Since beginning construction on my retro pink master bathroom, the hall bathroom has been seeing a lot more action. We’ve never had guests complain about the moisture issues in there, even though we knew they existed. But when we started using it full time ourselves, we realized just how bad it was. So when the electrician returned to finish working on the pink bathroom, I asked him to install a new fan in the green bathroom too.
In case you don’t have time to watch the video, here’s the gist of my bath fan woes:
- Before we began work on the pink bath, both fans vented into the attic instead of outside. That’s a code no-no these days. Also stupid, because you don’t want wet moist air pouring into your attic.
- The fan in the green bath didn’t seem to do much other than sound like an airplane landing — our towels wouldn’t dry and funk grew back quickly on shower tiles as soon as four or five days after being cleaned.
- As long as we were paying the electrician to come finish up our master bathroom work and vent that fan out of the roof, we had him replace and vent our hall bath fan at the same time, saving $$$ since he could do it all in one trip to our house and one trip into the attic.
- When the electrician removed the old fan he discovered a problem that went back to the fan’s initial install: The damper that opens when the fan is on (to let air out through the ductwork), and then closes when the fan is off (to prevent back drafts), was stuck in the closed position. This meant that no air could be pulled out of the bathroom through the fan.
- The reason the damper wouldn’t open was that when the ductwork was attached to the fan, it was mushed up against the damper, impeding its ability to function.
- The old fan — probably installed in the 1990s — never did anything but use electricity to make noise for all that time.
- Since the installation of the new fan, we’ve noticed a huge difference. The mirror is no longer completely fogged when we get out of the shower — in fact it usually has no fog at all. Also, our towels have been drying and there has been no “funk” regrowth since the last bathroom cleaning.
The moral of the story here — if you suspect the fan in your bathroom only sounds like it is working, it might be worth checking (or having a professional check) the exhaust vent. If the damper does not move freely, or there is an obstruction in the ductwork, your bath fan may not be able to do its job.
Read all of the stories related to my pink bathroom remodel project here.
Jennifer Kepesh says
Our house, built in 1958 in a state that doesn’t worry that much about code, had three bathrooms, only one of which had a fan. We just demolished that bathroom. The second bathroom has a window. The master bathroom, just as tiny as the other two, has a skylight that doesn’t open. In the winter, we turn on the heater and that dries things up as it warms our toes, but in the summer–oh, well! The house is adobe; we have a flat roof, and I have no intention of getting rid of the skylight, so I guess we’ll just have to live with the consequences.
Katie B. says
We don’t have a fan in our only bathroom. We’ll probably get one when we find the “new” light fixture. Now we just open the window and leave the door open. Luckily it’s just the two of us! The only drawback is we often have curious cats watching us shower/bathe. 🙂
I also just wanted to say that when you add any protrusions to your roof, like air vents, make sure it is properly “tied in” to your roof and there are no leaks. You might have to hire someone to do this, but it will be worth it to not have water damage a year later!
pam kueber says
Mine goes out the gable, not the roof per se.
A. W. Richards says
We live in an apartment built around 1969-1970-ish. Fortunately, our bathroom has its original NuTone exhaust (stainless grille and all) and works great. If we ever have problems, I’ll be sure to let the maintenance guys know about this tip (cause I’d hate to lose that fan, it looks so darn cool).
mary hershelman says
Did you guys know that my vent was acting up this week. Good timing. Thanks for all the tips before I get the ladder out.
Eartha Kitsch says
A lot of times in home inspections of older homes, inspectors notice that vents are just venting up into the attic space and not actually outside of the home – not good. Everyone should peek up into their attic space and go outside and stare at your roof to make sure that all is done right. A lot of stove hood vents? The same thing. Just venting steam into an attic space and not outside.
Robin, NV says
Neither of my bathrooms are vented but both have outside windows. It’s fine in the summer when the weather is hot and dry and we can have the windows open but in the winter, it gets steamy in there to say the least. We don’t get any kind of mold or mildew problems because the humidity is so low here but I’m still adding bathroom fans to my long of things I want worked on.
Chad says
Oh and one other fan vent horror story – the kitchen exhaust fan vented into the den, which involved hacking a hole into the original 1951 Philippine mahogany V groove paneling to put a vent in. Now the fan is gone but the vent will forever be up at the top of that wall serving no purpose but to cover the hole.
Jay says
Ah yes, the old fan venting into the attic. Good way to date your house construction. My hall bath with no windows vented into the attic. The master bath on an outside wall with window had no fan. The previous owner installed a fan in the master that was vented to the outside gable end via the attic but did nothing about the original hall bath fan. I subsequently had it ducted outside as well. I periodically go outside and look up to see that the appropriate damper has opened while each fan is running.
But the previous owner did have separate switches installed for the hall bath fan to run independently from the light.
lynda says
In some houses it is hard to vent all the way to the roof. Panasonic makes through the wall fans. We have one that works well in a downstairs bath. Just thought this idea might help someone. Search for WhisperWall vent fan.
Maryanna says
Our 1968 house has no fans at all in either bathroom. We would love to have one installed in each bathroom, but especially in the one that faces north, and so never gets any sunlight through its window. It has become so daunting to clean that tiny bathroom!
We must be in the minority, because my husband and I both would prefer noisy fans. The “white noise” they create will add an extra level of privacy, especially in the Jack & Jill bathroom that is only accessible through the two smaller bedrooms. Any recommendations on non-quiet fans out there? 🙂
pam kueber says
“white noise” heheh