Retrofitting Your Bathroom Ventilation

There is a visible need for bathroom ventilation.  Whenever hot water is run for a bath, shower, or shave, the condensation collects on bathroom mirrors and hovers in the air, making it nearly impossible to see your reflection; but, did you know that this seemingly innocuous steam can harm your health and your house?.  

According to askthebuilder.com, if an amateur or uninformed sub-contractor does the initial work on your bathroom ventilation and runs the ventilation through the attic under the soffit or even stops it in the attic altogether you could have problems, creating a need to retrofit your bathroom ventilation.  “The moist humid air that is exhausted when someone is showering will create a vapor plume at the exhaust fan vent. Some of this cloud …will sneak its way into the attic space through soffit ventilation intake vents, cracks and gaps in the actual soffit materials and seams between the gutter board and soffit”.  Many negative consequences can ensue including warped boards in beams and structural components of the house, along with mold and fungus.

Mold or fungus in the home can threaten your health and your family’s health, so here are some tips to ensure that the retrofitted bathroom ventilation system is installed correctly.  

1.    Don’t install your bathroom ventilation system yourself unless you are a qualified contractor or someone who knows about proper ventilation.
2.    Exhaust the ventilation system up through the roof in order to prevent moisture from leaking into the attic. (Installing the fan ventilation duct up to the roof or stopping in the attic can have the same effect as dumping the water right out under the overhang).
3.    Have a qualified inspector check the bathroom ventilation system to ensure that it is working correctly.
4.    If you live in a dry climate don’t assume you are immune to these problems mold can still grow as long as there is a water source to feed it.