Freezer and microwave in the pantry with no ventilation.

Hello everyone,

we are just about to sign the contract for our house. Now the last questions are coming up, among others about the pantry.

There will be a window in the kitchen, but in the separated pantry ([own room, lockable, approx. 3.5 sqm]) there will be no possibility to ventilate, as there is no window and no ventilation system.

However: we want to store a freezer + microwave in the pantry.

Is this possible or is this difficult for the other food due to the lack of ventilation?

What do you think?

Looking forward to your answers!

Why should there be any problems? If you feel safer: just put a ventilation slot in the door. That should be more than enough.

I agree completely

There will be a window in the kitchen, but in the separate pantry (own room, lockable, approx. 3.5 sqm) there will be no possibility to ventilate, since there is no window and no ventilation system.

However: we want to store a freezer + microwave in the pantry

In advance: Storing a freezer and microwave is no problem. Using especially the microwave can be more of an issue. If you take a pot of hot soup out of the microwave, you will release a certain amount of water vapor into the room.

The pantries I know (from the good old days) are ventilated. There is a hole in the outer wall, barely larger than a DIN A4 sheet, covered with a perforated plate. In winter, you could stuff a blanket or something similar into the opening from the inside. That was how it used to be. I probably wouldn’t build it like that today... But who knows...

I would reconsider using the microwave there. Everything else should not be a problem. The freezer emits heat to the outside. You will see how it develops concretely and how it affects the things stored there specifically. Of course, it also depends on what you store there (only canned goods, or also fruit, vegetables, bread, etc.).

good approach - but why should a microwave also be in the pantry? for me, it belongs in the kitchen...

We have banished the microwave to the pantry because it is used so rarely. With the oven and steam cooker, we have enough options in the kitchen. Regarding the heat emission, especially from the freezer, I would definitely plan for ventilation – possibly passive as well.