Bathroom extractor very weak

[mareep]

We've finally moved into our new house and trying to work it all out.

The ensuite extractor has been left on for an hour and it's still steamy. I've taken it off the wall and given the fly screen/blades a bit of a clean. There's no gap under the door but we have single glazed sash windows and I'm trying to remember to leave the bathroom door open a crack.

It's fitted to an outside wall with about a foot of rigid pipe. If I put a piece of paper up to it, it does hold just, but at two inches away the paper doesn't move towards the vent.

Is there anything I should do before replacing it? It's a vent axia dx100ps Pictures attached.

Screwfix sell a range of wall mounted extractor fans.
Does your unit have any flow rate figures on it which could be compared to new fans from screwfix?

You’d get an idea of the improvement you’d get from a new fan.

I looked that one up earlier, and IIRC it has a max throughput of about 74 cu.m/hr, which is rather low for a bathroom.

I believe your duct is 100mm diameter, which is most common.

It's possible the speed is restricted if it is worn or the motor bearings are clogged. Also, brush the outer grill and the duct to remove dust and fluff. With luck the duct will have been fitted with a slight fall to the outside, so if you clean it with water and detergent, the water will tend to drip outside.

You can get one of the same size with a rated throughput of about 100 cu.m/hr, and quieter, with a ball-bearing motor and also has an inbuilt non-return shutter to keep draughts out, which could be worth a try. I recommend the 100T model, which has a timer than can be set to run for for a period after vacating the room.

However if you expect to have frequent steamy showers, I'd suggest a more powerful one. It will be bigger, so you'd need to either make a bigger hole in the wall, or fit it in the loft above the ceiling with a duct venting through the eaves or a gable wall; or if unavoidable, the roof.

I think this is the model you currently have, or something similar.

It's probably worn out and not running up to speed.
Measure the room dimensions to get the volume and then pick a suitably rated fan that will do at least 2-3 air changes per hour, perhaps more if you are using the shower regularly.
There are some fans now that are controlled by humidistat so they will run until the room moisture has been sufficiently reduced.
As suggested previously check out Screwfix or Toolstation as they are the cheapest.