My mother always got after me when I was younger for not turning on the bathroom fan during one of my many 40-minute hot showers. I usually skipped out on turning on the bathroom fan because it was too noisy, and I never understood exactly what it was meant for.
Ventilate your bathroom. It's what we always hear. Switch on that noisy bathroom fan and suck all that steam out of the room.
But why do we really have to ventilate our bathroom? Why the fan?
When not properly ventilated, trapped water can do some damage to your bathroom as it seeps into the walls. Your paint can start chipping, your ceiling can develop water spots on it, your wood frames and doors can warp, and worst of all, mold and mildew can form!
My poor mother.
Mold and mildew—a homeowner's worst nightmare—love to make a home in warm, moist environments. And ding ding ding, bathrooms are their location of choice.
What may just look like pesky dirt spots on our walls, shower curtains, and ceiling, are actually mold and mildew organisms that can lead to some serious health problems.
Pretty gross now when you think about it.
But luckily, those pesky little organisms can be evicted before they even have a chance to grow. Here's why the bathroom fan has become so popular in houses.
Yes, those loud fans do serve a purpose other than odor control. They work by clearing out the humid air caused by showering to keep your drywall, paint, and wood dry. They also reduce your air conditioner's workload on keeping your house cool because it's not working to remove that warm, moist air. Fans are even good for getting rid of chemical compounds found in most cleaners to clean up your air quality.
So that means we're stuck with them, right? There goes that spa-like bathroom remodel you were wanting to do.
Well, maybe not!
Majority of municipalities' building codes require that some form of air circulation is needed in your bathroom to help remove moist air out, but they don't specify exactly how you have to do that.
What if you installed a skylight that opened instead of a bathroom fan? It's quieter, draws out that moisture-ridden air, and even brings in an array of bright, natural light to your space without sacrificing any bathroom privacy.
Meet a family who replaced their bathroom's old bubble dome with a new VELUX Solar Powered "Fresh Air" Skylight. The difference it made to their space is pretty astonishing. Watch the transformation.
Ventilation matters. But your noisy bathroom fan doesn't have to. Learn more about our VELUX "fresh air" skylights and how they can keep your space free of moisture while giving you the spa-like retreat you've always wanted.
VELUX "Fresh Air" Skylights
