become DH's closet. He doesn't need a lot of space and could manage with a good closet system. This would have the virtue of leaving a small closet in my office so that remains a secondary bedroom with a closet. Alternative to above - Take both closets (hall and in my office) and make a larger closet opening into master for DH. That gives him a good sized closet but leaves my office without a closet. If and when we would ever sell the house if we felt we needed a closet in that room then we could revert to 1. and put a small closet in that room. I like this idea as this is a retirement home for us that we don't plan to sell. In the bathroom, the closet in the upper left corner goes away. That area becomes a large corner shower, extending a bit into where the tub is now. The vanity extends to the wall where the toilet is now. Possibly put in a small linen cabinet. The toilet is put into where the shower is now. That is about 38" wide and 4' long. That would be fine for the toilet but doesn't leave room for the litter box. My closet extends to take up most of the space now occupied by the tub. No, it wouldn't be long enough to have clothes hung on both sides. But I would have one long side that I could double hang clothes. The door would open to the long side. The toilet room could then be extended a bit (for the litter pan). I would lose one side of hanging space in the existing closet. But, right now the closet is very cramped as it really isn't wide enough to support hanging on 2 sides. If the shower encroached a foot into the tub, I would end up having a closet that was about 10' long. If it encroached 2' then I would have 9'. At the end of the closet (the existing closet I would put some shelving. I think this would solve most of the problems. I would get a long enough vanity and toilet room. The corner shower would be a nice size. My closet would work for me. In my prior house I had about 11' of hanging space and didn't use all of the upper space. I might even get a narrow linen cabinet. To make this work, the skylight would have to go away. That seems to be the lesser of evils. I could potentially put in a high window in the shower as it would be on outside walls. I haven't drawn this out (as I am terrible at doing that) but it seemed to make a lot of sense. Of course, it only really works with adding the closet for DH to the master. But that is a relatively easy thing to do.
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Jessica Kerry Mack
9 years ago
Before my divorce, the house my ex and I had was designed with his & her walk in closets on either side of the large tub with the small shower stall next to the "hers" and the toilet room next to "his". Personally I did not like this layout. As mentioned, bathrooms tend to hold moisture even if you have a fan and use it and out of season clothing that might hang in the back of the closet for half a year could end up musty. We tended to keep the doors of the closets closed because the swing out into the bathroom was in the way if they weren't. But to be honest, moisture wasn't as big a problem as I thought it would be. I was actually bothered more by the large window over the tub because of the potential for peepers and the fact that since the closets were in there one tended to undress/dress in there in front of that window as well as bath in front of it.

My aunt & uncle used to have a place where the master suite was designed with a walk through walk in closet between the bath and the master bedroom. You'd walk from the bedroom through one door into a room with hanging clothing all around and a seat in the center for putting on shoes, and through a second door on the opposite side into the bathroom. The closet space was his to the left and hers to the right... The doors were in the center of the space.
nansdrew
9 years ago
Same here. We do have a door for the closet, which we close sometimes, but haven't seen any moisture issues. I think it's really efficient having clothes and the hamper where one bathes and washes. Also, I like the clean look of less doors opening into the bedroom.
nansdrew
9 years ago
Oh, but we have great ventilation and run the exhaust fans during showering.
PRO
CDR Design, LLC
9 years ago
In our last house, we had the "walk-through". That works well also.
Kelly Cole
Original Author
9 years ago
These comments are extremely helpful. My husband is the carpenter on the project so I will definitely discuss ventilation options. Thank you!!!
Angel 18432
9 years ago
Could you put a pocket door into the closet? It will always be in the hidden position, but there if you need it. The builder had set our home up that way, but we revised it and glad we did.

I'm always in my closet to hang clothes, put dirty laundry in basket, getting shoes, purses and would hate to have to have to go thru the bathroom to get there.
Kelly Cole
Original Author
9 years ago
Angel, there is a possibility to put a pocket door on the hers closet but not his due to some plumbing issues. We are trying to work this out because I think pocket doors will be useful. There is no possibility of putting the closets in the master bedroom due to its small size. Thanks!
PRO
CDR Design, LLC
9 years ago
drakesgirl5.....here is the key in design choices. Think "function". How do you go about your morning? Take a shower, want your clothes handy and right there and get dressed?

I think this is how most people operate. You the same?

You are smart to limit the size of your bedroom. You really need only a bed in there.

So, your closet should be spacious. Consider the following in your closet:

1) High ceilings with pull-down rods
2) A chair
3) Large countertop with a place to place a suitcase, morning outfit, etc.

Finally, if your closets can butt up to one another, consider one closet with his/her side and a counter in the middle which acts as a divider. That saves space ( a wall takes up a lot of footprint). It will also feel more open.

.....and just in case one spouse has more clothes than the other.....maybe one spouse would give up some of his room for the other spouse. Just saying.

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Closet Experts
9 years ago
The typical weather in your area should be a consideration. If cooler or drier most of the year, you can be less concerned about moisture/mold issues. Frankly, I never even run the fan, even if I luxuriate in the whirlpool tub for an hour. (Our tub has a heater to maintain water temperature)

I live in the Chicago area, and have lived with the closet "in" the bathroom for 14 years. No issues with mold or moisture in the closet whatsoever. I really prefer the layout. . Fewer doors to clutter the bedroom walls, and no closet view either. So often I go into homes with closet access from the bedroom and it is like the issue with garages dominating the curb view of a home, with one or two doors left open and all the closet contents visible in the bedroom.

We have a larger casement window we open when weather permits behind the tub. We do not have a door between the closet and the bathroom either. The bathroom has a L layout, with the walk in closet and double vanity on one leg of the L, the large tub at the center, and the shower and toilet at the other leg. Ideal layout in my opinion, a fortunate result of our floorplan.
Kelly Cole
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you for these helpful comments. We live in RI so we too have cooler air most of the year. We will also have central air to help during the summer. I just love the idea of closets in the bathroom for the same reasons, functionality and less clutter in bedroom. I'm glad some mentioned whirlpool tubs because I want one but my husband says it might cause more moisture. I will def show him this thread :).
PRO
Dytecture
9 years ago
My personal preference is a separate walk-in closet accessed from the bedroom instead of from the bathroom.
bellajewelz
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
While I don't have this style of house, I have toured homes with this option and we decided against it because mold/climate issues and because there may not be access during times when the restroom was in use. My husband spends a good hour in the morning in the bathroom (with door locked) and I would not be able to access clothing, etc. Also, I didn't want to deal with times when I would need privacy and my husband might be locked out as well.
smh225
9 years ago
We live in high humidity area and have two walk in closets, one at each end of an L shaped bathroom. We have doors and duct vents in each one. My wish list would include an outlet in each closet. why do most bathrooms have just one or two outlets? we added a ceiling fan in the bathroom. No mold problems in the closets.
Agnes Tabor
8 years ago
When we had our home built did not pay much attention that the closets his/hers were both in the master bath room it is really convenient. Regarding the doors, I opted to have swing in doors in both walk-ins so that they would not swing into the room and that works great. Now many years later and in hindsight I feel the pocket doors would have been better because makes everything more visible. Now the question regarding moisture, yes that is an issue even though I have fans and ventilation. Best solution is to not pack your clothes so tight that they prevent air flow between garments but I feel that is true in any closet. Have a well vented closet system, my preference is from the Container store which allows me to reconfigure any time without making new holes in the walls .Container Store closets
PRO
Great Closets of New England
8 years ago
Having MBR located in the master suite is quite common in New Home Construction in New England. The only issue we come across is the deterioration of engineered wood composite product used in closet storage systems. Over time, the untreated edges attract moisture, which leads to expansion and a breakdown of material. We remove many of these systems along with wire systems and in repairing the wall surfaces, we've never found any moisture issues with drywall in closets. Great Closets of New England only uses a 100% real wood component product with maple edging and a veneer surface. Check out our projects listed on our profile. Best of luck in your new home.
llazy1
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Apparently I'm the only one who's had an issue with that. Our master bath is about 3 ft from the master closet. Both have doors and the closet is kept shut tho it has a vent over the door (the bathroom does not). We use the fan when showering and leave it on a good while afterwards but the clothes in the closet do get musty and leather shoes get spots. I can only assume it's due to poor placement of the fan. The fan is near the toilet in the far end of the bathroom, 2 ft beyond the end of the tub. The tub is closer to the door and has a narrow window above it (which is always open.) I replaced the fan years ago to increase the flow but obviously it still wasn't enough. We had the roof redone 5 yrs ago at which time I had them check to be sure there wasn't any blockage in the fan. Some day I'd like to get a vented solutube put in the bathroom by the tub.
Christina Ross
6 years ago
I’m hoping his/her closet in the bathroom will no longer be a thing in the newer built homes and will be a thing in the past! I find it disgusting for several reasons, even with the door being shut most of the time. You will eventually be opening it. I Want to buy a newer home, but they all have this feature and I hate it! I do realize that I will just have to build a new construction home to get what I want.
orec3
6 years ago
We have a walk in closet in the bathroom and find that it works well for us because one can get dressed without disturbing a sleeping partner.
suellen19
5 years ago
Exactly orec3

I am retired and my husband is still working. Our walk-in closet is off our master bath. Would not have it any other way. He can get up and ready for work without waking me. Ideal! We have a WC in our master bath so privacy is not an issue. I would not buy/build a house without a WC. A great fan system on a timer that we use faithfully and have had no issues of mold or musty smells. A pocket door on closet entrance that we hardly ever use and a second door to the hall so he can exit without re-entering the bedroom.

All makes for a happy marriage!
Gabriela N. Anderson
4 years ago
It's definitely a very bad concept ... "Mold Course Ch. 2 Mold can grow on virtually any organic material as long as moisture and oxygen are ... Molds gradually destroy the things they grow on " Moisture may not show, but it's naturally present and can harm clothes like furs, leather, silk, natural fibers...(Other bad ideas you won't find in traditional homes in Europe but are the rule in U.S. houses especially the "most modern": glued carpets -- that can't be washed & dried in the sun true freshness; glued windows that can never open; and those upside-down-helicopter-like fans instead of proper chandeliers which even the poorest people sport in Europe). However, I've been told such architectural fallacies don't exist in truly expensive U.S. houses built to keep inhabitants healthy and esthetically happy.

Closets in Master Bath a bad idea?

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