Bathrooms are inherently places of damp, steam and moisture, so the importance of bathroom fans cannot be stressed too strongly. In this article we will look at why they are so important as well as the types of fans that are currently available.

A fan in the bathroom works in a similar way to one in the kitchen; they both remove air from the room. In the kitchen, we want to get rid of cooking odours, fats and steam in the air. In the bathroom, the aim is to remove the excess moisture that is created as steam when hot water is used. If this moisture is allowed to remain in the room, it will collect on the walls and ceiling, gradually being absorbed and forming an ideal breeding ground for mildew, mould and damp. Paint will eventually blister and wallpaper peel off the walls from the effects of continued moisture and damp.

There are different methods of providing the ventilation in a bathroom that is necessary to avoid these problems. The first and simplest is a window that opens; just keeping a bathroom window slightly ajar will help to remove excess moisture and bring in fresh air. Many modern bathroom windows are designed with an open screened section at the top to provide ventilation even when the window is closed. An easy way to increase airflow in the bathroom is to replace a small window with a larger one and to keep it slightly open when the shower is being used.

Older style bathrooms may have vents in the walls just under the ceiling and these were designed to allow steam to escape. Early bathroom fans were fitted into the window or outside wall to draw moisture and steam outside. Modern bathroom fans have become more sophisticated and often combine the fan with lights and heating elements in the one unit on the ceiling. They draw moisture out of the air in the room and duct it either into the roof cavity or to the outside, depending on the design.

The type and style of bathroom fan that is best suited to your application will depend on a number of factors. These include the size of the room, the number of people using the bathroom on a regular basis and the basic construction of the house. Discuss these factors with your bathroom specialist to make sure you get the type of fan that will do the best job for you.

Whether you are renovating your bathroom or simply needing a solution to excess moisture in the room, the importance of bathroom fans needs to be considered. The right ventilation system will keep the mirrors steam-free and help to avoid many of the problems that can arise from excess moisture in the bathroom.