Bathroom Condensation hell!

rajanm

Hello all,

I have had a massive condensation problem in my bathroom ever since I bought my flat 6 years ago.

I live in a ground floor flat and the bathroom is at the front of the house. When I switch the shower on, a huge amount of steam is released which results in huge condensation on the tiles and window. It's got so bad that the towel radiator is rusting as is my light. I actually refurbished my bathroom 4 years ago and my tiles have started to fall off, so it's clearly a big problem. Even before I had tiles, the wallpaper which was there in its place was flaking off at an alarming rate and the ceiling is covered in mould.

I invested in an expensive envirovent extractor fan which has a trickle mode and a built in humidistat. It seems to be coming on at the right times and reacting to moisture but my walls are still wet after a shower and I'm not convinced an extractor fan alone will solve the problem.


So my question is, what else can I do? My plan at the moment is to get more air into the bathroom by installing a wall vent - the only vent in the bathroom to let outside air in is housed in the frame of the window and is very small. Do you think this might be a wise investment? There's no point in me changing my extractor fan as it works perfectly well and stays on all the time, reacting to humidity when appropriate.

Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. I want to get my bathroom retiled but don't want to even begin doing that until I have this condensation problem under control!

Rajan

cattie

How big is your bathroom, could you put a dehumidifier in there after you've used the shower?

I don't have such a problem in my small fully tiled bathroom, which has an extractor fan & double glazed window with trickle vents. However, after each shower I do use a shower squeegy to wipe down all the walls and the doors inside the shower enclosure as this helps to reduce the moisture as well as keeping it spick and span.

HappyMJ

Sounds like a rather rubbish job if you only retiled 4 years ago. Is the heating on in the bathroom? What temperature is it? I'd keep the windows and door open and distribute the water vapour around but it might cause problems elsewhere in the house....or a dehumidifier might help as well.

olly300

When I got my bathroom refurbished I was told by the sales girl in the bathroom shop that lots of bathroom towel radiators will rust in a short time because they are chrome regardless of how well ventilated and heated the bathroom is. I therefore have a stainless steel towel radiator. (I should point out the sales girl was a mate of mine who now lives abroad and I got my bathroom at a massive discount.)

So the fact that your towel radiator is rusting doesn't mean very much. However the fact that your wallpaper is flaking , tiles are falling off, you have mould on the walls, and light fitting is rusting means that you have to look at two issues.

One of these is the ventilation and the other is adequate heating.

No one can tell you whether adding the extra ventilation will solve the problem but it's worth trying.

However you also need to have a look at how long you heat your bathroom for.

I've lived in places which were well ventilated but had inadequate heating so still suffered the same problems you described i.e. tiles falling off, rusting radiators, mould on surfaces, wall paper falling off. Once adequate heating was put in and it was turned on sufficiently the problems ceased.

If extra ventilation and heating don't work then it's the design of your house and the only other thing you can do is get a dehumidifier to put directly outside the bathroom and run it with the door ajar.

BTW my walls are wet when I have a shower in Winter and so are most places I've stayed or lived in Winter. However they dry out within half an hour (normally much less) if the heating is on. This is one of the reason why lots of people now don't have wallpaper in a bathroom unless the bathroom is large plus has adequate ventilation and heating.

phill99

Background heating is important as this reduces the difference in temperatures at which condensation is likely to occur.

Additionally you mayneed to thinkla bout cavity wall insulation (if possible) as this will also increase the temperature of the walls and stop condensation forming.

Also, think about upgrading your extractor fan to a 6" rather than a 4". This will seriously increasee the amount of vapour being removed. plus check the humidity setting and reduce it if necessary so that it comes on sooner.

On no account leave your bathroom door open. This will simply push the problem to the bedrooms.

McKneff

I find a squeegee a big help, run it down the main walls where you have showered and also the shower door,

Cooler shower?

rajanm

The bathroom is tiny...probably about 7ft by 5ft or thereabouts. It isn't particularly cold either so I'm puzzled by the whole heating issue. It doesn't matter what time of year it is - even in the height of summer, condensation is a problem. For me, the problem is the amount of steam generated by the shower. It becomes really misty when the shower is on, hence why I'm wondering whether a wall vent might reduce the problem.

It's an ex local authority flat with solid concrete walls so cavity wall insulation isn't really an option...also, there is no real ventilation in the flat at all, apart from the small vents in each of the windows...so again I'm thinking an air vent might be the way forward. It's proving a very difficult problem to solve!

keystone

rajanm wrote: »

When I switch the shower on, a huge amount of steam is released which results in huge condensation on the tiles and window.

Turn the temperature down on the shower then and/or wipe down the walls after use.

I actually refurbished my bathroom 4 years ago and my tiles have started to fall off, so it's clearly a big problem.

Poor tiling then.

There's no point in me changing my extractor fan as it works perfectly well

from what you have said it seeems that it doesn't.

Cheers

rajanm

Also, just to add I'm not really prepared to reduce the temperature of my showers...what's the point in having a shower if you can't use it the way you want to!?

phill99

rajanm wrote: »

Also, just to add I'm not really prepared to reduce the temperature of my showers...what's the point in having a shower if you can't use it the way you want to!?

So what is the point on coming on here asking for help and then completely ignoring it.

keystone

rajanm wrote: »

Also, just to add I'm not really prepared to reduce the temperature of my showers...what's the point in having a shower if you can't use it the way you want to!?

Option B then - wipe it all down after showering. Simples.

Cheers