Choosing the Right Bathroom Fan For Your Home
Bathroom fans perform a great service and yet are often forgotten ignored and not used.
If more people understood the function of these, they would move this electrical unit to the front of their priority list. These fans keep the bathroom smelling good and safe from mold.
A bathroom that does not vent properly is a health hazard. Not only does the bathroom smell bad, it is damp. Damp, moist areas produce mold very quickly. You know the many dangers of mold, mold can speed up the rotting of wood and mold produces spores. Some of these spores are harmful to the people who breathe them.
Originally, bathrooms were located on an outside wall of the house. A window that opened controlled the moist air. Now bathrooms can be located anywhere, depending on the house design.
The right fan quickly draws fresh air into the bathroom and pushes the moist air out. This bathroom exhaust fan should run continuously for about 20 minutes after you have used the bathroom.
This wonderful invention comes with several options. The CFM (cubic feet per minute) rating tells how much air the fan will circulate. To determine what rating you need, you multiply the length times the width times the height of the bathroom. This is the cubic feet of air in the space. Then you divide the cubic feet of air by 7.5. This gives the CFM rating of the fan you need. This is easier than it sounds. For example, if the bathroom is 5 feet long and 5 feet wide and 8 feet high, the cubic feet of air is 200. (5X5X8=200) Now you divide the 200 by 7.5 and get 26.67. A bathroom exhaust fan with a CFM rating of 27 or more would work. You can purchase a unit with a CFM rating higher than you need, but do not purchase a lower CFM rating as it cannot do the job you require.
The next option is even more important for the comfort of the homeowners. Different bathroom exhaust fans operate at different noise levels. These noise levels are called sones or db. As the fan will run for 20 minutes or longer, the cost of a quieter fan may be well worth it to you.
Fans come in different styles and colors. Some have an automatic timer that turns off in a set amount of time. Some have a light built into the unit. Some feature a heated lamp for added comfort when showering. You have a wide range of choices.
The price of a basic bathroom extractor fan starts at about $30. These are noisier than the than more expensive fans with a lower sones or db level. Fans with decorative lights can run over $100. You can find something that will work with your bathroom style and fit all your requirements.
Installation of a bathroom extractor fan is simple. The fan must be ducted outside. If you are replacing an existing fan, this should be simple. The exhaust ductwork should be in place. If you are adding a fan to bathroom without one, there will take more work. If the bathroom is located on an exterior wall, the flexible exhaust ducting can be run to the outside. If the bathroom is located in the middle of the house, the ducting problem may be a bit more complicated. A bathroom under a roof can be ducted through the roof.
These fans require electricity. If you need to install a fan in a bathroom that has not had one, installing a lighted fan may save time.
