Bathroom Exhaust Fan

[CitadelBlue]

Have seen a couple of bathroom renovations lately and have noticed that the bathroom exhaust fans/vents are located directly above the shower. Although this seems like an ideal location to rid the space of humidity, perhaps it would also tend to do it too rapidly if the fan is on while showering and will result in a cold shower environment. I would also think that the fan motor would prematurely rust and bearings seize from the moisture. But then what happens when one uses the commode? How do you remove the odor? I always thought the fan would serve 2 purposes if it was in the middle of the room. Did the code change or am I missing something?

 

[G McKay]

Nope!! You are exactly right. I have been told by several people at places like HD & Lowes not to put a shower/bathroom fan too close to the shower. A couple feet away is supposed to be better. Thanks for the tip!!

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Ive seen them mounted just about everywhere over the years,back in the 80s-90s everybody wanted them mounted behind the toilets where you couldn't see them on new construction.

 

[Scott H in Wheaton]

My basement bathroom has the fan/light combo in the shower. Use it everyday. It has a short 3 ft run to the outside vent. Never an issue with cool or cold air in the shower.
No issues with odors, unless you don't like the smell of rose petals.

 

[Norcal]

If a fan is mounted over a tub or shower, manufacturers instructions usually require the fan have GFCI protection, while mounted over the water closet it would not if not in the zone over the tub/ shower (adjacent to either a tub or shower). As a example, my fart fan is over the tub & has done well for 30 years, if it was a really high CFM unit then it could be really uncomfortable due to excessive drafts.

 

[Tim The Tool Man]

They are only allowed over the tub/shower if they are rated for wet locations and it will have a label clearly listing such under the fan grill or lamp housing. My bet is that it is not rated as such and therefore poses a safety hazard. At minimum put it on a GFCI circuit.

 

[gregtwojeeps]

Be thankful you even have a EF in the bath. My 1959 vintage home was built back when the plumbing code stated if the dwelling's bathroom had a window in it, it did not need a EF. WTF ........

 

[Moose97]

The code still allows for a window to be used in place of a moisture fan. Moisture fans are to be installed in the tub/shower area of the bathroom. The code does not require a moisture fan specifically for the toilet as the code is concerned about getting moisture out. Not smells.

 

[fsae0607]

My home was built in 1955. I installed a vent/heater/light combo unit in between the shower and toilet. That way, steam and caca smells are both exhausted. Everybody wins!

 

[gregtwojeeps]

The code still allows for a window to be used in place of a moisture fan. Moisture fans are to be installed in the tub/shower area of the bathroom. The code does not require a moisture fan specifically for the toilet as the code is concerned about getting moisture out. Not smells.

You do see the irony in this code ruling ? Most of the windows in these pre- 70's homes were located over the tub/shower combo as mine is. When I was wiring homes in the 70's the code stated if the bath had a window it needed no EF. I did not agree with this code rule back then and still do not. The framer's of the code rule were assuming we home owners will soak/shower when its 10 deg F. outside and open the window ?.

Pure lunacy on their part. Whenever my wife or I shower in our 1959 home with no EF, the bathroom fills with steam, the mirror is solid covered and rendered unusable, and the mold is already starting around the ceiling/wall junctions. IN my opinion, NO bath facility with shower/bathing/toilet fixture(s) should be allowed to pass the plumbing/electrical inspection with out having an exhaust fan with a means of control.

P.S> I did install a EF, in our steamy bath, but it was pure hell to do and would have been SO much easier if it had been installed in the new construction as it should have been. If I was a plumbing contractor I would be sending the state plumbing code board a letter, maybe the board of plumbing code enforcement may see the light or steam..

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Be thankful you even have a EF in the bath. My 1959 vintage home was built back when the plumbing code stated if the dwelling's bathroom had a window in it, it did not need a EF. WTF ........

Its still that way around here,you just need one or the other.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

You do see the irony in this code ruling ? Most of the windows in these pre- 70's homes were located over the tub/shower combo as mine is. When I was wiring homes in the 70's the code stated if the bath had a window it needed no EF. I did not agree with this code rule back then and still do not. The framer's of the code rule were assuming we home owners will soak/shower when its 10 deg F. outside and open the window ?.

Pure lunacy on their part. Whenever my wife or I shower in our 1959 home with no EF, the bathroom fills with steam, the mirror is solid covered and rendered unusable, and the mold is already starting around the ceiling/wall junctions. IN my opinion, NO bath facility with shower/bathing/toilet fixture(s) should be allowed to pass the plumbing/electrical inspection with out having an exhaust fan with a means of control.

P.S> I did install a EF, in our steamy bath, but it was pure hell to do and would have been SO much easier if it had been installed in the new construction as it should have been. If I was a plumbing contractor I would be sending the state plumbing code board a letter, maybe the board of plumbing code enforcement may see the light or steam..

You better have a good copy machine,around here its all done by the different cities for plumbing codes.
Electrical is state though,with a few city ammendments here and there.

 

[gregtwojeeps]

You better have a good copy machine,around here its all done by the different cities for plumbing codes.
Electrical is state though,with a few city ammendments here and there.

I am retired, retarded, and tired now ...so my days of chasing bureaucracies are over and I no longer have a dog in the fight of construction/maintenance fields. My world was electrical and the electrical codes standards got improved yearly, as input from every states EC's randomly helped the code review board to make, revise and enforce the NEC ... I feel a lot of these EC's code suggestions were brought to light by the EC's customer's in problems that had arisen while using the electrical systems in their homes. .

I have spent much of my last working years in the plumbing field also as a facilities manager. I came to eventually realize that the plumbing industry seems to have more of a, " its been that way for years, hell no need in changing it now" attitude....

Improvements are only made in consumer goods, construction, manufacturing fields, if the consumer speaks up about problems as no one likes change and the cost that comes with making changes is always risky. .

As homeowners quietly accept this, "window in lieu of a EF" B.S. and then pays out of their pocket even more after purchasing a home to get a EF installed later, then it is no wonder the antiquated " EF vs. window is good" plumbing code rule still stands. They have no one to speak up for them. JMO

 

[info2x]

I'd rather have no fan than an improperly vented one...

I'm putting a fan in my bathroom that I'm remodeling. Kind of hard to find a nice place for it though. If I put it by the commode then it's not right by the shower. If I put it by the shower it's not near the commode. The best place that I have is right where the skylight is.

Maybe a remote mount one with two inlets...

 

[thymer]

I used these in our new house build last year and really like them. Very quiet, efficient. Have them directly over the shower/tub.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0087Q1LH0/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[gregtwojeeps]

I'd rather have no fan than an improperly vented one...

I'm putting a fan in my bathroom that I'm remodeling. Kind of hard to find a nice place for it though. If I put it by the commode then it's not right by the shower. If I put it by the shower it's not near the commode. The best place that I have is right where the skylight is.

Maybe a remote mount one with two inlets...

My problem was that my bathroom is on an exterior wall meaning with my roof being a 5/12 pitch, I only had about 20 in. of attic space to try to get a EF in the bath ceiling. Another issue was that anytime a EF gets installed really close to the shower, the fan will be pulling in hot water vapors. If the EF is then vented directly through an attic space with metal ducting, the vent ducts will sweat in the cold/hot attic seasons... putting condensation droplets in the attic insulation, on the drywall,, or possibly even dripping back down the fan's housing. So the vent ducting has to be insulated to prevent the sweating issues. I really don't care for the plastic or aluminun flex ducts, just my opinion though...

So as you are thinking about doing, I solved both of these potential EF installation issues by installing my bathroom EF remotely and it is working great. No more fogged up mirrors and mold issues for me. Good luck on your project. jmo

 

[James-W]

I did install a EF, in our steamy bath, but it was pure hell to do and would have been SO much easier if it had been installed in the new construction as it should have been.

I wholeheartedly agree. When we remodeled our oldest daughter's bathroom, we installed an exhaust fan. Talk about a nightmare. That had to be one of the most difficult jobs I have ever done. Installing the actual fan/light in the ceiling was pretty simple and straightforward. Running power to it was easy too. But running the exhaust piping to the outside was ridiculously difficult.

 

[Moose97]

You do see the irony in this code ruling ? Most of the windows in these pre- 70's homes were located over the tub/shower combo as mine is. When I was wiring homes in the 70's the code stated if the bath had a window it needed no EF. I did not agree with this code rule back then and still do not. The framer's of the code rule were assuming we home owners will soak/shower when its 10 deg F. outside and open the window ?.

Pure lunacy on their part. Whenever my wife or I shower in our 1959 home with no EF, the bathroom fills with steam, the mirror is solid covered and rendered unusable, and the mold is already starting around the ceiling/wall junctions. IN my opinion, NO bath facility with shower/bathing/toilet fixture(s) should be allowed to pass the plumbing/electrical inspection with out having an exhaust fan with a means of control.

P.S> I did install a EF, in our steamy bath, but it was pure hell to do and would have been SO much easier if it had been installed in the new construction as it should have been. If I was a plumbing contractor I would be sending the state plumbing code board a letter, maybe the board of plumbing code enforcement may see the light or steam..

Well, if its any consolation to you I haven't seen a house in the last 20 years that didn't have a moisture fan even if they had an operable window. Also keep in mind, codes are a minimum standard. There is a LOT of room to do it better!

 

[LS6 Tommy]

When I bought my house 20+ years ago there was a through-the-wall kitchen exhaust fan mounted on the ceiling above the tub with a brass pull chain. Needless to say, it went away immediately. I replaced it with a Fantech in-line centrifugal blower. I mounted it in the existing 4" duct up in the attic, hard wired in with the light. Never gets cold in the shower and it has never needed a single second of maintenance other than to clean the filter I made for the grille.

Tommy

 

[James-W]

Our bathroom exhaust fan doesn't make the bathroom cold in the Winter months, but we do have an "in the wall" electric heater that the wife uses when she is in the shower. The regular forced air furnace duct keeps the bathroom warm but she likes it to be "toasty warm" when she takes a shower.

 

[Mustang51js]

There is no code on the location ,it's more of personal preference. If I am doing my own job I like to center it in the middle of room if it's a small bathroom and over the toilet if it's a big room. The one contractor I work for wants them installed about a foot away from the outside of tub,so that's what I do on his jobs. The new fad right now is the humidity control and being able to play music in them,but to me it's just more stuff to go wrong with them. In my house I put all the fans on a timer so I can leave them on for 10-60 minutes