Replacing a bathroom vent fan is a project that often gets postponed as not a priority, especially in older homes. When moist air from a hot shower or bath stays in the room, it can cause problems.
Older Fans
Older fans are often inefficient, and noisy. They may not remove enough moisture from the room so you see condensation. Water drops show up first on colder surfaces, such as mirrors, tile, and metal faucets. It can also show up on cold bare floors and may cause someone to slip and fall.
Newer Fans
The newer models are quieter and highly efficient at moving air. They come packaged with measurements for noise and air movement for easy comparison.
Noise is measured in “sones”, which is a linear measurement, as a ruler, so it’s easy to understand. A fan of 2 sones will sound twice as loud as a fan of 1 sone, but only half as loud as a 4 sone model. One sone is equivalent to a refrigerator running and 4 sones are equivalent to a television playing.
Air movement is measured in CFM, cubic feet per minute, of air, moved. Your fan should move at least 1 CFM of air for every 1 square foot of room size. So, if your bathroom is 8 feet wide by 10 feet long, that is 80 square feet. You would need an 80 CFM fan to move the air volume several times per hour.
Professional Help
If you need help replacing a bathroom vent fan, we’ll be glad to take care of it for you. We’ve been serving the Indianapolis area since 1974, so we have lots of experience. You’ll be glad you called us for guaranteed service and reasonable prices.