Bathroom Extractor Fan

[Dougie212]

Hi there.

We’ve just moved into a house and are experiencing a massive amount of steam in the bathroom when showering. It’s fully tiled and has an extractor fan on the ceiling but even with it on, the mirror and shelf are soaking wet from steam. The fan goes into the loft and from what I’ve briefly seen the trunking goes out through a vent in the roof. The trunking does seem to have quiet an extensive bend where it’s hooked up. I’ll try and get a picture of the hosing but in the meantime, I’ve got a picture of the fan - which itself has huge drips of condensation on it - and was just wondering if anyone knows anything about it? Is it a pretty low power fan? I’ve checked the draw of the fan by putting a piece of toilet paper across it which it holds up against the grill... it just doesn’t seem to pull any steam out. Here’s a pic of the fan and I’ll get a pic of the run of trunking in the loft and add it tomorrow.
Thanks as always!!
Dougie.

 

[Taylortwocities]

I don’t know that make. But my research shows that one can buy that fan for less than £11 from that reliable vendor eBay.

fans with that profile are usually barely able to adequately push air through duct in a 6” wall and are hopeless at anything more demanding.

the first thing to fo is measure the room and then go on one of the fan calculator sites
Here’s One

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technical/Ventilation/Ventilation4.html

that will tell you what performance you need for it to be effective. Then be prepared to pay around £60 for a decent one.

 

[Dougie212]

Brilliant!! Thankyou!! I’ll do that now. With the run of venting going into the loft and out the roof would you think a ceiling mounted fan would suffice or do I need to be looking at an in line system?

 

[Taylortwocities]

I prefer inline fans, quieter and the fan is halfwayish along the duct run.
These are pretty good IMO
https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/SLTDK160T.html

 

[AndyPRK]

Are you running for at least 10 minutes after a shower ?

 

[JohnD]

The fan TTC shows has about twice the power of your current one, is quieter, has a run-in timer and is generally better quality. Showers are very steamy so you need to keep the fan running until the room is clear. I like them to come on with the light switch.

Flexible ducting is prone to collecting condensation in the ribs, especially if it hangs in loops. Rigid ducting, preferably sloping so any water runs to the outside, is preferable. You can reduce condensation by flopping loft insulation over the duct so it does not chill the steamy air inside.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Are you running for at least 10 minutes after a shower ?

I’d go for a run before having a shower!

 

[JP_]

What sort /age house? We have a lot of condensation too in our 1930s bungalow as the bathroom has no insulation in floor or external wall, and pretty poor in loft too (I'm in the process of updating all that). The room might benefit from more warmth too. We leave our fan running for up to an hour after showers and also open the window on the catch, and run an electric heater when showering, but there's still condenstation and some mould forms in the corner of the ceiling.