Hello all, Kyle here from Clearview Plumbing and Heating in Calgary!
It gets steamy in my bathroom and not in that way (usually). There is always someone who has a really hot shower at least once and that makes the whole bathroom billow steam. Multiply even a few moderately warm showers by a couple people (assuming your hot water heater can handle it) and you have the recipe for the most humid room in the house. It doesn’t matter how dry the rest of the house is; the bathroom will always be more humid. Sometimes this is a good thing.
Most Of The Time, It Leads To Damage To The Room And Sometimes Mold
So, in order to prevent the mold, peeling grout and that billow of steam that exits the room when you leave, you have to practice good humidity control in your bathroom. There are a couple of easy ways to do this; you just have to remember to do them:
- Keep Your Window Open
Some people say to keep your bathroom door open too, but that only works if you’re a bachelor(ette) and expecting no company or if you aren’t too worried about your modesty. Instead, opening your window even just a small crack can ventilate your bathroom. You may not want to do this in the dead of a Calgary winter, but it’s worth doing the rest of the time.
- The Bathroom Fan
Not all bathrooms have a window, so if that’s the case for you, it’s doubly important to make use of your bathroom fan. There are two kinds of fans: the impeller fan and the blower fans.
Impeller fans move air around using fan blades. Blower fans use a fan that looks kind of like a hamster wheel and it does a better job of clearing out steam than the impeller fans, though they may be more expensive or have more difficult installation. In order to choose the best fan, look for ones with the following characteristics:
- Energy efficient. Nowadays, you can get bathroom fans which only use about 20 watts
- The fan’s exhaust and ductwork is approved for damp conditions
- It’s quiet
- If the fan has heating or integrated lighting, make sure it too will be efficient
You should also make sure you understand the controls. Some fans are controlled separately, some come on when the lights turn on (and turn off when the lights go off) and some are on an electronic timer so that they come on when the lights go on, but won’t go off until a preset time. The last choice is generally the best because most people leave the bathroom long before all the moisture is gone. However, many people like separate controls too so that the fan doesn’t come to life whenever someone goes into the bathroom just to wash their hands! This will largely be a matter of personal preference.
Proper humidity control in the bathroom is very important if you want to protect this room from water damage. A lot of moisture ends up in the air in this room and if you don’t take steps to get rid of it, it will eventually create a breeding ground for mold and peeling grout. It’s so easy to keep the humidity levels down though; just make sure you have a good bathroom fan, use it, and open your window while having a shower.
Bathroom flooding got you down? Call Clearview Plumbing and Heating 24/7 for expert assistance at 587-741-1562.
