Bathroom fans - more than noisemakers!

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PSA: Bathroom vent fans are meant for more than just noisemakers to cover the sounds of bodily functions!

Apparently my 25 year old house's builder didn't read that particular memo. The vent fan in our master bath was about the loudest one they could find. It could be heard from across the house. And it took forever to remove moisture from the air. So we replaced it with a larger one. That was much quieter, but still didn't do a good job removing the moisture.

After correcting the vent material with insulated duct and fixing a mis-aligned roof vent (4" diameter duct trying to exhaust through a hole 1/4 the area), the new fan pretty quickly clears out the bathroom. Score another for fixing builder mistakes!
 
I just purchased a bathroom fan ironically along with insulated duct as well. Some fans are very loud. Luckily I found a model with 0.3 sones which is very quiet but alot of them are 0.8 or higher.
 
The airflow its the ONLY thing to worry about. The fan must be at least 110 cfm (MINIMUM) and vented as short as possible to the outside. This is why.

My daughter bought a new house and, when installing the dryer, she wanted the vent out the other side of the house. I did that and she kept complaining that it took over an hour to dry a load of clothes. When she was away recently, I revented it properly with 2 feet of solid pipe (NEVER use flex pipe - IMHO) out through the nearest wall. The first load of clothes she dried, dried in 20 minutes. That's why the vent gotta be short.

Sound, on the other hand, is often poor mounting.
 
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Proper venting and a good fan is a big deal in a home. Repalcement fans that move enough cfm's aren not cheap but if vented properly they work well. I don't agree with previous poster that you shouldn't use flexible ducting. If the run is done correctly it can move air just fine. Mine are 12 years old and moving air a ok.
 
Some Builders are pros at cutting corners on stuff you won't see until they're long gone. I would check where the old connection was to make sure you don't have a mess of mold where the exhaust pipe exits the house.

Originally Posted By: MrHorspwer
Originally Posted By: tom slick
Panasonic bath fans are the best I've installed.


Seconded.
+3

Add a timer for the fan while you are at it. You should run the fan for an extra 30 minutes after your shower is done.
 
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Originally Posted By: BISCUT
Proper venting and a good fan is a big deal in a home. Repalcement fans that move enough cfm's aren not cheap but if vented properly they work well. I don't agree with previous poster that you shouldn't use flexible ducting. If the run is done correctly it can move air just fine. Mine are 12 years old and moving air a ok.


Sure, it's "OK", but the fan manufacturer will tell you that solid pipe will move about 20% more air. I've seen the tests. The flex-pipe is for the do-it-yourselfer who can't run proper pipe......IMHO
 
Our current master bathroom fan vents directly into a 2x4.
Previous owner paid for a remodel of the master bath, and ....

Found it out (after purchase) for obvious reasons.
 
Yep my house has 2 of these builder grade beauties.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/NuTone-50-CFM-Ceiling-Exhaust-Bath-Fan-with-Light-763RLN/100056304

not only are they loud.. they move barely any air.

.. now the upstairs bathroom is squeaking as well.

I'd like to replace.. anyone know a direct replacement. The attic above is nearly unreachable.

I dont mind spending 100-150$

looking for 80-100cfm, with light.
maybe something like this?
http://www.homedepot.com/p/NuTone-InVent...N110L/206339702

if all I need to do is enlarge the hole slightly that's doable.
and has the 4" vent on the proper orientation.

Right now its wired to a light switch for the light and the fan has a 3-5-10-15min auto off options as well as "stay on until you hit the button again"

Not sure about the vent pipe. Its 3" or 4" rigid. (4" at fan)

Bathroom is aprox 6x10x8

I can do basic DIY have never done bathroom fans, ceiling fans etc previously.
 
Given how much of an afterthought the venting was, I'm sure that most of the houses in my area are similarly done.

In a perfect world, insulated hard pipe would rule. In the reality of retrofitting better duct, insulated plastic flex duct is a darned sight better than non-insulated foil flex duct. Keeping the warm, humid air from condensing on a cold pipe is just as important as providing enough airflow.

Rand, I got my two 80 CFM vent fans with lights at Costco. They go on sale for about $60 from time to time. They also have a humidity sensor for auto on/off. That works pretty well when the relative humidity in the house is about 50%. I did see replacement motors for the Broan fans at Lowes today for about $20, IIRC.
 
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Originally Posted By: tom slick
Panasonic bath fans are the best I've installed.


Agreed.
 
Originally Posted By: sciphi
PSA: Bathroom vent fans are meant for more than just noisemakers to cover the sounds of bodily functions!


You just came to that revelation?

They not only control odors, but also help control moisture, and when properly sized and used correctly will help prevent mold or mildew growth.
 
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
Originally Posted By: sciphi
PSA: Bathroom vent fans are meant for more than just noisemakers to cover the sounds of bodily functions!


You just came to that revelation?

They not only control odors, but also help control moisture, and when properly sized and used correctly will help prevent mold or mildew growth.


Been there for a while on their function. Educating myself on how to have them properly function and implementing it took some time.
 
I just realized yesterday the duct for my bathroom fan has been dumping warm, moist air into the attic. My home inspector noted it wasn't an insulated duct (and suggested replacing it), but it was somewhat covered up with blow-in. Fixing that today, thankfully. Because of our house position, the air flow has been pushing that moist bathroom air through the vented soffit to the outside, so no mold issues.

I am getting so very tired of half-*** work by so-called "professional" builders (this bathroom was a recently renovated before we bought the house). After the wife-and-battery incident, the vent, significant other skeletons behind the walls... Is integrity some sort of lost art? Is honesty just too much of a hassle?
frown.gif






Originally Posted By: Rand
Yep my house has 2 of these builder grade beauties.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/NuTone-50-CFM-Ceiling-Exhaust-Bath-Fan-with-Light-763RLN/100056304

not only are they loud.. they move barely any air.

.. now the upstairs bathroom is squeaking as well.

I'd like to replace.. anyone know a direct replacement. The attic above is nearly unreachable.

I dont mind spending 100-150$

looking for 80-100cfm, with light.
maybe something like this?
http://www.homedepot.com/p/NuTone-InVent...N110L/206339702

if all I need to do is enlarge the hole slightly that's doable.
and has the 4" vent on the proper orientation.

Right now its wired to a light switch for the light and the fan has a 3-5-10-15min auto off options as well as "stay on until you hit the button again"

Not sure about the vent pipe. Its 3" or 4" rigid. (4" at fan)

Bathroom is aprox 6x10x8

I can do basic DIY have never done bathroom fans, ceiling fans etc previously.



Replacement fans exist. There's basically two body housing styles for Braun fans. Be aware that for most homes, the bigger fans won't fit if there's any sort of plumbing/electrical in the way.
 
Originally Posted By: firemachine69
I am getting so very tired of half-*** work by so-called "professional" builders (this bathroom was a recently renovated before we bought the house). After the wife-and-battery incident, the vent, significant other skeletons behind the walls... Is integrity some sort of lost art? Is honesty just too much of a hassle?
frown.gif



I wonder if some of it is from the race to the bottom. Hire the cheapest workers, and cheapest designers, and attempt to sell the most for the least (or buy the most for the least, depending upon what side of the coin you are on); and reap the rewards.

What probably works best is to get educated about the various items. Doesn't mean you have to be qualified, but at some point you should know enough to know when you're getting lied to.
 
It may have been so loud because of the restricted duct! As you discovered, ducts need to be matched to fans and vice versa: They're a system. Designed to remove air. CFM and static loss/ft both need to be accounted for.
 
Our first house had the bathroom fan exhausting nowhere but under the fiberglass insulation. No duct at all, just the fan itself venting the shower under a batt of insulation...think petri dish. Caught that myself and fed it to the official home inspector. Almost walked away, but wound up buying after a heck of a lot of insulation and some ceiling was replaced.
 
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