Problem with bathroom ventilation


  #1  
Old 02-02-17, 05:09 PM
J
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Problem with bathroom ventilation

Hi folks, hopefully I'm in the right forum. I'm having a problem with my bath's ventilation (I think). It's a typical bathroom with a toilet on one side, and then the other side has a double sink and shower with a glass door. Before we had the glass door, we just had a shower curtain. Eventually we got a door installed. The shower is tiled and has grout, except at the bottom and in the corners where there is caulk instead. The bathroom was done about two years ago. After about 1year we put in the shower door. Once that door went in, the caulked parts of the tile went moldy very quickly. I couldn't clean it off, so I scraped it out and recaulked it myself. That last for a few months, but then turned moldy again. (Yes, it's that type of caulk suited for baths and wet locations). Once again I scraped it out and recaulked it. Now again months later it's SUPER moldy, and now I noticed water spots on the ceiling in the kitchen, which is directly below that shower. I'm assuming water is going through the moldy caulk and getting into the walls.

I'm out of ideas. I have a new vent fan in the ceiling, but it's not directly right across from the shower. I'm wondering if I need a stronger fan? Or is there a fan that goes in the actual shower ceiling? Oh, and yes there is a window in there. Typically don't open it though because it makes the bathroom cold.

Any thoughts?
 
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Old 02-03-17, 04:56 AM
P
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If the shower door is closed it creates a pretty deep enclosed space so the shower will take much longer to dry. Try leaving the shower door open when not in use and see if that helps the mildew problem. Also, make sure you are using a mildew resistant caulk.
 
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Old 02-03-17, 10:14 AM
J
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Thanks for the reply. I will doublecheck, but I believe the caulk is mildew resistant. We also do leave the shower door open when not in use. I also leave the fan running for a little while after using the shower, but still doesn't seem to be enough. I wonder if there are ventilation fans that go in the shower on the ceiling, just like we have a light above the shower. I doubt it though since it would be so wet.
 
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Old 02-03-17, 10:19 AM
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I have a fan in my shower room. It works quite wall and has had no problems. Is it attic above your shower area so you have access to install one? I put my shower vent fan on a timer switch so it automatically turns itself off after a set amount of time.
 
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Old 02-03-17, 11:44 AM
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Thanks for the reply. When you say your fan is in the shower room, is it directly above where you stand in the shower? Or is it outside the shower? Mine is a Broan I believe, and someone recommended getting a strong Panasonic one. Yes I have attic above the shower/bath so it would be easy to put in another or different fan. Is your timer switch rotary (like a dial) or is electronic? This is a picture of the right side of the bathroom. You'll see that white vertical separator board on the left side of the picture. Above that in the ceiling is the fan. To the left of that board (not pictured) is the toilet and two sinks. Name:  IMG_4230.jpg
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Old 02-03-17, 12:23 PM
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You mentioned that the fan runs for a little while after the shower is used. I have read that it should run for up to an hour after the shower is used to help dry things out. It is probably less impactful during the shower since you keep generating more steam as you go so keeping it running after the shower is probably more beneficial. I also use a squeegee on the shower walls after using the shower to help remove more of the moisture in the room.

- Peter
 
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Old 02-03-17, 12:52 PM
J
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Thanks Peter, that's a good point about the fan. We got a squeegee for the glass door to keep it in good shape because we have hard water. Sometimes we do squeegee the walls too, my only concern about that is that the water from the walls will go down and sit at the bottom of the wall right on the caulk that keeps getting moldy. Arg.
 
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Old 02-03-17, 02:20 PM
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My shower "room" is also a steam shower/sauna so it's sealed much more than the average shower. The vent fan is inside the shower room though not directly over where you stand when showering but it is in the high humidity/wet environment.
 
 

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