When to use a bathroom fan ?

You might be wondering when to use a bathroom fan. 

For all its usefulness, a bathroom fan is most critical to use during and after taking a shower.

When you are taking a hot shower, hot water turns chemicals such as chlorine into vapor.

You then inhale this vapor into your lungs.

According to research, When you inhale chlorine, it leads to respiratory complications such as allergies and asthma.

Even worse:

chlorine is carcinogenic, and when absorbed into the bloodstream, it can cause cancer.

In addition, you should also use a bathroom fun when you are using cleaning products that have harsh chemicals.

It is a wise decision to use the bathroom fan instead of relying on air fresheners to keep your bathroom fresh.

These chemicals are harmful to your health especially if you are pregnant or have a baby at home.

What do bathroom fans do?

A bathroom exhaust fan is a mechanical device that is used to remove stale, humid, and impure air from the bathroom.

Bathroom fan gets rid of the steam from the bathroom. Also, In the toilet, fans remove the foul odour and prevent it from spreading to the whole house.

Excessive humidity leads to breeding of mould and other microorganisms. High humidity results in paint peeling from the walls.

How long to leave bathroom fan on after shower?

To decide how long the fan should remain running. You should consider the size of your bathroom and how powerful your fan is. The bathroom fan should be kept running until steam clears off.

Some fans come with a timer where you can set it to run for some time and it then automatically switches off. You could fix it run for like 20 minutes at a time.

It is advisable to leave the fun on while you are showering to prevent the steam from building up. Turning it on while showering is useful to reduce the amount of chlorine gas you inhale.

Bathroom exhaust fan door open or closed

Opening the bathroom door helps to dry the bathroom faster and get rid of the unwanted air.
This because the fan blows out the humid air and hot air. Colder air that is not humid comes in to replace the air that has been sucked out.

Therefore, to maximize the flow rate of air, you need to leave the doors opened.

Also, the purpose of the exhaust fan is to remove the bad odor from the bathroom. It’s more efficient to keep the doors opened

However, opening the bathroom doors could lead to odor escaping into the other rooms. If this is a significant concern, you should keep the doors closed.

Leaving the bathroom fan on all day (24/7)

Letting the bathroom fan running 24/7 is a big mistake.

For one thing, it does not achieve anything. You will save lots electricity by switching the fan on when you need to get rid of humid air and then switching it off after the air clears off.

Additionally, in some cases, bathroom fans do cause a fire because when you run the fan continuously heats up the motor and triggers a fire.

Bathroom fan in winter

Running a bathroom fan in winter is problematic because, remember, the fan sucks up the humid air it replaces it with cold air. You then have to use more energy to heat up the cold air

Remember cold air is dry because as the temperatures drop the ability of air to hold moisture drops.

The solution to getting humid air out of your bathroom is to open the door or a window to let in a little cold air which will automatically reduce the humidity in the room.

Bathroom fan lifespan

Bathroom fan lifespan varies depending on the quality of the fan. A high-quality fan will outlive cheap fans that are made of substandard materials.

However, the average life of bathroom fan is eight years. The longevity of fan could also depend on how the fan is used. If it is left on for a long time, the fan will not last long.

You should strive to maintain your fan by cleaning the exhaust fans and by ensuring that it’s properly discharging moisture.

Bathroom fan smells like burning

When a bathroom fan smells like something is burning, it means that the bearing is locked, and the motor is overheating.
Fires originating from the bathroom have been linked to overheating fans. This occurs when they are left running for a long time. The motors heat up and trigger a fire which then spreads because of electricity. Ensure you don’t let the fan running all the time.

How much electricity does a bathroom fan use

The rate of air flow is measured by “cubic feet per minute” or simply cfm.

A normal bathroom fan needs 1 watt of power to move 3-5cfm

For example, a fan that is 1000 cfm means that it can be able to clear 1000 cubic feet per minute.

Therefore, a bathroom that is 10ft X 10ft X 10ft can be cleared by the fun within one minute.

To get the amount of power that the fun will consume.
We say if the fun is consuming I watt for five cfm. Therefore, for a 1000 cubic feet divide by 5. Therefore, it will consume 200 watts to remove all the air in the bathroom.

This equivalent to two 100watts bulbs being on for a minute.

Bathroom exhaust fan not pulling air

If your bathroom fan is not able to pull in air, it could be the fan is not clean and air gaps are blocked by dirt.

The vent pipe could be blocked, or it might just be snagged. A stiff vent pipe is better because it does not snag.

The vent outside could be blocked. Thus prevent the fan from sucking air.

If you have a big bathroom, the fan might be working, but because it is small, no notable effects are felt. In this consider buying a more powerful fan.

Exhaust fan working principle

Bathroom fans suck in hot air and humid air from the bathroom through a piping system and removed and expelled to the atmosphere.

Cold air enters the bathroom through ventilation to fill in the vacuum that was created. The effectiveness of the fans is dependent on the size of the room and how powerful the fans is in sucking in air.