The bathroom is one of the core parts of a house that you have to maintain and keep clean since it’s an area that gets wet every day. Since it’s a room with heavy traffic, it’s impossible to avoid problems like bad odors, mold, and damp surroundings. Well, the worse scene is when you finally spot unwanted guests like cockroaches because of the damp atmosphere. Of course, the best way to keep these problems away is by providing a good ventilation system.
Having a good ventilation system will absolutely help your bathroom to stay fresh and odorless. However, we know that not every house has enough space or a specific design that allows having a huge window as a ventilator. There are a few options that you can use as a reference for your bathroom without breaking your local building rules or the wall itself.
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How to Vent a Bathroom with No Outside Access
Having a vent system without outside access is indeed a challenging job but it’s not impossible to do by yourself. However, no matter how much you love DIY projects, we highly recommend you hire a professional HVAC contractor. It’s because you have to know the local regulation on how buildings work, wiring knots, and stuff that only professionals know.
Why You Need Good Ventilation
Some people might think that a bathroom with bad odors is considered “normal” based on its function and the homeowner just need to provide a room freshener. However, imagine if the room freshener is mixed with a poorly ventilated bathroom full of moisture and dampness, you will only get these additional troubles:
- Mold is probably the “basic” surprise you will get for keeping a damp bathroom and moisture for a long time. This can lead to increases in mold and mildew, especially on walls, ceilings, and tiling.
- Stuffiness is another effect that everyone can feel and smell immediately. None wants to experience it.
- Lingering smells are absolutely the worst things and you don’t want this to happen in your own bathroom.
- Extra moisture is good for your skin, not your bathroom. The combination of showers, sinks, and tubs tends to have lingering moisture in the air longer even if you didn’t recently use them.
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We have several options that you can use as a reference to consider and show to your trusted HVAC contractor. Each ventilation type has its own pros and cons that you can adjust to your needs and budget.
Expand the Ducts
- Some bathrooms may already be equipped with ducts but still don’t have the amount of ventilation to prevent extensive water damage.
- If this is the case, you may need to add extra ducts in other parts of your bathroom to help increase airflow outside
Ceiling Vent
- This one is good to route the moisture and steam through the roof.
- Many ceiling vent fixtures have lights attached to them, which makes them more functional.
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Floor Duct
- You may want to choose this one for a little more subtle and want to vent near your toilet.
- These are vents that have grates on the floor, and send air under your floor outside.
- Floor ducts are good for bathrooms that may not have the right ceilings for a light vent fixture.
- Please ask your HVAC contractor whether it’s possible to extend a bath fan through the floor since the plumbing vent will run between the floor joints and out through the exterior wall.
A Fan
- If you want to get the DIY project by using a simple and temporary feature, a fan can be a great choice to add extra breathability to your bathroom.
- Just simply plug it in and let it completes its job. Please note that this is just a temporary solution for quick fixes.
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Commercial Ductwork
- This option is the best choice if you live in a smaller apartment in a larger building with high ceilings.
- In this case, you might want to tell the contractor to install commercial ductwork to unify the airflow.
How Much Does Bathroom Ventilation Installation Cost?
When it comes to redecorating, renovating, makeover, and remodeling, budgets will be the utmost point to consider. Depending on the type of vents you will use as well as your need for ductwork and the area you’re living in, ventilation installments are considered to be a moderately priced task.
- The average bathroom ventilation installation project costs between $230 and $537.
- In some cases, it’s possible to add a bathroom exhaust vent fan for as low as $110 or as high as $800.
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No matter how big or small a bathroom is if it doesn’t have a good ventilation system, then it will only make the whole bathroom smells bad and stuffy. Having huge windows in a bathroom is a blessing that will keep your bathroom stay fresh and well-ventilated.
The real challenge comes from a home that doesn’t have outside access to add a new vent line. You can make it a DIY project but please remember that there are some points that you have to know well before executing the process. You don’t want to end up ruining the process with your greed. So, for a better result, we highly recommend you consult your nearest HVAC contractor.
We hope that this information can be helpful and informative for you who are planning to add additional vent features for a cleaner and fresher airflow. Now look around your bathroom and get yourself an attractive vent to make your bathroom airflow feels kicking!
