Bathroom Humidity - Solutions Needed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, this isn't going to get fixed until you run an HVAC vent through there. You need more ventilation with cooler air, which holds less moisture than warmer air.

yup. I know this is expensive but this is the only fix that I see actually working.

Your contractor screwed you, unfortunately! You do NOT want to risk mold in your house (its dangerous, can cause health problems, is very expensive to remove. need there!) so fixing moisture problems, to me, is a "need" not a "want" in regards to your home. Moisture will inevitably lead to mold. Good luck!

Yes our contractor screwed up, and screwed us. There's a lot of drama surrounding the entire remodel with this issue just being yet another one. We certainly don't want a mold issue so we're determined to fix it.

When we moved into our house there was no HVAC vent in one of the bathrooms. It turns out the HVAC guy had installed it but the drywall guys had covered it up. It was literally a 20 minute fix. Something to check.

Unfortunately for sure one does not exist. When we bought the house and started renovating we saw there wasn't one so when the walls were still open we requested one to be added, he didn't do it. As I posted earlier our contractor story is a dramatic one, we got screwed over big time. That water is under the bridge and down the river now and we're not interested in reopening old wounds with this guy. Just need the issue fixed. A few of you have offered some great suggestions, but I think the one we're going to have to pursue is opening the walls again and adding a vent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, this isn't going to get fixed until you run an HVAC vent through there. You need more ventilation with cooler air, which holds less moisture than warmer air.

yup. I know this is expensive but this is the only fix that I see actually working.

Your contractor screwed you, unfortunately! You do NOT want to risk mold in your house (its dangerous, can cause health problems, is very expensive to remove. need there!) so fixing moisture problems, to me, is a "need" not a "want" in regards to your home. Moisture will inevitably lead to mold. Good luck!

Yes our contractor screwed up, and screwed us. There's a lot of drama surrounding the entire remodel with this issue just being yet another one. We certainly don't want a mold issue so we're determined to fix it.

When we moved into our house there was no HVAC vent in one of the bathrooms. It turns out the HVAC guy had installed it but the drywall guys had covered it up. It was literally a 20 minute fix. Something to check.

Unfortunately for sure one does not exist. When we bought the house and started renovating we saw there wasn't one so when the walls were still open we requested one to be added, he didn't do it. As I posted earlier our contractor story is a dramatic one, we got screwed over big time. That water is under the bridge and down the river now and we're not interested in reopening old wounds with this guy. Just need the issue fixed. A few of you have offered some great suggestions, but I think the one we're going to have to pursue is opening the walls again and adding a vent.

How wide is the gap under the door?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, this isn't going to get fixed until you run an HVAC vent through there. You need more ventilation with cooler air, which holds less moisture than warmer air.

yup. I know this is expensive but this is the only fix that I see actually working.

Your contractor screwed you, unfortunately! You do NOT want to risk mold in your house (its dangerous, can cause health problems, is very expensive to remove. need there!) so fixing moisture problems, to me, is a "need" not a "want" in regards to your home. Moisture will inevitably lead to mold. Good luck!

Yes our contractor screwed up, and screwed us. There's a lot of drama surrounding the entire remodel with this issue just being yet another one. We certainly don't want a mold issue so we're determined to fix it.

When we moved into our house there was no HVAC vent in one of the bathrooms. It turns out the HVAC guy had installed it but the drywall guys had covered it up. It was literally a 20 minute fix. Something to check.

Unfortunately for sure one does not exist. When we bought the house and started renovating we saw there wasn't one so when the walls were still open we requested one to be added, he didn't do it. As I posted earlier our contractor story is a dramatic one, we got screwed over big time. That water is under the bridge and down the river now and we're not interested in reopening old wounds with this guy. Just need the issue fixed. A few of you have offered some great suggestions, but I think the one we're going to have to pursue is opening the walls again and adding a vent.

How wide is the gap under the door?

I'm able to fit my fingers under the door up to the first knuckle.

[Anonymous]

Certainly a weird one.

Will the fan hold a paper plate? Toilet paper is super light and doesn't signify much suction itself.

If you open a window somewhere else nearby in your house and with the intervening doors at least ajar, what happens with the ceiling fan running?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Certainly a weird one.

Will the fan hold a paper plate? Toilet paper is super light and doesn't signify much suction itself.

If you open a window somewhere else nearby in your house and with the intervening doors at least ajar, what happens with the ceiling fan running?

We live in Southern California so our windows throughout the house are generally open from dawn to dusk. We don't have paper plates so not sure if it will hold. We purchased a more powerful exhaust last night,which will be installed next week, along with the more powerful dehumidifier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Something else is going on.

Let's say it's a big bathroom and it's 200 square feet. With eight foot ceilings that's 1600 cubic feet. A minimal exhaust fan will exhaust 100 cubic feet per minute, so in 16 minutes it will completely exchange the air in that room. Changing the air should get rid of all the humidity.

My bet is the exhaust fan isn't actually working. It happens all the time that the exhaust gets blocked, the vent on the outside gets painted shut by painters or the hose gets pinched in the wall or something builds a nest in it. It also happens all the time that it was never hooked up properly to begin with. It can also happen that the fan blade breaks and even though the motor is turning it's not moving any air. If you light an incense stick under it it should easily suck all of the smoke out of the room.

The other possibility is there's another source of humidity other than the shower -- most likely a plumbing leak somewhere. But I'd check the fan first.

DH and I checked on whether or not it was actually working. The exhaust butts up against an exterior wall, so we went to the back of the house where the exhaust "exhausts" out, we could feel the air coming out. It felt quite surprising how much air was coming out, it felt like a fan.

The bathroom is about 125-150 sqft. The window is inside the actual shower stall, as is the new exhaust fan. Just like in this image:

110 CFM fan means almost 2 cubic ft of air per second. You should feel pretty strong blow out. And the air should feel very heavy w/ moisture. Is that how it felt?

[Anonymous]

Stronger vent fan on a 20 minute timer. Use often, and certainly after EVERY shower.

[Anonymous]

You can easily find the right fan size online. For your bathroom it should be around 150 it seems. But 110 is not too small. Not enough to cause this issue.

[Anonymous]

Damp-rid

[Anonymous]

Is your shower head too high? Sometimes if it's too close to the ceiling it can cause moisture build up there.
I think you wrote your ceilings are low. Can you raise them instead?

[Anonymous]

New more powerful fan.
Use a box fan as one PP recommended.
Lower showerhead. Make sure to check that it's not leaking pushing water upwards just in case.

If none of this works add the vent.

[Anonymous]

Fan's not properly connected to exhaust pipe. Your exhaust air should be really damp and moisture heavy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fan's not properly connected to exhaust pipe. Your exhaust air should be really damp and moisture heavy.

I'll have to wait for one of my kids to take a shower (it's only 10am here), then I'll go outside to check on what that exhaust air feels like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fan's not properly connected to exhaust pipe. Your exhaust air should be really damp and moisture heavy.

I'll have to wait for one of my kids to take a shower (it's only 10am here), then I'll go outside to check on what that exhaust air feels like.

It should be REALLY heavy air and cover your hands with heavy moisture. Remember if blowing 2 CFSecond, that's pretty strong blow.

[Anonymous]

You can try now. Turn shower on, wait a couple min and feel the exhaust air