Best way to dry a bathroom after a shower?

Brie

So it's a relatively small bathroom with the usual shower, toilet and sink. 

There's an extractor fan and a small window.

We always put the fan on before we step into the shower.  The window may or may not be open depending on the season.  After the shower the fan remains on. 

Now - given that it is vaguely chilly and a bit damp out is it best to have the window open or not?  

I'm wondering if we are better off closing the window so that dry air is being drawn in from the house, made damp in the bathroom and then blown outside via the fan.  Rather than there being a small loop of chill air from outside immediately being blown outside again.  

It's an easier decision to have the window open if it's baking hot outside but not now.

No heating on yet.

Kiran

A more powerful inline extractor is a good investment. I changed my through the ceiling model to an inline extractor mounted in the loft and the difference is like night and day. No condensation at all, with the exception of a small amount when you open the shower door and that clears pretty quickly. We squeegee the the shower down to speed up the shower drying too. We have the window open in the summer and on dry winter days, but shut it when the weather is wet outside

Emmia

I'd suggest a more powerful extractor with humidistat that comes on whenever the humidity reaches a certain level. Quiet ones (12db) are available.

EssexExile

Ideally the fan is the opposite side of the room to the door so new air comes in around the door to replace the old moist air removed by the fan. If the fan and window are close together you'll get the small loop you describe.

subjecttocontract

We shut the bathroom door and turn the fan on whilst showering. When finished, we open the window for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes we shut the window and open the bathroom door.

Lorian

Its been hard to keep humidity in our bathrooms below 60% here for the last few days due to the weather and the high humidity outside - opening the windows just allowed the humidity to stay or at worse rise. much better today - windows open. And thats with good in-line extractors with short runs of solid ducting.

If it had extended much longer I would result to running the dehumidifier.

Brie

Thanks for your comments.  The fan is relatively new (January) and goes directly through the wall to the outside.  

Kiran

Brie said:

Thanks for your comments.  The fan is relatively new (January) and goes directly through the wall to the outside.  

Look up the model number and see what the volume of air it moves per hour is. The through the wall units tend to be a bit lower power so you would need to leave it on for longer. Fitting a humidity stat is a good option, but also worth noting that if you have a shower cubicle the water on that would be unlikely to trigger the humidity stat so its worth also taking the time to squeegee down the walls and glass.

On a site note, I did see something online where there were some kind of air blowers inside the cubicle used to dry the shower and prevent the grout and sealant discolouring. I've never seen one in real life bit it looked like a novel solution to the problem

RAS

Get a squeegee, a quid or less at Ikea and Dunelm. It's common in Norway and Sweden

Shut the bathroom door to heat the room. Shower quickly.  Nothing to stop you wetting, turning off, lathering up, then turn the water back on?

Use the squeegee to remove surface water from the shower wall and doors when you are still in there. After drying or wrapping in towels, squeegee the floor to remove water from the tray. We open the window and shut the door to retain heat in the adjacent room. If the weather is foul, use the extractor.

Brie

Probably should have said it's a walk in shower - not a cubicle.  Built to accommodate elderly MiL and her carer.  And it's one of the worst heated rooms in the house even in the winter when the heat is on full.  So turning off the lovely hot water to lather and scrub before rinsing gives me goosebumps just thinking about it!!

But the squeegee!  That we can do!!! 

Ectophile

Lorian said:

Its been hard to keep humidity in our bathrooms below 60% here for the last few days due to the weather and the high humidity outside - opening the windows just allowed the humidity to stay or at worse rise. much better today - windows open. And thats with good in-line extractors with short runs of solid ducting.

If it had extended much longer I would result to running the dehumidifier.

60%? My living room is currently at 68%, and it doesn't even have a shower!