I live in a duplex and the bathroom/shower does NOT have ANY vent for the steam to outside.
Shouldn't ALL bathrooms be vented in some manner?
I'm not a construction expert so wanted to ask abt it here.
Should they all? Yes. Do they all? No. Code requires either a window or a vent fan if there's no window. The vent fans take away a lot of the moisture and a lot of the heat - it's a tradeoff on that front. Moisture condensing inside your walls is an _excellent_ way to promote rot and mold growth.
R1/2 bathrooms (toilet and sink), usually don't need ventilation, but if there is a shower and/or a tub, then yes, ventilation is needed. It can either vent to the outside directly, or depending on the climate where you are, it can be piped through a heat exchanger to save on your heating bill.
Carolyn
OK
Well this apartment I live in has a full bath and shower...with no window and no vent of any kind!
Pretty dumb huh?
I understand that heat can be drawn out when a vent fan is running but that would be preferable to mold growing all over the place.
Anything I can do abt this not being up to code?
Unless the bathroom was built or totally remodeled very recently - requiring it to be up to code - no.
There are three things that support mold growth: spores, moisture and the correct temperature range. You can't do anything about the last two, so it's up to you to make sure that spores aren't given the chance to grow. Basically this would require wiping down the entire bathroom with a mile detergent solution periodically. If mold has taken hold, a diluted chlorine bleach solution or TSP in hot water would be necessary.
If it's any consolation, there are plenty of bathrooms with windows and vent fans that still have mold growth. Regular maintanence is a must.
RHi Guys and Girls:
I used to be the caretaker for my building, 60 units, apartment style condo conversion.
I can't count the times when the owners called me and said "My Tenant has water in the bathroom, is there something wrong with the pipes or is there a problrm from the unit above"
On occasion there was a problem, but most of the time it was simply not using the fan, no windows here. I told them to start using the fan and the problem disappeared. I learned over the years to take it with a grain of salt and just offered some grandfatherly advice and eveyone was happy.
Some day I'll tell you about the case where a fibreglass tub actually delam>
My father-in-law was renting an apartment with a bathroom fan and dryer vent that dumped the hot wet air into the joist cavity between his apartment and the one above.
How's that for dumb?
Carolyn
There's someone on this newsgroup who often recommends dumping that heated and sodden air back into the house for humidification and heat recovery purposes. A really bad way to go about achieving those ends.
R
wow
that is incredible
Carolyn, 1/2 baths DO require 3 sq.ft. of natural or 50 cfm of mechanical ventilation. See R303.3.
(It's not just the water vapor your try> 1/2 bathrooms (toilet and sink), usually don't need ventilation, but if
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