Bathroom Humidity - Solutions Needed

[Anonymous]

One of our bathrooms has a humidity problem. The ceilings are quite low - 8ft I think - and there's only a small window to let out some of the humidity. Whenever the kids take a shower the ceilings are literally dripping with the excess humidity. We have a new exhaust fan in there, it's actually in the shower which I would think would help more with exhausting out the humidity but i guess not. We also leave the window open whenever someone is showering.

This is very similar to what we have but our window is a bit smaller:

[img]https://www.ontheballbathrooms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Black-WIndow-Trim-683x1024.jpg[img]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of our bathrooms has a humidity problem. The ceilings are quite low - 8ft I think - and there's only a small window to let out some of the humidity. Whenever the kids take a shower the ceilings are literally dripping with the excess humidity. We have a new exhaust fan in there, it's actually in the shower which I would think would help more with exhausting out the humidity but i guess not. We also leave the window open whenever someone is showering.

This is very similar to what we have but our window is a bit smaller:

I hit the submit button too soon: Is there any way that I'm not aware of where we can suck out the extra moisture?

This is the window we have. https://www.amazon.com/Park-Ridge-VBSI3214PR-Basement-Slider/dp/B013OVBYZG/ref=asc_df_B013OVBYZG/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167155426463&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15657498001978070781&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031538&hvtargid=pla-307230837301&psc=1

[Anonymous]

Are your kids actually running the fan? Is the fan properly vented? We haad this issue and discovered that it was vented into the attic, not outside. Had it installed properly and then wired to the light switch so noboy could forget to turn it on. Solved the problem.

[Anonymous]

Also consider putting a fan into the window, one that will pull moisture out and direct it outside. Windows are useless in the DMV summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are your kids actually running the fan? Is the fan properly vented? We haad this issue and discovered that it was vented into the attic, not outside. Had it installed properly and then wired to the light switch so noboy could forget to turn it on. Solved the problem.

Yes, we actually leave the fan on 24/7 in an effort to get rid of the humidity. In terms of installation, good question. Our contractor was a real piece of work, so this could be an issue. How do I check for that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also consider putting a fan into the window, one that will pull moisture out and direct it outside. Windows are useless in the DMV summer.

This is an interesting idea.

We're in SoCal where humidity is quite low so one would think the window would work as designed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are your kids actually running the fan? Is the fan properly vented? We haad this issue and discovered that it was vented into the attic, not outside. Had it installed properly and then wired to the light switch so noboy could forget to turn it on. Solved the problem.

Yes, we actually leave the fan on 24/7 in an effort to get rid of the humidity. In terms of installation, good question. Our contractor was a real piece of work, so this could be an issue. How do I check for that?

Okay I just checked and it is exhausting out, and there's a very short distance between the exhaust and the exterior wall where it's exhausting out to. We bought a small portable dehumidifier for the bathroom but it's not moving the dial, at all.

[Anonymous]

Buy a portable dehumidifier and leave it running for an hour after everyone showers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Buy a portable dehumidifier and leave it running for an hour after everyone showers.

We did, it's not moving the dial at all.

[Anonymous]

Exhaust fans have a wide range of cfm capacity. Yours may be undersized. How air tight is your house? It needs to move air and if you have a tight house it's not going to have a lot of air to work with. Many bathroom exhaust fans are not very effective (cheap components, low cfm) and the installs are often abysmal (kinked flex lines, uninsulated flex lines on longer runs so the hot moist air condenses in the cold attic and water builds up in the pipe (the lines should be rigid vent pipe, ideally, not the accordion-looking flex pipe))

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exhaust fans have a wide range of cfm capacity. Yours may be undersized. How air tight is your house? It needs to move air and if you have a tight house it's not going to have a lot of air to work with. Many bathroom exhaust fans are not very effective (cheap components, low cfm) and the installs are often abysmal (kinked flex lines, uninsulated flex lines on longer runs so the hot moist air condenses in the cold attic and water builds up in the pipe (the lines should be rigid vent pipe, ideally, not the accordion-looking flex pipe))

The CFM for ours is 110 which is considered quite high. It's a very good quality one, Panasonic Whisper Choice. The house is actually not air tight at all. It's a 1954 house with a ton of drafty areas, even though the house has been fully renovated.

[Anonymous]

Can air enter the house somewhere else to replace what the fan removes? If not, the fan can't remove much.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think those small portable humidifiers do anything. Get a real one and it will make a big difference, but it will take up some space. Great in the winter though because you don’t lose all the heat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think those small portable humidifiers do anything. Get a real one and it will make a big difference, but it will take up some space. Great in the winter though because you don’t lose all the heat.

I used a small one and it sucked up a lot of water, seemed to do something.

But I agree, OP could try a larger one.

[Anonymous]

^^De-Humidifier though for bathroom, not humidifier