Exhaust Fans Combat Odor, Heat, & Moisture | ImproveDepot

Stink, Heat, and Moisture: Why You Need Exhaust Fans in the House

If there’s a funky smell in your home, the first places you’re likely to start hunting it down are your kitchen and bathrooms. These rooms are breeding grounds for bacteria, as they are highly trafficked areas where food, moisture/humidity and waste are present.

In order for kitchens and bathrooms to be up to code, they are legally required to have adequate ventilations by means of exhaust fans or hoods. Below are some reasons to invest in sturdy exhaust fans as well as tips on where you might want to put one in your house.

What Do Exhaust Fans Do

Exhaust fans are used to remove hot and humid air from small areas. Warm air is drawn into a duct system that goes outside. Some people put ducts leading to their attics, but this is a bad idea. That hot and humid air will increase your air conditioning bill in the warm months and also increase your chances of getting mold and mildew buildup in your house.

Optimal Exhaust Fan Placement

Exhaust fans provide much needed ventilation for small, hot places. There are three main areas in every home that will benefit from an exhaust fan. These rooms are the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room.

Bathrooms

Bathrooms are often the smallest room in the house. Each time you shower, this enclosed space fills up with humid air. If that moisture isn’t removed, it will stick around, leaving buildup on your walls and ceiling, eventually causing mold.

not only remove the moisture-laden air, but they also remove some of the bacteria attached to those molecules. Since bathrooms are already home to enough germs, anything that keeps bacteria from building up and multiplying is a good thing!

Exhaust fans also provide much-needed ventilation for extensive cleaning. Many commercial bathroom cleaners are full of substances that can cause headaches to people if exposed for a long time in enclosed areas. Proper ventilation improves the safety of your bathroom from both naturally occurring and human-introduced substances.

Kitchens

Kitchens are high-use areas where lots of bacteria can live. Bacteria thrive in warm, moist areas, so imagine the germ-fest provided by hot ovens, boiling pots of water, and people walking in and out putting their hands all over everything.

Kitchen exhaust fans can also keep air circulating to prevent false triggers on smoke alarms. If you’ve ever cooked bacon in a home with a sensitive smoke alarm, you know that a well-placed vent fan can prevent a lot of hassle.

Laundry Rooms

You might be tempted to think of your laundry room as a clean space, but washers and dryers cause a lot of humidity, and dust and lint can build up all over the area surrounding your dryer. A vent fan can remove some of that hot air from your laundry room and prevent mildew issues in drywall.

Exhaust fans provide needed ventilation for warm, enclosed spaces in your home. Mold can cause serious health issues, so exhaust fans not only help keep your house clean and comfortable, but they can benefit your family’s health as well!