Bathroom extractor fans

Daily showering is a modern phenomena. Victorian houses were designed around one bath a week, with water warmed on the hearth and then shared by each member of the family in turn. Modern occupiers will struggle with mould and condensation without good ventilation.

Roughly 1/2 Lt of water is released per person per day from each shower

Surveyor tip

  1. Only about 4% of properties, including new builds, exceed building regulations. A bathroom extractor should exceed 15 l/s. Experience shows that this is never tested and rarely achieved.
  2. There is a long debate over which type of extractor fan works best, so this is my opinion based on seeing thousand of properties with poorly designed, installed or maintenance fans.
  3. The simpler the better – less to go wrong, less expensive to replace, which typically is required for any fan about every 5 or so years.
  4. If you aren’t the occupier, e.g. landlord, use a continuous flow fan, such that they run quietly in the background, no risk of tenants switching them off or tapping them-up because they are too noisy.
  5. Make sure to keep doors closed, with a 10mm gap under the door, so that humid air goes out.
  6. Make sure that extractors are set up to overrun for 30 minutes, if there is no over-run, then keep the fan running by leaving the light on for 30 minutes.
  7. Note overrunning extractor fan and continuous bathroom extractor fans require both electrical wires to the light fitting and to the mains, so such be initially installed by an electrician.

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