Average tasks like showering, bathing and shaving can put home-destructive humidity into the air in your Fort Lauderdale home. There’s good news still—a straightforward bathroom ventilation fan can save you from distorted wood, mold growth, cracked drywall and other trouble associated with a humid bathroom.
Even if you have ventilation fans in your bathrooms, do you know if they’re the correct size? Are they as soft and energy efficient as they could be? Solar Air Inc. is here to answer your questions.
Today’s bathroom ventilation fans are small and sleek and they operate more quietly and effectively than ever before. You’ll find a great range of choices, from simple 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 you can find a lot of bells and whistles to choose from, the most important aspect of your fan is whether or not it’s full-sized enough to do its job.
Assessed by the cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air they move, a bathroom ventilation fan should be able to exchange 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 almost as high as the number of square feet in your bathroom. Therefore, if your bathroom is 5 feet by 8 feet, a CFM rating of 40 would be adequate.
If you have a taller ceiling, the equation gets a little more difficult. 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 easy, you can heed HGTV’s advice for bathrooms larger than 100 square feet – establish your CFM requirements by adding 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 time for a new one, give the professionals at Solar Air Inc. at call at 954-320-7398. We’re here to help you ensure you have a ventilation fan that will work hard to care for your home and keep it comfy.