TIL my bathroom fan duct was totally wrong after a home inspector pointed it out

Had a home inspector friend look over my place before listing it, and he said my bathroom fan vented right into the attic instead of outside. I thought that was normal since the previous owner did it that way. Turns out it was causing moisture buildup and could've led to mold down the road. Cost me $150 to run a proper vent to the roof, but now the bathroom actually clears steam in 5 minutes instead of 20. Anyone else find an old reno shortcut in their house that was totally backwards?

2 comments

2 Comments

finleyw9926d ago

You got off cheap at $150. I've seen people pay double that when the roofer has to cut through tile or slate. But the real issue is that venting into the attic is one of those things that seems fine until you start getting that musty smell in the summer or noticing your insulation getting damp. I'd recommend checking your attic insulation near the old vent location too, because if that was going on for years there could be compressed or ruined batts up there. Another thing people overlook is making sure the new vent has a backdraft damper, otherwise you can still get some moisture sucked back in on windy days. And the 5 minute versus 20 minute difference is no joke, that steam has to go somewhere and just hanging out in your attic isn't it.

perez.willow26d ago

Hold on, five minutes versus twenty minutes? That's a huge difference. I had no idea a shower could pump out that much steam that fast. Makes sense why some attics turn into a swamp though, if you're running the water for twenty minutes and all that moisture is just sitting up there.