Panasonic?

Sorry I don’t know
what the very best fan is but I would recommend a fan with a sensor. Often
times someone in the family is negligent in having the fan on during and a
while after showers. A sensor will greatly help with that. Some sensor and/or higher-end fans continuously
run on very low but kick into high gear when the sensor is triggered. That’s what
I bought but I haven’t used my bathroom long enough to tell you if it really
makes a difference long term. I’m hoping it will. I bought a Panasonic Whisper with sensor and light and night light.

Fantech, bar none and they are almost silent!

Bath fans

Thank you all, you've given me a good head start looking for a fan. I'll check out Panasonic and Fantech.

JTLynn, thanks for that explanation and I will look for the sensors. Can I ask, was your fan installed in the tub/shower area in the ceiling?

Regarding your mildew issue, if your fan is 3x what is required, I would check into what else may be a problem, like most importantly, how is the fan vented out? I hope it's not exhausted into an attic or something like that, but we see those situations all the time.

Re bathroom fans - I have Panasonic bathroom fans, and like them. I don't know anything about Fantech, but I would be interested in what you find out.

Also, instead of a fan with a sensor, you can get a non-sensor fan and then install a fan switch that has a timer. The Leviton Decora preset timer switches are particularly good, and good-looking (though my link below is not a good photo). They come in a number of different timer length combinations, but for a bathroom fan, I like the 5-10-15-30 combination. I have them for my bathroom fans, and they are great for kids who always forget to shut off the fan.

Also, they look nice if you get the switch plate that does not show the screws.

Leviton 6230M Preset Timer Switch

Leviton Screwless Wall Plates

Hi Sahmmy, no the vent was installed in the ceiling of the shower stall, right next to an exterior wall and vented directly out. And that's what we have now, a timer on the fan. Thanks for those links, too :-)

Hi Prairie, yes we installed it in the shower area.

Be sure to look at the CFM rating.

http://hvi.org/publications/bathroom_ventilation.cfm

http://www.efi.org/factoids/bathroom_sizing.html

I'll be fan shopping soon enough so I'm following your thread prairiemoon2.

Good, Allison, two birds with one stone. :-)

We have had our Panasonic Whisper fan (directly over the shower) for a couple years now. We put it on a 60 min timer and I leave the glass door open, swung into the shower. That place is dry in an hours' time. (even faster in Winter when the furnace is on).

-Babka

I have Fantech in one and Panasonic in another. Panasonic has an in-line fan if you can install the motor in an attic. Calculate your CFM requirements. The only noise you'll hear is air movement.

Thank you for the ideas of which fans to start with as I start researching. It occurs to me that I didn't ask, is there any other method of preventing moisture build up and mildew in a bathroom in some other way besides a fan?

We even have a window in our bathroom that I open every time I take a shower, but it's a double hung. I wondered if a larger window, or a different style window, in addition to the fan, might be more insurance?

Larger window, are you kidding? Sounds like you have a problem. What is your average humidity? Mildew needs >= 50% RH to grow. Maybe you need to raise the temperature or install a dehumidifier.

Also, use a timer switch like this from Leviton. http://amzn.com/B00313JXB0

Also, add a small recording humidity monitor (high/low) http://amzn.com/B0013BKDO8. If it's an old bath, you probably have air leaks that lower the temperature. Old homes are difficult to control. One improves insulation and now they can't breathe out the vapor.

We do have an old home, Steve. No, I've never measured the humidity in the bathroom. We had a fan and a timer. I suspect we began having problems when our kids became teenagers. [g] One of our kids liked to take very long steamy showers. Once we started having mildew, you just never get rid of it, it keeps coming back.

We also had a heat lamp in the ceiling which should have dried out the room and raised the temperature. Not sure how long we let the fan or the heat lamp run though.

All you need to do is control the humidity. Spend the $10 for a monitor. I doubt you need a new fan. Get some radiant heat. A small ceramic or a goldenrod in the right place. Move the monitor to find out where the problem is although the mildew is probably already telling you. Wouldn't take too much to get humidity below 50 unless you have thermal conductivity from the cold outdoors.

Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear, we are about to gut our bathroom and replace everything. Our current fan is about 15 years old.

Do you mean keep a space heater in the bathroom?

I'll have to look up thermal conductivity.

Thanks… :-)

We live in a very humid area. I struggled for years keeping up with the mildew. Then I got a squeegee( like you use for windows) and insisted that everyone using the showers would wipe them down after each shower. Magic , no more mildew. Recently when I was ill to squeegee after showering, I had to smile when I found my dear husband squeegeeing the shower for me. Good luck with your new bath! I give thumbs up also to Panasonic's heater, fan, light combo. Well worth the extra money. Check Amazon - great prices on the fan.

Char - I never thought about what it must be like to live in a humid area, like Florida, for example. Has to be so much easier to get mildew. I HOPE I don't have to resort to a squeegee! :-) It's the insisting that everyone does it that gets to me. I like the house to be a 'nag free zone' as much as possible.

I'm heading over to Amazon to check out that Panasonic right now. Thanks

Prairie moon I'm not sure the location but my old shower design lended itself to mildew on the ceiling edges ( just learned recently on these forums). It was completely enclosed (had a header above the glass shower door). Apparently with that design you are supposed to tile the ceiling as well. Just thought I'd share.

Thanks Allison, for posting about that. It makes sense that enclosing slows down evaporation. I'll keep that in mind.