Thank you Diana. Yes, we purchased it a year ago, built in 1990. That's a great thought. We will be doing some reno/redecorating it so I will be sure to ask!

How far away is the nearest exterior wall? You can run a vent duct some distance when it's just air (not cooking grease, etc)...

A high-end Toto toilet seat (Washlet) with a fan deodorizing system in it has almost no odor if you flush before you stand up.

Some bathrooms in older houses just can't be vented. We wanted a fan in our 1st floor bathroom for moisture build-up when shower was used; not possible. The 8 ft ceiling meant no room directly above the window, and to install one on the outside wall of the shower would have meant removing a fully-tiled bathroom's old lathe and wire tile - huge expensive, messy job, and still no way to get electrical to a space at the end of the tub shower.

For a powder room, I'm assuming you are concerned about "odor". I would just keep a very nice room spray on the back of the toilet, or when entertaining, put a lovely lit candle in the room. I vote for the room spray myself. I love Agraria AirEssence Sprays - love the Lemon Verbena and Bitter Orange. Yes, it's pricey but one quick spray will do it and it lasts a very long time, even in a toilet area that is used often.

Therese, I was faced with the exact same situation. My imperfect solution was to install a fan anyway and exhaust it into the joist bay. Huge improvement. I bought the cheapest fan that I could find in Menard's. It's noisy; OTOH the noise serves to mask plumbing noise.

***ETA that this is a powder room where odor was an issue. I would NEVER use this solution to vent moisture like from a shower.

Thank you for all the input.

acm- The closest exterior wall is bout 10' but would be at the from of the house and near the entry' in the other direction it would be >20' and over the outside deck area.

Nancy in Mich- wow! no familiar with that Toto seat. Do you know if it only fit's on Toto toilets?

Anglophilia- we have been doing spray and candle- the balsam candle seems to work pretty well and I picked up a citrus spray but will try the one you recommended. Sometimes sprays seem a little sickening sweet.

ci_lantro- interesting; I bet there is more of this than we know How long have you had that setup? No problems?

Just do courtesy flushes...once it drops hit the flush...repeat as needed...almost no smell. Drives me up a wall when people won't do this and have no concern.

True as well for the most part. Maybe one of those cute signs.... and will work on "retraining" DH!

Toto seats fit on most elongated toilets. There is a list at the site where I bought mine, and you can call and ask if you are not sure. Just look for the ones that say that they deodorize. The less expensive seats have fewer features, so keep moving up in price until you find one that does have a deodorizer, and that meets your other needs. The deodorizing fan turns on automatically when you sit on it. The fan does use a charcoal filter. Bidet King does have some of the s300e left at a lower price than the new s500e.

A note for asthmatics and others with lung or breathing issues: I would never think to use a spray "freshener" even when someone leaves it out. Anything added to the air is likely to set off an attack or cause breathing problems for some people. If you had a scented candle in the room - lit or not - I would not be able to enter. I would never think to flush with each "plop," either. I guess I was not raised to think that bathrooms should not smell like what you do in there, for a while after you leave. I know our bathroom did not even have a vent fan. The first three houses I lived in, did not. I see my new Toto as a very nice luxury!

Has anyone tried the Poo-Pouri or other products that are newly on the scene that you drop into the toilet water?