Bathroom condensation hell!

[rajan2004]

Hello all,

I have had a massive condensation problem in my bathroom ever since I bought my flat 6 years ago.

I live in a ground floor flat and the bathroom is at the front of the house. When I switch the shower on, a huge amount of steam is released which results in huge condensation on the tiles and window. It's got so bad that the towel radiator is rusting as is my light. I actually refurbished my bathroom 4 years ago and my tiles have started to fall off, so it's clearly a big problem. Even before I had tiles, the wallpaper which was there in its place was flaking off at an alarming rate and the ceiling is covered in mould.

I invested in an expensive envirovent extractor fan which has a trickle mode and a built in humidistat. It seems to be coming on at the right times and reacting to moisture but my walls are still wet after a shower and I'm not convinced an extractor fan alone will solve the problem.


So my question is, what else can I do? My plan at the moment is to get more air into the bathroom by installing a wall vent - the only vent in the bathroom to let outside air in is housed in the frame of the window and is very small. Do you think this might be a wise investment? There's no point in me changing my extractor fan as it works perfectly well and stays on all the time, reacting to humidity when appropriate.

Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. I want to get my bathroom retiled but don't want to even begin doing that until I have this condensation problem under control!

Rajan

 

[foxhole]

You fan sounds inadequate, humidistats don't react quickly enough or at all if moisture levels are too low to trigger them, you need a fan that runs any time the room is occupied and preferably at a higher extraction rate. Room should also have a permanent open vent.

 

[JohnD]

the extractor has to start before you turn the water on, and carry on until all the wet has dried up and the moist air has been removed. That includes wet towels, wet walls, and wet shower trays.

Fresh air should be allowed in under the (closed) bathroom door to achieve controlled airflow. If you know anyone who smokes get them to stand under the extractor while you verify inside and out that the smoke is being extracted.

//www.diynot.com/wiki/building:condensation_in_houses

Lots of people have an psychological aversion to ventilation and avoid turning fans on. Having them come on with the light switch and run on for 20 minutes afterwards overcomes this aversion.

Your extractor does not work perfectly well. If it did you would not have a damp bathroom.

 

[lee2009]

bet there aint a big enough gap either between the floor and bottom of the door, as john refers too.

 

[JohnD]

I had a a look at the envirovent website, and they seem to have taken great care to avoid saying how many cubic metres per hour their fans extract

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Is your bathroom heated and is it in working order, heating is quite important as well, as heaters do dry walls and ceilings, along with the extractor fans extracting any moisture.