bathroom extractor in ceiling?

[mrsmopps]

Im sick of the condensation while showering in our bathroom.
How easy is it to fit a ceiling extractor and how effective are they?
Do they have to come on with the light or are there other options?

We have one in the ceiling that vents to the outside via ducting laid between the joists and a wall vent outside. You can put them in the wall too. It is switched on by a switch outside the bathroom, higher up on the wall than the bathroom light switches, but you could have a pull cord switch in the bathroom, I believe. They are compulsory in new bathrooms now. Ours is effective but you need a well heated and ventilated bathroom to lessen the condensation in the first place. Any competent electrician would be able to do it for you.

We have one and it's not very good. When we moved in we changed the extractor to the most powerful one we could afford and it doesn't really do much.
If you can I would go for one in the wall rather than ceiling.

an inline fan, in the space above the ceiling and ducting to vent through the loft wall or eaves, can be more powerful and quieter than the sort that fits in the wall, because there is more room and it doesn't need to be pretty. It is however also possible to buy a cheap, ineffective one.

Look at the cubic metres per hour of some fans, for their effectiveness, and their db rating, for noise.

For example, this is a good one

this one isn't.

there are lots more

Rigid duct is much better than the flexible convoluted hose.

It is certainly best to have them come on with the light switch, because many people have an aversion to ventilation and will not switch them on.

The one you say is no good, Piglet, is the one we took out and the one you say is good is what we put in.

The new one is better than the old one, but we still need the window open too.

'mmmm

a bathroom extractor usually works best if the door and window are shut, and it can draw in fresh air from the house through the gap under the bathroom door, while the steam rises above it.

If the window is open, it cannot create suction in the room, and it is possible for it to short-circuit, sucking the fresh air than enters through the window and blowing it out through the duct, rather than sucking out the warm damp air that rises to the bathroom ceiling (water vapour rises in still air, because it is lighter than air)

The "good" fan has a max extract rate of about 240 cu metre per hour, which is quite a lot. A wall fan of equivalent power would be very large.

Is there any chance your duct might not be straight and clear?

Thanks for the replies.
there's not a lot of space to put one on the wall and it would mean removing tiles.
At the moment we have the window open when we shower but it's freezing in the winter!

Piglet. There is no gap under the door. This is why the window is open. At some point when we paint the door we will take a bit off the bottom and then we can close the window.

the one I suggest has an extract rate which is about three times as high as a typical cheap builders fan, and has half the db noise.

Read the buyers' reviews, you might also get some other comments on here.

Thanks for replies. The one you suggested piglet seems good according to the reviews and cheaper than I expected. would prefer a separate cord to switch it on and off as not too keen on it coming on every time we use the light. This might be more hassle than its worth though as any extended time in bathroom would probably require the fan to be on.

so too may a short time