Bathroom Extractor Fan

[Ablaze]

Hi Chaps,

We appear to have a bit of a problem with condensation in our fully tiled 8ft x 8ft(ish) Bathroom.

I know the problem probably lies with my wife who seems to take 40 minutes in the shower to wash her hair but the place is wringing wet when shes finished and yes, the shower spray is pointing at her, not the room walls etc

We have a 4" extractor in the wall that is mounted about 13" down from the ceiling ( couldnt be mounted any higher) and it seems pretty crap in its performance to be fair.

The question is this, have you any examples - preferably links, to extractors that would do a better job ?

Am i better off fitting one above the shower area of the bath ? Ive seen the ones on screwfix etc with the lights built in but they appear to be ducted up to a high flow fan which I take it would then be terminated on the roof ?

Due to the slope of the roof it may be difficult to get in above the shower in the loft but ive never fitted one so I dont know.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

David

 

[45yearsagasman]

Have you any other vent into the room? It's no good just putting and extractor in without providing another vent for relief and to provide air changes. If the room is air tight then the extractor will not perform correctly.

 

[Ablaze]

Cheers 45

To be honest, no, there isnt another vent.

Ill have to look further into this as I see where you are coming from.

Cheers for the reply

 

[JohnD]

It is usual for fresh air to be sucked into the bathroom through the gap under the bathroom door.

Water vapour is lighter than air so it will rise up towards the extractor and the cool dry air will replace it from underneath.

Here are some sample extractors. Look at the metres per hour extract rate, and see if you can find a fan similar to the one you currently have (it might be 85 cu. m per hour). The more powerful ones are usually installed in the loft with ducting, but this will be extra work to fit. Centrifugal fans are generally quieter and more powerful than axial fans.
http://www.screwfix.com/search.do;j...stomPrice=&priceFrom=&priceTo=&priceFilterOn=


The fan should be wired so it comes on as soon as the light is switched on, and stays on for 20 minutes afterwards. Some people have a psychological aversion to ventilation and will not switch on fans themselves.

It is preferable not to have the fan directly above a bath or shower since the electricity safety rules are then much more stringent and expensive.

 

[vibrobullit407]

You can leave a gap under the door to provide the air replenishment.

What fan do you have? Do you have a fan with a humidity sensor, timer or trickle setting? How much air does you current fan exhaust?

I have a 4" ventaxia va100 230V fan with humidity sensor in my bathroom which works a treat but with out knowing a lot about the location and the needs of the fan I can't really suggest one! Try posting on the electric forum with a bit more detail and see what responses you get from there!