Condensation in bathroom
- Thread starter Cheetah Designs
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Soldato
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Fighting condensation can be really hard. The problem is that the water condenses out the instant it touches something cold. Putting a fan in the wall may well help, but it may do pretty much nothing.. You are far better making sure that the surfaces are not cold or that the paint surfaces don't damage with the condensation. Tiles or using a good bathroom condensation proof paint are the simplest options.
Soldato
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Full wall tiling gets my vote, and then bathroom paint for the ceiling, some kind of Dulux version I got for that.
No issues on mine and been in place for a couple of years now, I would say that an extractor fan dripping water back into the bathroom though isn't right and is probably caused by the extremely long (probably out of spec) ventilation run.
No issues on mine and been in place for a couple of years now, I would say that an extractor fan dripping water back into the bathroom though isn't right and is probably caused by the extremely long (probably out of spec) ventilation run.
Where do you put your dehumidifier, Bug One?
I have a lot of issues with humidity, in my bathroom, and bought a really powerful (though expensive) dehumidifier.
Works really well but I could not work out how best to use it.
At first, I tried putting it actually in my bathroom, after a shower, and it completely dries everything really quickly - this is not practical, however, long term.
I then tried leaving the device on in the middle of the house (and set it to keep humidity constantly at no more than 60%) and leaving the door wide open - this works pretty well, as it keeps the whole house dry, but I am now thinking of trying to leaving it just outside the bathroom door (and again just leaving the door wide open after a shower).
I've just got mine in a space in the corner of the bathroom. I bought a relatively compact one specifically so that it would fit in there. It's wired loosely, but neatly under the skirting from a socket I added specifically for this purpose in an adjoining room. The bath is very rarely used. If I were to use it (for muddy dogs) I'd move the humidifier.
Come March, it'll go back into storage until next winter. I did the work to incorporate this along with revisions to the inline ducting last summer after having issues with condensation last winter.
Thanks for that - great idea. I think I might move mine, just outside the bathroom to prevent as much humidity spilling into the rest of the house.I've just got mine in a space in the corner of the bathroom. I bought a relatively compact one specifically so that it would fit in there. It's wired loosely, but neatly under the skirting from a socket I added specifically for this purpose in an adjoining room. The bath is very rarely used. If I were to use it (for muddy dogs) I'd move the humidifier.
Come March, it'll go back into storage until next winter. I did the work to incorporate this along with revisions to the inline ducting last summer after having issues with condensation last winter.
I suffer really bad humidity, during the winter, and still trying to work out how best to combat it.
I recently put in a humdistat extractor fan in my bathroom but am thinking of putting a regular one in as it just does not work properly - no matter how high I raise the humidistat setting (even to 90%), the fan keeps running for hours (sucking out the heat from the house), despite the bathroom being completely dry.
I also now have the issue of what happens if I leave the bathroom door open, after a shower, so that both the dehumidifier and extractor are on? Should I turn one off as they are essentially going to be fighting with each other as far as airflow goes? Bit of a nightmare.
I have the extractor and dehumidifier running together. The combined effort is much more effective than just the vent. The extractor is directly over the shower, and comes on with the light and then for about 10 minutes after. The dehumidifier is close to the door.
Aside from running it while I'm in the shower, I time both my dehumidifiers (I also have a more central one in the main hallway) to run overnight. Mainly because I'm on Economy7 and I may as well do it while energy is cheaper.
As you might notice, I also use a window vac. The en-suite has a large window in it. I can keep it dry with excessive dehumidifier use - but it's more cost effective just to suck any excess moisture off. They're effectively working as a free dehumidifier.
Last year, I solved the issues by keeping a window open a notch and turning the heating up in the bathroom. But I was paying under 3p/kwh for gas back then. Over 10p is a very different scenario.
Aside from running it while I'm in the shower, I time both my dehumidifiers (I also have a more central one in the main hallway) to run overnight. Mainly because I'm on Economy7 and I may as well do it while energy is cheaper.
As you might notice, I also use a window vac. The en-suite has a large window in it. I can keep it dry with excessive dehumidifier use - but it's more cost effective just to suck any excess moisture off. They're effectively working as a free dehumidifier.
Last year, I solved the issues by keeping a window open a notch and turning the heating up in the bathroom. But I was paying under 3p/kwh for gas back then. Over 10p is a very different scenario.
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Echo what others have said about ensuring the room temp isn't cold prior to the times you take showers (what setting/times does the radiator come on?) as that will create loads of condensation right away. The small cheaper extractor fans which are attached to the ceiling are pretty poor (and noisy), so replace with an in-line one and shorten the hose. Something like the Manrose MF100T.
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I had it wrong about where it was ducting. It's about 3m. 0.5m of flexible onto rigid ducting.
The flexible ducting apparently had a fold in it which has been rectified. Will see if that helps the situation.
The room is already warm when you take a shower FYI.
The flexible ducting apparently had a fold in it which has been rectified. Will see if that helps the situation.
The room is already warm when you take a shower FYI.
Would it be easy to wire up a fan like this to a PIR? I feel like that is going to be the best way to go about it I don't want to wire it in to a light circuit directly.
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You maybe better off asking an electrician or starting a new thread on here and asking someone that knows more about this then me..
As i just used the wiring from the rubbish ceiling fan that was already fitted in the bathroom ceiling when i installed that inline fan
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You can yes. You’d just send the switched live from the pir sensor to the fan.
I have my fan in the utility room connected to a pir sensor and it works well
Soldato
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@Cheetah Designs would you be able to take a temperature reading of the bathroom right before you shower? And also if possible, try to get one for the walls, in particular the ones that get most wet/external if any.