Bathroom now has too much steam after switching from doors to curtains


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Old 10-02-18, 07:00 PM
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Bathroom now has too much steam after switching from doors to curtains

Hello All,

Weird phenomenon I cant understand-ever since I switched our bathrooms from shower doors to shower curtains, one of our bathrooms (only one, the smallest one) fogs up like crazy during a shower. They all have the same exhaust fans that I installed years ago and this never happened until the exact day I switched to curtains-but just in the 1 bathroom. Yes the fans are functioning properly-I checked outside and see the damper open when the fan is turned on. It is on the roof, so I can't get my hand on it to feel the flow outside, but it does hold paper/tissue on itself when turned on. Also, as a test I ran the shower with the fan on unti lit got fogged up, then turned the shower off but left the fan on and shut the door. 10 minutes later, no steam-so the fan must be working.

I am pretty sure it is an 80CFM fan. The bathroom is 9x5x8. I understand why steam or oversteam occurs and could accept this if it always happened but don't get why I didn't have the problem until now. The ONLY thing that changed is the shower doors are now shower curtains and in the other bathroom (slightly larger room but same exhaust fan) the change did not make this happen.

Before you ask: There is no window but there is a small gap under the door (about 1/4 inch). The door is BARELY cracked usually when I shower-not shut completely but barely a gap. The fan is located between 10-12 inches from the shower. (None of those specs changed when I switched from doors to curtains).What is going on? Help!

John
 
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Old 10-02-18, 07:16 PM
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Is the curtain higher than the doors ever were? Higher curtain would likely mean less airflow... more of a contrast in temperature and humidity.
 
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Old 10-03-18, 02:39 AM
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Do you leave the shower curtain open when you get done? A closed door versus an open curtain would somewhat contain the humidity in the shower stall.
 
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Old 10-04-18, 08:30 AM
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door shuts tighter than a curtain so the airflow around the edges will help with the chimney effect. 80 CFM is a small fan I would have at least 100 cfm in even the smallest of bathrooms.
 
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Old 10-06-18, 02:34 PM
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@XSleeper They are probably 6 inches higher than the door was
 
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Old 10-06-18, 02:37 PM
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Originally Posted by airman.1994
door shuts tighter than a curtain so the airflow around the edges will help with the chimney effect. 80 CFM is a small fan I would have at least 100 cfm in even the smallest of bathrooms.
@airman I was thinking that the door was actually directing the air up to the fan above whereas the curtain lets it escape where ever it wants and can fill the bathroom before it gets to the fan
 
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Old 10-06-18, 02:40 PM
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Originally Posted by marksr
Do you leave the shower curtain open when you get done? A closed door versus an open curtain would somewhat contain the humidity in the shower stall.
I typically leave it closed
 
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Old 10-06-18, 02:43 PM
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The last few days I have been leaving the bathroom open a couple of inches and that seems to have solved the issue-just wish I could leave it closed like it was with the doors…
 
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Old 10-07-18, 02:21 AM
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I doubt there is any more steam in the room now than before. Before it was just hidden better so you didn't notice it.
 
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Old 10-07-18, 06:21 AM
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The 1/4 inch at the bottom is much too small to allow your fan to operate at full capacity. If you don't want to increase the undercut it is very common to add a grill through the door or a jumper duct connecting the bathroom to another space.

Bud
 
 

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