Why do I need a Bathroom Exhaust Fan?

You walk into your bathroom and there it is looking at you – it is the exhaust fan wall switch. Do you turn it on or not? Then you ask yourself, “Why do I need a Bathroom Exhaust Fan”?

Bathroom exhaust fans provide a vital function to ensure the indoor air quality of your home. Their main function is to remove moisture and odors from the room. Mold and mildew love moist environments, so by using an exhaust fan you can greatly decrease the conditions that promote their growth. A bathroom exhaust fan will not kill mold and mildew but it will reduce the factors that lead to growth.

So if exhaust fans are so good, why doesn’t everyone have and use one? There are two main answers. The first is that not all that long ago, exhaust fans were not required by the building codes. Codes were written that if you have a window anywhere in your bathroom, you were not required to have an exhaust fan. The theory being that you could provide all the ventilation you need by opening a window. While that might sound good in theory, when it is February in any northern state, I am not sure how much you want to be opening windows? The building codes across the country have come a long way and now require an exhaust fan in all bathrooms, kitchens and anywhere pollutants are entering the living environment. The American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) calls this local exhaust.

The second answer is the sound level. Older exhaust fans were loud and not very efficient. Technology has come a long way and now there are energy efficient fans on the market that you can’t even hear running. To learn more about Air King’s bathroom exhaust fan solutions, visit the Exhaust Fan section of this site.