Average tasks like showering, bathing and shaving can put home-damaging humidity into the air in your Marshalltown home. There’s good news however—a simple bathroom ventilation fan can protect you from distorted wood, mold growth, cracked drywall and other problems associated with a humid bathroom.
Even if you have ventilation fans in your bathrooms, do you know if they’re the right size? Are they as soft and energy efficient as they could be? B & G HVAC is here to answer your questions.
Today’s bathroom ventilation fans are small and modern and they work more quietly and efficiently than ever before. You’ll find a great range of selections, from classic fans that will get the job done to fans with integrated heat lamps, motion sensors and heat-exchanger ventilation that helps avoid warmed air from getting out through your ventilation. While there are a lot of bells and whistles to choose from, the most important aspect of your fan is whether or not it’s big enough to do its job.
Rated by the cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air they push, a bathroom ventilation fan should be able to swap out the air in a bathroom at least eight times an hour. With a typical 8-foot ceiling, your ventilation fan should have a CFM rating at least as high as the number of square feet in your bathroom. Thus, if your bathroom is 5 feet by 8 feet, a CFM rating of 40 would be sufficient.
If you have a taller ceiling, the equation gets a little more complex. You’ll want to multiply the width of the room by its height and length, divide it by 60 and multiply by 8. Or, to keep it straightforward, you can follow HGTV’s tips for bathrooms larger than 100 square feet – determine your CFM requirements by toting 50 CFM for every toilet; 50 CFM for each shower, bath and combo; and 100 CFM for each whirlpool.
If you’re not sure if your bathroom ventilation fan is the right size, or you know it’s the occasion for a new one, give the pros at B & G HVAC at call at 641-316-3360. We’re here to help you ensure you have a ventilation fan that will work hard to care for your home and keep it cozy.