Since its introduction to the market place in the early ’50’s bathroom ventilation products have certainly progressed over the years. Whereas in years gone by bathrooms and lavatories were almost all functionally airtight and hardly conceivable the cabinets and walls of today not only help keep the entire building and its occupants cooler but prevent moisture in the air. This article will explore the different styles of heating and ventilation products and offer tips for selecting a ventilation system for your home.

Fresh air ventilation systems are available to suit most applications and are somewhat flexible in design. The one we are chiefly concerned with in this article is the exhaust fans for bathrooms – they can be very different from those used for other applications and should therefore be tailored to meet your exact requirement. Exactly what size of an installation it will require cannot be detailed here, but here are some ideas:

If the draughts are added to a bathroom permanently, then it only makes sense to compromise by installing a ventilation system of some sort.

If the ventilation system is not permanent then there are many options to satisfy your ultimate goal. One way would be to have an outside wall vent installed and incorporate this flush with the wall. This will not work for a bathroom which is incorporated and might have to be installed in another room. These are usually placed in attics or stairwells as they’re just not suitable for a bathroom.

For a bathroom, one option which is becoming increasingly more popular when building or renovating, is to install a fan, be it a ceiling fan, open close, or a wall mounted fan ‘by itself’.

Wall mounted fans are ideal for any place of bathroom; even the positioning of one fan around the bath and one over the basin may give enough protection. Apart from this your bath/shower will stay nice-looking and cool. Make sure the size of your bathroom is significant: If its as example a 1 x 1 metre brick built in the 70’s then this is a reasonable size by today’s means.

The most sensible approach to a bathroom ventilation system is, 1. If possible every eave surface should be vertically clear of any open cavity/ cavity, and inside the surround all external surfaces made of brick and fitted with a non-corrosive environmentally sound sealant. 2. If possible – use a permanent vent if possible although installing as above is going to be most cost effective. 3. If the bathroom is a DIY project then a permanent one on a pole in the bathroom would be great. 4. If your bathroom is a non-DIY one then by all means fit a permanent type as described above.

However, one major problem arises from problems knowing where, once installed the continuous vent opening to air that are designed to lead from a ceiling to a bathroom floor is, it must remain open over a considerable length of time.

All ventilators must be installed in a position, open to the air and vented to the outside world to make sure all moisture released from the bathroom is ventilised and helps to keep any moisture in the air from causing problems. The reason is that by nature air of all temperatures will travel upward – if there is a hot shower then the warm air upstairs will travel into that and subsequently the pressure of that pushing up towards the roof levels and causing a jump. In other words, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a round ventilator installed to the roof structure if you were being technically cautious. This is the hole you had to crawl into. The ventilator must be installed around a specific central point after the installation.

For example: If you want a minimal expansion such as a fan placed at the back wall, then this part would have to be designed in retro-fitted position and the fan on the wall can be nearer the side where rain wont be an issue. If you or the other person regularly bath in the shower-room then having a fan installed above sounds like common sense.

The shower above was not designed for a bathroom ventilation system and as a result it may need a different type of ventilation system to ordinary showers.

Some people decide to fit a ventilation fan to the wall behind the shower. This is a wise device but is likely to produce the opposite effect as well as being more restrictive. If you cant position a ventilation fan where it will be effective then it’s worth considering installing a High Efficiency Ventilation fan as there are now also couples of fans on the market that are specifically designed for this. As a result you get far better protection from unwanted air entering into your bathroom and compulsory air exiting in the shower will produce a more comfortable shower room.

A bathroom ventilation fan might not be essential if you have a duvet over the bath.