Bathroom fans

One of the most vulnerable places to mould is the bath. The most common areas for mould to appear are on the silicone of the bath or shower, in the gaps between it and the tiles, or along the entire area, as well as on the grout (the gaps between the tiles).

This is because these are the areas where the air changes the least, i.e. there has to be very good air circulation for the air to move evenly throughout the bathroom, and of course the higher humidity, which is always higher most of the time than in the other rooms, contributes a lot to this.

Important features of a bathroom fan

Bathroom fans should ideally be switched on separately from the light switch to even out the temperature and humidity levels after bathing, as most of the time the light is switched off immediately after showering and the exhaust fans are switched off with it, leaving an ideal breeding ground for mould.

Therefore, separate switches should be made if possible. In older flats, there is no bathroom fan at all, there is usually a hole in the self-propelled ventilation duct, and such a duct, which has not been cleaned for many years, cannot provide any air circulation at all. A bathroom fan is therefore essential for every dwelling.

How do I choose a bathroom fan?

One of the main criteria would be the capacity of the bath fan, which is measured in cubic metres per hour (m3/h) and is selected according to the size and height of the room. A typical bath is 4m2 with a height of 2.7m and a volume of 10.8m3, and the recommended air change rate is 9 times per hour, so the capacity of the extract fan for your bath should be such that it can change the air 9 times per hour, i.e. it should have an extract flow rate of at least 97m3/h, but we would recommend a more powerful fan of ~30/40%, which will do the job quicker and will need to be kept on for less time.

Other important factors would be:

sound level;
energy consumption;
functionality;
and technical design;
Every bathroom fan, especially in older flats with a self-propelled ventilation system, should have a non-return valve to prevent the air from returning into the room;
a humidity sensor is a very relevant feature where it is available (not everywhere is wired in the bath); bath fans shall operate after bathing until the sensors no longer detect excessive humidity.

Centrifugal exhaust fans are also needed in such apartments, and are specifically designed for high resistance ventilation systems with long vertical and horizontal ducts. These bathroom fan motors have an impeller that automatically adjusts to the resistance and is able to increase or decrease the air pressure to ensure efficient air circulation.

The best bathroom fans

If you want to buy a quality bath fan tailored to your bath, contact our team and we will select several models depending on your needs and the technical layout of the bath itself.

All of our bathroom extractor fans have a high insulation class, are extremely quiet, can be installed in both walls and ceilings, and are also fully intelligent, with integrated odour, humidity and CO2 sensors, controlled via an app on your phone.

If you buy one of our recommended fans, you can forget about the mould problem in your bathroom, and if you’re one of our customers, we’ll be happy to offer you a discount too.