Everyday tasks like showering, bathing and shaving can put home-damaging humidity into the air in your Auburn home. There’s good news still—a simple bathroom ventilation fan can protect you from warped wood, mold growth, damaged drywall and other issues associated with a humid bathroom.
Even if you have ventilation fans in your bathrooms, do you know if they’re the correct size? Are they as soft and energy efficient as they could be? Forster Heating is here to answer your questions.
Today’s bathroom ventilation fans are small and modern and they operate more quietly and economically than ever before. You’ll find a hefty range of options, from simple fans that will get the job done to fans with fitted heat lamps, motion sensors and heat-exchanger ventilation that helps avoid warmed air from escaping through your ventilation. While you have a lot of bells and whistles to choose from, the most important characteristic of your fan is whether or not it’s large enough to do its job.
Rated by the cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air they transfer, a bathroom ventilation fan should be able to exchange the air in a bathroom at least eight times an hour. With a typical 8-foot ceiling, your ventilation fan should have a CFM rating almost as high as the number of square feet in your bathroom. Thus, if your bathroom is 5 feet by 8 feet, a CFM rating of 40 would be sufficient.
If you have a taller ceiling, the equation gets a little more difficult. You’ll want to multiply the width of the room by its height and length, divide it by 60 and multiply by 8. Or, to keep it easy, you can use HGTV’s advice for bathrooms larger than 100 square feet – determine your CFM requirements by toting 50 CFM for every toilet; 50 CFM for each shower, bath and combo; and 100 CFM for each whirlpool.
If you’re not sure if your bathroom ventilation fan is the correct size, or you know it’s time for a new one, give the professionals at Forster Heating at call at 530-885-8081. We’re here to help you make sure you have a ventilation fan that will drive hard to care for your home and keep it comfy.