Project to tackle condensation and damp

[lizard89769]

I have a condensation / ventilation problem in my bathroom and kitchen ;

In the bathroom : There is only a window for ventilation, no vents or extractor fan. When we have showers, a lot of steam fills the room and lots tends to condensate on the cold tiled floor especially in the winter which is really unpleasant.

In the kitchen ; There is only a window for ventilation, no vents, and the window isn't near the cooking area where the water vapour comes from. There is an extractor fan, but the extracted air is not vented outside, just back into the kitchen so it is fairly pointless. When cooking or just boiling a kettle, the water vapour tends to lurk around and condensate on the ceiling and surfaces (the paint is flaking a lot in the ceiling corners) or goes out into the rest of the house which really worries me.

What would be the most effective way to tackle these problems ? I am not too worried about the cost and would be happy to get rid of the stand in shower / bath if it would help. Please see youtube video of the kitchen and bathroom :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL8PIpLXo58&feature=plcp

 

[masona]

There is an extractor fan, but the extracted air is not vented outside, just back into the kitchen so it is fairly pointless. When cooking or just boiling a kettle, the water vapour tends to lurk around and condensate on the ceiling and surfaces (the paint is flaking a lot in the ceiling corners) or goes out into the rest of the house which really worries me.

Need to take out moisture to outside, have a look at the extractor fans with a humidity sensors or maybe a humidity fan

 

[lizard89769]

Would humidity sensitive extractor fans really be that effective ? If so, where would be the best place to position them ?

Should I have one in the kitchen & bathroom ?

In the bathroom, would getting rid of the stand in shower/bath and replacing with a shower cubicle closer to the window help ?

Or instead, what about a transparent screen that went all the way up to the ceiling, because I notice when the shower is on, most of the escaping water vapour gets out over the top of the shower curtain.. ?

 

[dann09]

As above: install extractors in bathroom and kitchen. A powerful humidity run-on app. in the bathroom, and a powerful ext. through the wall in the kitchen.

You have almost the total area of the b/r covered in hard surfaces, and pretty much likewise for the kit. Short of running a blast of heat to be extracted through open frames you will continue to get condensation.

Do not go moving fixtures or fitting, or contemplating radical measures.

 

[bhm1712]

if the fan in the kitchen is only recirculating, this will not help the issue. You need to fit a duct which takes the extract air to outside. I had been putting this off for years until i had new windows and decided enough was enough - i didnt want the new windows to get wet and mouldy.

I hired a diamond core drill for the day and bought all the pipework and sealer. Cutting the hole in the wall was easy and took about 20 minutes. 10 minute per wall (outer red brick and inner breeze block)

My cooker hood was not fitted to an external wall and so i ran the duct across the top of my kitchen cupboards and used flat ducting which remains hidden by the top pelmet quite nicely. The fan now works a treat and the steam goes out the vent and the windows dont get steamed up anymore. Makes a massive difference to the whole house really. Its nice for getting rid of those greasy residues as well which had coated the tops of the cupboards and walls - its amazing how much cooking can lead to damage of the house! cleaning the grease off the walls and cupboard tops took longer than doing the ducting job!!! now the grease filter in the hood take care of that......

 

[lizard89769]

Thanks for all your help

I have a much better idea of what I need now.

One thing I am still wondering about is in the kitchen; I think ideally the extractor fan/cooker hood taking the air outside through trunking would be humidity sensitive so I wouldn't have to worry about remembering to turn it on/off ; is there such a cooker hood availiable ? I had a quick look on google for something like this but couldn't find anything ; is there a good reason for this ?

 

[JohnD]

Once you have fitted the cooker extractor hood, you are better off using it whenever you cook because it will remove cooking smells and vapourised fat as well as water vapour.

Leave the hood set to 'lights on, fan slow" and get into the habit of switching it on at the wall to illuminate the hob. Turn fan speed up when you are boiling frying grilling or roasting.

Electricity cost is negligible.

 

[bhm1712]

yes, even if there is a cooker hood which works on humidity, allowing the humidity to build up to a level where it turns the fan on is already too much. Turn it on and off when your cooking. As suggested, turn it on the moment you start cooking and leave on low unless your frying or boiling stuff on the hob. Even having the cooker on with the door closed releases moisture into the air, especially if its a gas cooker so even when just using the oven its best to use the fan on low.

 

[lizard89769]

Thanks again for all your help. Two more questions :

1.) Will the length of the ducting in the kitchen effect the performance / amount of air it can extract to the outside ?

2.) The miserable weather has made the idea of having a tumble dryer very attractive. Is their anyway the air outlet for a tumble dryer could be connected to the same outlet vent in the kitchen used for the cooker hood, or would I need another hole in the wall ?

 

[JohnD]

they can be connected to a single duct. You can get duct fittings for this purpose. You will want a non-return flap on both the devices to prevent backflow.

 

[bhm1712]

Yes, here is an example of the none return flap i used on my install

http://www.fastlec.co.uk/easipipe-100-connector-with-nonreturn-valve-p-1683.html

I put mine between the gravity flap on the outside and the duct on the inside to prevent any wind blowing open the outside flaps and allowing cool air into the kitchen through the fan.

 

[lizard89769]

An electrician has quoted me £477 including VAT to :

a.) Create a hole in the bathroom wall and fit a low voltage fan linked to the light switch, but will not do any replastering required afterwards to cover work.

b.) Create hole in kitchen wall with one way flap on outside ready to accept outlet from kitchen extractor fan.

I live in Sutton, which is in greater london. Does this sound like an unreasonable price ?

 

[bhm1712]

well it cost me £30 to hire a 4" diamond core drill for 24 hours (the builder will already have one i expect) and it took me 20 minutes to drill through the wall ( 2 skins with cavity). It then took me all of 15 minutes to slide in the sleeve i bought and seal it up, and then another 10 minutes to drill 4 holes, rawl plug them and screw on the flap. There was no plaster work to be done, the core drill made a neat hole and only made dust mess, nothing more.

I suggest you give it a go yourself?

The builder might be sounding expensive but at the end of the day he has a job to do and a wage to earn..It will be cheaper if you do it yourself. Its not hard. If your not comfortable to do it, why dont you get a few more quotes first?

The electrical work and fan will be a large percentage of the cost.

EDIT: some builders prefer to chain drill a series of holes, and then chisel out the round hole. This may be why he is saying there will be plaster work to do, as this method makes much much more mess.