Moving Bathroom Roller Blind Lower to help Ventilation (with pic).

united4ever

Just removed loads of mould off bathroom ceiling, sanded and painted 3 coats of mould resistant paint. Don't want to have to do it again for a long time.

My family tend to take longish showers. The window is open, for privacy, the blind is rolled right down so barely any steam escapes and the walls can be dripping by the time the shower has finished and blind opened.

Idea is to lower the blind to the level where the top part of the window can be opened and allow the steam to escape. Hopefully this will still be high enough to provide privacy (though my head would stick over blind a bit).

Is this an odd thing to do? Worried it will look crap and would it work?

I would keep the old brackets in situ in case we want to revert (maybe if we sell up etc) but would need to add a new set if brackets lower. Never drilled into tiles before. Is it hard? Watched a video about using masking tape etc but of course they always go smoothly in those videos. What are the chances of cracking a tile? Which drill bit is it? The timber one with pointy end? Any tips?

Here is the window and blind. The right side of window opens at top and below. There  is a towel rail and 12v fan but still getting mould so this idea is the last thing I can think of.

baser999

Reckon it’s doable. You’d be wise to use masking tape or similar to mark the position and to stop the drill bit slipping. Masonry bit, with drill on appropriate setting (unless there’s such a thing as a specialised bit nowadays) 

Lorian

I suggest a Voile/net curtain on a cheap push fit rod. They only work if the light is not on in the room.

Is there no extractor fan?

And of course shorter showers helps. And saves money, not to be underestimated as it's one of the quickest ways to pour energy down the drain.

MikeJXE

If it was me I would lower the blind as it is and when the whole window is covered carefully cut out a section where you want the window open, just don't cut right to the right hand edge, keep a few inches away. That way it wouldn't look naff when rolled up as is now. 

united4ever

MikeJXE said:

If it was me I would lower the blind as it is and when the whole window is covered carefully cut out a section where you want the window open, just don't cut right to the right hand edge, keep a few inches away. That way it wouldn't look naff when rolled up as is now. 

That's a very interesting idea indeed.

MikeJXE

The blind would be stronger if you cut a round hole instead of square 

united4ever

MikeJXE said:

The blind would be stronger if you cut a round hole instead of square 

Yes. That's a good point also. 

united4ever

Decided to pursue the original idea and lower the blind. Looking at the brackets they are actually screwed into the Upvc window frame. This was done by Hilarys Blinds so I am inclined to follow their lead and screw into the Upvc frame with the same screws.

Is it easy to screw into a UPVC window frame? Do i need to use a drill to make a pilot hole or can I just screw straight into it with my electric screwdriver? I take it the old holes can be siliconed in?

Pic of bracket attached.

Thanks again

ratrace

We used to have the same problem tried all sorts but ended up with the same problem

best thing i found is a really good powefull fan one that can extract a good amount of liters of air that would be the best option imho

my brother had the same problem and ended up putting up 2 fans in his bathroom top left and top right and when the shower is over they still run for 15 mins extra to get rid of most of the steam its all about ventilation in those environments

Emmia

Could you improve the privacy aspect of the window itself - e.g. via film or similar, then you wouldn't need the blind. 

Similarly I'd also look at getting a decent fan (with a humidstat, and high extraction rate), or being obsessive about fully opening the window after showers.

Rusty190

MikeJXE said:

If it was me I would lower the blind as it is and when the whole window is covered carefully cut out a section where you want the window open, just don't cut right to the right hand edge, keep a few inches away. That way it wouldn't look naff when rolled up as is now. 

Genius!!!