Recommendations for bathroom fans and ladder radiators please

[Lunaballoon]

Redoing our bathroom is at the top of my New Year to do list, but I'm struggling with extractor fans and radiators. We don't have a fan at the moment and so have terrible problems with condensation and mould. I've read mixed reviews about fans with humistats so would be interested to hear recommendations for and against. Likewise with ladder radiators, which ideally would work with and without central heating. Ideally it should give out enough heat for a small room of approx 6x8ft and hold up to 4 large towels. Many thanks!

ive never used a fan with humistat, ive only had fans which have a timer in them and find them OK but we have used ones which have a bigger air flow than a std B&Q cheapo. As for the ladder radiators, we have one in our bathroom which works off central heating and tbh its pretty useless and doesn't give out much heat. If you have one and drape 4 wet towels over it you will get no heat at all from it as all it will do is heat the towels and all the water from the towels will evaporate into the room and become trapped causing more condensation. can you leave the bathroom window open slightly? or does it have a vent which you can leave open?

I wouldn't keep any wet towels in the bathroom if you have probs with damp as all they will do is keep the dampness in the bathroom.

sorry should have said our ladder radiator is about 4ft 6 tall and 18" across. and the shower room its in is about 6ft x 8ft - cant remember the heat rating for it but it was about right for the size of the room.

Thanks Peggy. Getting a radiator with the right heat output for the size of room is actually one of my main concerns. Might have to think about underfloor heating too.

Our plumber said that his theory on towel radiators was to put in the bigggest one that fits in the space. The bow-front ones are easier to hang towels on, also make sure the plumber puts the wall fittings as wide apart as possible. Probably a 600 wide x 1500 or 1800 high would do your room and have hanging room. You can put in a heating element for the summer and get this on a timer switch like an immersion heater.

A fan with a humidistat should make a world of difference, perhaps try a good brand like Xpelair? Anything else relies on people remembering to turn it on and off, or an annoying one that comes on with the light.

I would think far more condensation will come from your bath/shower in use than from drying towels unless they are actually dripping. In a ventilated room everything should dry pretty quickly.

the best extractor fans are the ones that go in the loft above the bathroom ceiling, rather than stuck on the wall. That means they can be large and unsightly without offending anyone. They are quieter and more powerful. They are also outside the bathroom so less audible. You do need a duct to take the steamy air outside the house, preferably a rigid one not the flexible convoluted hose. The duct should be tilted slightly so that condensation runs outside rather than dripping back into the fan and the bathroom. You can flop loft insulation over the duct to keep it warm, which reduces the risk of condensation.

Some people have an aversion to ventilation and refuse to turn fans on. A fan which switches on with the light defeats their desire for damp.

Fans which are annoyingly noisy are usually worn out and should be replaced with a new fan with a ball-bearing motor. A new fan can be very cheap.

A fan works best if the door and window are kept closed so that it creates suction in the bathroom and prevents steam drifting round the house.

Water vapour is lighter than air so the extractor should be as high in the room as you can manage. If it is in a bathroom and directly above a bath or shower then the electrical safety regulations are more stringent so more expensive to meet, unless you have a weedy and ineffectual extra low voltage fan. A loft fan is not in the bathroom so this does not apply.

Thanks PJ - very helpful. A loft fan sounds perfect for us!

for example there are others.

Compare the throughput (quoted in cubic metres per hour) and the noise (quoted in db) of other fans

A colleague of mine had a humistat fan fitted and he thought it was rubbish, it was only after that the electrician said, "Yeah, they never seem to work very well" !!

We replaced two weedy surface mount fans with in-line fans in the loft - made a world of difference. Surface mount fans are only really good if mounted on the wall and/or for pushing air short distances.

a humidity sensor also does not keep the bathroom fresh

Brilliant! Thanks everyone. I think we'll definitely avoid humistats and go for an in-line extractor in the loft now.