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Do I need to add an exhaust fan?

14 years ago

My bathroom does not currently have a fan (although it does have a window that opens). The house is 30 years old and it doesn't seem like the bathroom has been remodeled in that time, and there does not seem to be any moisture issues.

Do I need to add an exhaust fan?

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Comments (3)

roobear
14 years ago
I think it depends on what is in the bathroom. Is it just a half bath or a bathroom with just a bath or does it have a shower/tub combo or a shower? If it has a shower then yes I would put in a fan, if it doesn't I wouldn't think you would need to add one.

We are in the process of updating our 1960's bathroom and added a shower to the tub area- even though we have a big window in the room, we wouldn't leave it open all the time, so we added a vent.

You might also want to check with your local building codes as well.
muscat
14 years ago
I'm certainly not knowledgeable in this area, but I can share my minimal experience: we're 95% done with a bathroom remodel- a 8x8 room, serves as our masterbath, so it gets used a lot. Standard tub/shower combo, small full bath....anyway, we went from no vent (but a window) to having a Broan fan/light combo installed, and it is such a nice change. We never had problems before with moisture causing damage, but now even if the window is closed, we can both shower and not have fogged up mirrors and a feeling of too much damp in the air as we get ready in the morning. It was very worth it to me. I think 'need' is relative!
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As for fan-lights in the shower, it seems ineffective to try to remove water vapor laden air from the shower since most of it will condense on the walls before that can happen anyway. My goal is to remove humid air from the vanity area and allow fresh air drawn from the door undercut to reduce fogging of the mirror and window glass. The entire bathroom will eventually dry out if you use a fan with a built in timer and/or constant low speed feature like Panosonic's WhisperGreen series. I have yet to find a fan-light combination that performs as well as separate units. Here are my criteria: no CFL or LED lamps (LED inappropriate in a bathroom; CFL inappropriate in a house) Max sound rating .8 sone max grille size 13x13 flush with ceiling variable speed fan with timer Panasonic makes a recessed spotlight-fan combination (FV08VRL1) but it uses a CFL. I suppose a halogen PAR lamp could be substituted because the CFL is probably only needed to get an EnergyStar rating but I am not comfortable recommending it. To reduce fan noise it is important to reduce back-pressure by using larger metal ducts.
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pepperidge_farm
14 years ago
Either shower or just toilet, exhaust is never a bad idea, as we learned when we chose not to put the exhaust in our powder room with window.... quickly regretted that when the first individual took "full advantage" of the facilities.

Never never hurts to exhaust a shower... you will not always want a window open, whether due to cold, humidity, etc.,. I think I have read that windows are not the ideal single ventilation in a wet environment.

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