Why are bathroom exhaust fans mounted in the ceiling?
Wouldn't down low next to the toilet be a better location?
Maybe even lower than the toilet and behind the toilet. Then the "smell" would go down and back instead of forward and up!
Steam (water vapor) rises.
did you ever get a baloon at the store when you were a kid? If you did you noticed it floated.......hum....
I think bath fans should blow air as well as suck air....... that way they can stir it up and get it moving....... just my idea.....
thats why they invented matches.......
The reason is to remove the moisture produced by shower which if not removed will cause the ceiling paint to peel plus other deteration factors. So use your ceiling fan when bathing. or you'll have problems.
Uhmmm... Because the fans are there to suck up the warm, wet air from your shower. They are NOT there to clear out your stinky butt gasses.
Actually I seldom use mine, the HVAC input seems to do it. Of course the bath door is never closed.
What smell?
So why are there ceiling fans in bathrooms that has no bath or shower, just a sink and toilet?
Do you see a window in those rooms?
"Lou" wrote
Seems the OP isnt aware of code specs probably.
Methane is lighter than air and floats to the ceiling.
You are in the company of great minds; Buckminster Fuller put the bathroom fan low under the sink in the Dymaxion House for this very reason.
But as others have pointed out, the *code* requirement for fans in both bathrooms and kitchens is not for your olfactory comfort but to dispel moisture, which if unchecked will promote mold and rot. For code purposes I think you'll find any room with a sink needs a fan, yes this means all those bedrooms with toothbrushing sinks in the corner are bathrooms as far as electrical codes go.
What careful scientific analysis went into this definition? Who knows.
Having said all that I don't think code mandates the fan in the ceiling, just as in a kitchen you don't need a range hood. Although ceiling fans and range roods are probably most effective at removing vapor, I believe an exhaust fan anywhere in those rooms meets code requirements. But I'd check with the local inspector before I put the hole in the wall.
Chip C Toronto
They just blow all your heat outside sucking in cold air from someplace else and raising your heating costs. Just don't have the water so hot and you won't get the bathroom filled with steam.
The primary use of the fan it so remove the warm moist air from the shower. The smell you are talking about will also rise towards the ceiling.
Methane is odorless, so what's the diff?
If the OP's that concerned about flatulant odors he could always scrounge around used building material yards and pick up an American Standard "Ventaway" toilet. (AKA in my youth as "The fart catcher.")
Repair parts for them are still available.
They stopped making them quite a few years ago, probably for water conservation reasons. They used running water to pull the air out of the bowl and send that air down the drain after the trap section of the toilet.
IIRC you pulled up on the flush handle to turn on that water flow before you sat down. Pushing down on the handle to flush the toilet stopped the venting water flow.
Jeff
They are not required in bathrooms that have windows. It is for gas.
No, they are not required for gas. In fact they are not required in half baths without a shower or tub. They are only required in full baths with tub, shower or both when a window is absent. For goodness sakes call your building inspector. Lou
Wouldn't that suck your, you know, down the drain?
That prospect scares the crap outta me!
Oh.
Maybe that's what it's for...
"Glenn" wrote in news:483ffe64$0$7054$ snipped-for-privacy@roadrunner.com:
jusr install a 4" duct from below the toilet up to near the exhaust fan. Then it will draw the stink out. ;-)
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