Every kitchen is prone to moisture and dampness, especially in the kitchen cabinets.
However, it can be extremely annoying, especially if you open your kitchen cabinets to grab a plate of food to realize it is cold.
Additionally, it can be frustrating for you to pay for electricity to make your house warmer, especially if you continuously experience dampness and cold spots from your most heated living space-kitchen cabinets.
If you have a block or brick surface, there is a higher likelihood of it being uneven. As a result, if you install a kitchen cabinet, it may not fit properly. Therefore, some air can be easily trapped behind.
So, Can You Insulate Under And Behind Kitchen Cabinets?
The answer to this question is definitely YES. In this article, you will understand why your kitchen cabinets may be cold and how you can fix it through insulation.
How Does Insulation Work?
Heat flows naturally from warmer areas to colder areas. During winter seasons, the warm air inside your home will try to escape to the outside environment.
As a result, insulation will prevent warm air inside your home from escaping to the external environment.
Generally, insulation does this by trapping air particles inside the material, reducing the amount of heat that passes through the walls and floors of your house.
This implies that your home will stay warm during cold seasons.
How can you insulate your cabinets? Try These 3 Methods
In case you are struggling with cold under and behind kitchen cabinets, there is a higher likelihood that your cabinets might be installed onto the exterior wall, which is not insulated well.
Little or no insulation on the floor and exterior walls can make your cabinets cold.
Consequently, many homeowners keep on struggling with cold cabinets, an issue that can be tackled easily. Remember, no one likes to have draft gaps and cold walls.
Although you have numerous insulation options, it is unfortunate that many traditional options, such as fibreglass and cellulose, may not be effective.
This is because it is challenging to create a proper air seal to the exterior walls so that you can install the insulation material.
Additionally, the blow in cellulose and fibreglass batts allow air to pass through them, meaning that even if your wall is insulated, you will still experience some air leaks and drafts.
Thus, the best option for insulating the underneath and behind your kitchen cabinet is using foam as it creates a proper air seal. Below are some of the steps on how you can use it to insulate your cabinets.
1. Insulating your kitchen cabinets using injection foam
You can easily install the injection foam from the need to remove your kitchen cabinets and drywall. However, placing the insulation will vary depending on the kind of siding that you have on your kitchen cabinets.
Typically, you will be expected to remove the siding so that you can drill a hole into every stud cavity. After that, you will inject the form, cap the hole, and reattach the siding.
If you cannot install the insulation by yourself, you can contact a foam insulation expert near you. Be assured that the contractor will leave your house looking as nobody had interfered with the cabinets.
2. Insulating your cabinets using a spray foam
You can also insulate your cabinets by spraying the floor and wall cavities. However, the spray method tends to be more destructive.
This method can be ideal, especially if you are remodeling your kitchen, and you wish to remove all your cabinets and probably install new ones.
In this case, you will be required to open your spray foam so that you spray under and behind your kitchen cabinets.
3. Using canned form
Another method that you can use to curb colds from your kitchen cabinet is by looking for gaps or cracks under and behind these items.
You should know that many kitchen cabinets are in-built and can have gaps not only underneath the floor but also behind the walls.
In case you trace any gaps, you can seal them using a canned form that you can find at your nearby home improvement store.
Thus, by sealing gaps on the floor, you can assist in reducing the amount of cold into your kitchen cabinets.
You can also check the inside your cabinets to find out if there are any gaps. In this case, you can try looking at the back of the cabinet, especially around the edges.
If the draft appears to be coming emanating from the edges, you can seal them using foam.
What Are The Benefits Of Insulating The Kitchen Cabinets?
1. Energy savings
Since insulation keeps your kitchen cabinets warmer, especially during the winter season, you will not incur huge energy bills.
This is because you will take the shortest time possible to warm your food. You will also not be required to switch on your air conditioning equipment continuously.
2. Reduced noise levels
Insulation is the best sound absorber that can help reduce noise transmission through the floors and walls of your kitchen.
3. Increased comfortability
Insulation works well in reducing heat gain and loss into your cabinets by offering a barrier between the floor and the wall.
Ideally, if you install the insulation material properly, you will reduce the heat that escapes from the interior of your kitchen during winter.
Therefore, an effectively insulated kitchen cabinet will ensure that the foods you store get an appropriate temperature.
4. Prevents mold and damage
No one would wish to have very cold kitchen cabinets. Cabinets that have mold underneath or behind can be even worse.
If you do not maintain your kitchen cabinets regularly, you may start to experience some issues—one of the main challenges that you can experience in the growth of mold and mildew.
If left unattended, you floor underneath, and the wall behind the cabinets can start to develop cracks.
However, by adding an insulation layer to these areas, you can create a moisture barrier that can keep unwanted pathogens out of your kitchen cabinets.
Remember, mold is hazardous as it can ruin the foods that you store in your cabinets.
Related: How To Find Replacement Cabinet Doors
5 Precautions When Insulating Your Kitchen Cabinets
The fibers of insulation material can irritate your eyes and skin. Additionally, prolonged exposure to fiberglass can make your skin to be inflamed.
1. Wear Appropriate Clothing
Therefore, you should wear clothes which fit loosely. Long-legged and long-sleeved clothes can offer protection from skin irritation.
However, if fiberglass gets into contact with your skin, you should avoid scratching or rubbing your skin. Instead, wash your skin using soap and warm water.
You can also wear safety glasses to offer protection to your eyes.
2. No Eating Or Drinking
Avoid taking any drinks and food during the installation. When insulating your cabinets, you may be exposed to several pathogens and debris that can even irritate your stomach.
3. Keep Insulation Sparse
You should keep the insulation material layer about an inch deep. You should avoid over-applying the foam insulation since it can stress your walls and floor and make it clump up and fall.
4. No Gaps
Avoid gaps when installing the insulation material. By leaving about 5% area underneath or behind your kitchen un-insulated, you may lose about 30% of the potential benefits.
Avoid using loose insulation as it can leave some space that can trap air inside, thereby making the process ineffective.
5. Check R-Value
Ensure that you check the R-value or thermal resistance of the insulation material that you wish to use. You should note that a material that has a higher R-value will be more effective in insulating yours under and behind areas of your kitchen cabinet.
Why Should You Hire A Professional Insulation Contractor
When during home improvements, there are some things which you can do yourself.
Since insulation can be tricky, you should avoid doing it by yourself.
As a result, you should hire an insulation contractor.
The good thing about insulation contractors is that they will devote their energy and time when insulating your kitchen cabinets.
Additionally, the contractors know that continuous exposure to dampness can damage your cabinets. Therefore the issues under or behind your cabinet must be solved early.
Furthermore, insulation contractors have a lot of knowledge in all areas of insulation, such as recessed lighting, ventilation, air filtration, and vapor retarders, which are very important to the installation of an insulator.
You should know that there is no right choice when it comes to insulating yours under and behind kitchen cabinets. Every situation is unique, and you must consider all facts before you decide the kind of material which is best for you.
Additionally, you can make a list of the features you want most from the insulation to determine the most important ones easily.
Although insulating the cabinet framing, wall and floors you may reduce drafts, the air inside your cabinets can still be cooler compared to the air in other areas of your room.
It is, therefore, your responsibility to ensure that you protect your cabinets from any kind of damage, especially the growth of mold and mildew.