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Original poster

Do you have an extractor fan in your bathroom?

105 replies

requiredusername · 07/12/2021 07:13

Does everyone have an extractor fan in their bathroom these days?

We do not and rely on opening the window and leaving it open after the shower but it gets quite steamy in the room.

We are thinking of having an extractor fan installed. Can anyone explain how much work goes into installing them or a rough cost if you've done the same?

Will it stop the room getting so steamed up or will it just clear quicker?

Trying to avoid ceiling going mouldy.

OP posts:
Neron · 07/12/2021 09:05

Yes we have one, it's vented through the wall.

hotmeatymilk · 07/12/2021 09:06

Yes, we had one put in as soon as the bathroom got done – window is tiny and not effective. Bathrooms without them are grim.

Brighteyedtriangle · 07/12/2021 09:09

Like another poster. When i had my electrics done the electrician put one in through ceiling and extracted through the loft. Luckily know a roofer so i got the roof vent tile done for free. No idea how much the extracter on its own was. But it is rubbish i dont think it makes a slight bit of difference so still have to open the windows

Fifthtimelucky · 07/12/2021 09:22

We have them but we also open bathroom windows after showers to help disperse the steam.

We deliberately chose fans that were separate from the light so that they didn't automatically come on with a nighttime loo visit.

Christmas1988 · 07/12/2021 09:31

We have an extractor fan in the light fitting , they put a false ceiling in, not sure how they did it but it works really well. I’ll get a picture…..

Do you have an extractor fan in your bathroom?
MyBiscuitspread · 07/12/2021 09:59

We have one vented through the wall. Unfortunately, as with most things done in our house, I suspect it's somehow installed the wrong way round.
When I hold my hand in front of it, I can sense wind coming from the outside into the bathroom instead of the other way round. It does not help with mould and is a waste of electricity.
One of the million things in our house we keep procrastinating to fix which should have been done correctly in the first place. We have been very unlucky with incompetent builders and don't know how to choose ones that work reliably and professionally without ripping us off. They seem like gold dust these days...

BethAfra · 07/12/2021 10:00

We have, it's in the ceiling and has a pipe through the loft to outside. I can't help with cost because DH and his electrician friend fitted it.
It hasn't solved the mould problem, though. I think it's a combination of the bathroom having 2 outside walls on a north corner, the room being tiny, the shower being powerful so there's a lot of spray, DH likes the water super hot so lots of steam (and he refuses to open the window) and DS likes to shower for 20mins.
I've bleached the ceiling a few times but it always comes back. I'm starting to think we need a whole row of extractor fans.

daimbarsatemydogsbone · 07/12/2021 10:32

Ours is connected to the light but has a "wee delay" of 5 mins or so - so that if you're up in the middle of the night you can be in and out before it comes on.
Once on it stays on for a while.

You can get a humidistat one -where the fan remains on until the humidity falls below a certain level.

Not sure how your window is, but it's possible to mount in the window in some cases.

AwkwardPaws27 · 07/12/2021 10:41

We have this one: Vent-Axia ACM100T 21W In-Line Bathroom Extractor Fan
Very happy with it. Its vented through the ceiling.
Our shower room doesn't have a window & it clears the steam pretty quickly. We have it set to come on with the light.

Octavia174 · 07/12/2021 10:47

@thegcatsmother

We don't as the walls are too thick to have one installed.
Plenty of companies can diamond drill a hole through tradition thick stone walls. Was very clean and dust free. Transformed the place when we had it done, it was wired into the lights, which are LED and will carry on extracting for a few minutes after lights turned off.

First thing we did in the house we've just moved into is to install the same set up, it also saves on heating as we don't have to have a window open in winter.

Undertheoldlindentree · 07/12/2021 10:50

I have an ancient and rather feeble extractor fan. Also a small window to open. But with a family of five using the one bathroom, still had a small patch of mould on window wall. Do decided to buy a dehumidifier. Mine is the Ecoair brand, sorry, not sure of model. Bought almost new on Gumtree for £90. To buy new, £200 ish.

It's been a revelation! It stays in the bathroom but plugged in on landing. It has an inbuilt 2 hour button, so I run it for that in the morning after all the showers are done. Make sure loo-seat is shut so it doesn't waste energy dehumidifying that! Bathroom then bone-dry and no sign of mould at all.

AmandaHugenkiss · 07/12/2021 10:51

We didn’t when we moved in. Old Victorian property with thick walls. Mold and peeling paint was a real issue. Walls dripped even with the window open.

DP cored out the wall and installed one. Still steams up but clears quickly and so far no mold. Cost about £100 in parts but he fitted it himself. It’s made a big difference.

BonnyandPoppy · 07/12/2021 10:52

We have the vent axia in line one too. It’s gefragt and has a much better extraction rate and is a lot quieter than the ones in the ceiling/wall

Mindymomo · 07/12/2021 11:06

My DH is a bathroom installer and usually fits in-line ceiling extractor fans and gets his electrician to fit it with an on/off switch outside the bathroom.

user1471457354 · 07/12/2021 11:08

We have an extractor fan in the bathroom which does help remove the steam but we still get mould however we have recently purchased a dehumidifier and its the best thing I've bought. In one day it had removed 3 liters of water in 12 hours in just the bathroom!

TuftyMarmoset · 07/12/2021 11:10

Yes I do. Much better than opening the window in winter! My bathroom is already cold enough 🥶
Our bathroom is on the ground floor so just vents out the wall.

Original poster
requiredusername · 07/12/2021 11:19

@user1471457354

We have an extractor fan in the bathroom which does help remove the steam but we still get mould however we have recently purchased a dehumidifier and its the best thing I've bought. In one day it had removed 3 liters of water in 12 hours in just the bathroom!
An you recommend the dehumidifier please?
OP posts:
GrannyWeatherwaxsHatpin · 07/12/2021 12:41

I do, but it's useless. It's quicker to leave the bathroom door open and leave steam to disperse (which is not great for the rest of the house) and in winter the extractor fan serves little purpose other than being a hole in the wall which makes the bathroom colder than a penguin's arse.

I don't think a dehumidifier did much but I suppose I should dig it out and give it another go.

crispsarny · 07/12/2021 12:56

We have one & its rubbish, opened windows but still got mouldy, had to keep treating & repainting ceiling. I decided to run the dehumidifier in there as have one for drying washing, has been brilliant, no more mould in bathroom! We have an Aldi Easy Home dehumidifier, getting on for 7 years now, sure it’s a rebadged well know name, avoid Ebac dehumidifiers had one & it failed after a year, poor customer service as well.

RubyTuesday70 · 07/12/2021 12:57

We've got an Xpelair silent one, that is absolutely crap. Hence a bathroom full of mould as DD's refuse to open the window.............

We're getting a new one sorted after Christmas.

MrsTophamHat · 07/12/2021 13:00

I'm having my bathroom done soon, and i'll be getting the most powerful one I can. We always have the window open when showering but it doesn't clear it fast enough, espcially as we have the blind drawn for privacy.

MLMshouldbeillegal · 07/12/2021 13:01

We had to have one fitted into the loft bathroom to comply with building regs, never use it. We just open the window instead when having a shower.

edenhills · 07/12/2021 13:07

We don't and have never had mould. We don't open the window either. It is an old drafty house though.

Westerman · 07/12/2021 13:21

We have an extractor fan and when the weather was warmer, we'd open the window too, but we're still getting mould around the ceiling edges. We leave the fan on a good half hour after showering, too.

I wonder if the fan isn't powerful enough as, I our last house, we had an en-suite without a window, only a fan, and we had no problems.