How to Solve Mold and Indoor Air Quality Problems

Given any thought to your bath fan lately?

Behold the lowly bath fan. The Rodney Dangerfield of home mechanicals systems, it just doesn’t get much respect.

Yes, the bath fan doesn’t get much thought, until you walk into a malodorous bathroom desperately in need of ventilation.

A good quality bath fan, properly installed, will quickly and quietly remove odors and moisture. The fan should run for 20 minutes after bathroom activity. A properly operating bath ventilation fan will also minimize mold.

For most homes, a bath fan is the least expensive system for meeting indoor air quality standards. The ASHRAE 62.2 standard establishes the minimum fresh air required for occupant health and comfort indoors. A properly operating bath fan will help prevent mold growth in the bath room and pull fresh air into other parts of the home.

The reality is most homes have the cheapest, loudest, least effective bath fan $15 can buy.  A high quality bath fan with installation is inexpensive and will improve indoor air quality and minimize mold growth in bathrooms.

Here are some simple tests you can use to evaluate whether your bath fan is doing its job (or call an AlabamaWISE home performance contractor to test them for you):

1. Is there a bath fan at all? Many bathrooms with operable windows have no bath fan.
2. If there is a bath fan installed, does it run at all? Is it noisy?
3. Turn the fan on and try holding a piece of tissue paper up to the grill – is it pulling enough air to hold the tissue in place?
4. Look behind the grille. Is there a “fan” type blade or is the blower a “squirrel-cage” type? The best and most quiet bath fans use the squirrel cage blower.
5. Take a look in the attic and check to see if the fan is connected to a duct. Is the duct vented to outside the attic? Many homes have bath fans vented into the attic, which can cause mold and deterioration of the roof deck.

AlabamaWISE home performance contractors evaluate your bath fans as part of a comprehensive home energy assessment. Replacing ineffective fans with high quality units like the Panasonic Whispergreen model is an inexpensive and effective way to keep your home comfortable and healthy.