Bathroom Humidity - Solutions Needed

[Anonymous]

I worry you have a leak in a pipe inside the walls that is activated when the kids run the shower. When we had some humidity in our bathroom which looks almost exactly like the picture you posted it was due to a leak and second problem which was that the contractor had left several inches of debris behind the walls where the leak was so the water was dripping on to debris which did not dry properly.

[Anonymous]

Do you have a roof leak? THe pipes go out the top of your house and there's flashing there that wears out over time and faster than the rest of the roof. You shouldn't have humidity in the bathroom all the time (even when the bathroom isn't in use).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the humidity like before the showers? That might tell you if you have a water or moisture problem unrelated to the fan. Your contractor sounds bad and is it possible they are venting humid air from somewhere else into the walls?

When no one is showering and the humidity has had time to exit the bathroom...and we wipe the ceilings and walls down to remove whatever residual moisture we can, the bathroom stays dry.

DP. That’s not necessarily dispositive. The walls may still be saturated with moisture. We had a shower pan leak, and we never saw an actual drip from the shower, but we had moisture condensing on the ceiling of another room. Water travels in weird ways, and sometimes it just saturates the material of the house and then recondenses somewhere else. We live in on the Gulf Coast, in a very very humid climate, and we don’t need dehumidifiers in our bathrooms. A standard exhaust fan is sufficient, and we don’t even use that all the time. If you live in Southern California and have that much moisture, it’s coming from somewhere else. I’d get or borrow a moisture meter and test the walls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worry you have a leak in a pipe inside the walls that is activated when the kids run the shower. When we had some humidity in our bathroom which looks almost exactly like the picture you posted it was due to a leak and second problem which was that the contractor had left several inches of debris behind the walls where the leak was so the water was dripping on to debris which did not dry properly.

I'm willing to accept that this might be the issue. As I mentioned last week we purchased a much more powerful exhaust fan which is being installed tomorrow. If this doesn't move the dial, then I'm buying a moisture meter and going from there.

[Anonymous]

A moisture meter is about $20. You need one anyway.

[Anonymous]

My DH has a very high power table fan blowing into the bathroom on a timer. He keeps the bathroom door open and aims the fan air inside. My bathroom is bone-dry in 30 minute. The exhaust is basically useless for how my children shower.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DH has a very high power table fan blowing into the bathroom on a timer. He keeps the bathroom door open and aims the fan air inside. My bathroom is bone-dry in 30 minute. The exhaust is basically useless for how my children shower.

does he does this while the shower is in use though?

[Anonymous]

OP here with an update!

We replaced the exhaust fan with a larger capacity one. It was a 110, now it's a 290 which I know is technically overkill for the size of our bathroom but it has helped a lot. We also brought in a large capacity dehumidifier which is on an auto shut-off/on. So those two in combination with each other have really helped our humidity levels a lot. Is it perfect? No, but I would say there's a 75% improvement. We'll take it!

[Anonymous]

I was told once by a venting specialist that you should turn the fan on way before you shower to get a good positive flow going in the space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was told once by a venting specialist that you should turn the fan on way before you shower to get a good positive flow going in the space.

Oh interesting! I'll try it.

[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.

We recently had new insulation blown into our attic and we soon realized our bathroom moisture wasn't venting like it used to. Apparently the insulation was blown over the fan which just vents into the attic. We would like to have it vented to the outside. What type of contractor should we contact? HVAC? General contractor?

[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.

We recently had new insulation blown into our attic and we soon realized our bathroom moisture wasn't venting like it used to. Apparently the insulation was blown over the fan which just vents into the attic. We would like to have it vented to the outside. What type of contractor should we contact? HVAC? General contractor?

Handyman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

We recently had new insulation blown into our attic and we soon realized our bathroom moisture wasn't venting like it used to. Apparently the insulation was blown over the fan which just vents into the attic. We would like to have it vented to the outside. What type of contractor should we contact? HVAC? General contractor?

Handyman.

PP again.
Thanks. Got two estimates today. One says venting through the roof is better than running it to a side wall. The other says the complete opposite. Online articles seem mixed.

Anyone have experience that would recommend one option of the other? Price quotes are in the $600-800 range for two bathrooms.

[Anonymous]

Anyone have any recommendations for a quality handyman co. who can do this kind of work?

What we need: Install new/better bathroom vent, port it through roof (right now it only goes to attic space) -- resolve bathroom humidity mold problem.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Some of these vents have a metal piece that needs to be removed before it vents out. Check the fan to make sure it's sucking air right.