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Bathroom humidity issue

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1.8K views 11 replies 5 participants last post by  Poodle Head Mikey  
#1 ·
We are in a 20-year old house. Out guest bathroom the bathroom always had some humidity, but it didn’t get noticeable until my kids got older.

The bathroom is 72 sq’ and has a humidity sensing 80 CFM exhaust fan. Even with that the steam in the bathroom is unbearable. You can even see it on the walls. The Ben is located just outside of the tub, which I think is the right location. There is a HVAC vent about 1.5 feet from the fan, but I don’t think that is causing my issues.

I started diagnosing the issue. If I leave the door open about 3” the steam is not too bad, but still there. The door opening was only 1/4” so I took another 1/2” off the door bottom. No improvement.

I went into the attic and all 3 bathrooms vent to the same 4” roof vent. When I take off the hose from the guest bathroom, it blows the insulation all over the place. I know it is drawing air. I decided to route that exhaust fan directly to the vent; removing the T connector. Same issue.

I decided to get a new 110 CFM exhaust fan and see if that makes any difference. It is 1.5x bigger than the room actually needs. I toyed with the idea of getting a 130 or 150 too, but concerned about the laws of diminishing returns. I also considered upgrading to a 6” vent line.

If this doesn’t work, my only remaining option is to put open the wall between the bathroom and hallway and put on vent covers to increase the air flow.

What else am I possibly missing????
 
#2 ·
I moved your thread to the "AOP Residential HVAC (Beenthere Zone)" forum as this is the only place where homeowners can ask questions.

Please take note of this new location as the "Moved" icon in the other forum will only last a day.
 
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#5 ·
72sqft isnt very large.
Excess steam / humidity in the room from long hot showers can be partially controlled by a quality extraction bath fan, but since the room has no outside air return, all the fan can move is the extra vapor feom the shower operation.
To get good control of system, there needs ro be a complete airflow circuit.
Air being pumped out of the room needs to have equal amounts of air pumped into the room from the same place the air is being pumped to from the room.

Meaning if air gets pumped outside, outside air needs to be replaced into the room.
Erv/hrv can be setup to perform this, or a dedicated dehumidifier can be tied into the room...
 
#6 ·
Here is what I find interesting. My wife took a shower this morning with the door cracked and mirror fogged up. I took my shower 1.5 hours later with the door fully closed and no fog at all on the mirror. How the heck can that happen?

I can assure you that our house was not built tight at all. We do have a house wrap, but all of the walls are R-11 bat insulation. The bathroom is located at one of the bump outs on the second story.
 
#12 ·
Do you set the house temperature differently night versus day?

What was the outdoor temperature for her shower versus the outdoor temperature during your shower?

Is the mirror located on the outside wall of the bathroom?

Which compass-point direction does the bathroom bump-out project toward?

Is the mirror mounted on a recessed cabinet?

Perhaps her mirror was colder and your mirror had had time for it's temperature to increase to above the dewpoint?

Perhaps she sets the showering water temperature higher than you do?

PHM
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#8 ·
Mirror fogging is based on wall / mirror temp… and stratification layer of the moisture.
 
#10 ·
What is the temprature of your house?

When I bought my home it only had wall heaters and no bath exhaust. Mirror would always fog up. After installing central heat/cooling, and a bath exhaust fan, here's what I do:

If the home is 70*F or warmer, I only need the bath exhaust. If the home is 69*F or cooler, I turn on the central heat while I am in the shower. Works great for me.

I later added a humidity stat and have it set a bit over 50% RH, it comes on once in awhile. Probably more often if someone else takes a shower and does not understand about turning on the central heat for a bit while taking a shower.
 
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