Whether you’re shopping for a corporate office or your home, bathroom exhaust fans are an essential component for any restroom and are often required by building codes. Discover how to choose the right fan for your space with this informative guide.
What Is a Bathroom Exhaust Fan?
Let’s start with the basics. Properly installed bathroom fans extract humidity, potentially harmful airborne contaminants, and unpleasant odors through a ceiling or wall-mounted vent. Then, the vapors travel through the building’s ductwork system and out an exterior vent to the outdoors.
Why You Need a Bathroom Exhaust Fan
Moisture Removal
Moisture can wreak havoc on any restroom. Without ventilation, hot, steamy showers can lead to peeling paint, rusty hardware, and even structural damage. Worst of all, humidity can foster the perfect environment for harmful mold and mildew to grow and thrive. Mold and mildew can cause a litany of undesirable outcomes including health problems and property damage. Simply flipping the switch to your exhaust fan can make the difference between clean and contaminated air.
Keeping It Fresh
Moisture traps unpleasant odors. A great secondary benefit of a bathroom fan is that less-than-fresh odors can be quickly pulled through the vent and expelled out of your living space.
Mitigating Strong Cleaning Chemicals
Residential and commercial restrooms are often cleaned with harsh chemicals. Exposure to these types of agents can be harmful to the most vulnerable such as small children and the elderly. The next time you go to clean, make sure you turn on your fan to help remove airborne contaminants and strong vapors.
How to Choose a Bathroom Exhaust Fan
Get the Right Size
It’s easy to select the correct size exhaust fan for your restroom or bathroom. It all depends on how many square feet the space is and how much air circulation is required based on the room’s size. The movement of air is most often measured by cubic feet per minute (CFM). The general rule is that you need one CFM per square foot. Therefore, if you have a 70 sq. ft. bathroom, you need a minimum of a 70 CFM fan. You can always choose a fan with a higher than required CFM.
Refer to the chart below to find the right size:
| Room Size in Square Feet | Required Minimum of CFM |
| Less than 50 sq. ft. | 50 CFM |
| 50-100 sq. ft. | 1 CFM per sq. ft. of your space |
| Greater than 100 sq. ft. | Calculate 50 CFM for each feature and add up your total: toilet, shower, and bathtub. Calculate 100 CFM for jetted tubs.* |
* For example, if your bathroom has one toilet (50 CFM), one shower (50 CFM), and one jetted tub (100 CFM), then you need a fan rated at least 200 CFM.
Also, if your toilet is closed off by a door, consider purchasing a second fan for optimal odor and humidity control.
The Quieter, the Better
Your bathroom fan should offer maximum moisture and odor reduction with the least amount of noise emission. Exhaust fan sound levels are rated in sones, not decibels. The lower the sones rating, the quieter the fan. In general, quiet fans are rated 1.5 sones and below, while loud fans are 3 sones and above.
What About Energy Efficiency?
To help reduce your energy costs and environmental impact, choose a ventilation fan that has earned the ENERGY STAR symbol. Energy-efficient bathroom fans use less energy and have met strict criteria set forth by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
What If You Have No Ductwork?
Some commercial and residential buildings are designed without the necessary ductwork to accommodate a bathroom exhaust fan. No problem. There are plenty of ductless exhaust fans to help provide fresh air and reduce humidity. The air is simply pulled through a charcoal filter—instead of ductwork—to eliminate odors and moisture.
How to Clean It
Once you have the right fan, it’s important to know how to maintain it. A simple cleaning once or twice a year can help prevent dangerous mold and debris buildup to keep your fan running at its best.
An exhaust fan is made up of three basic components: a vent cover, fan blades and motor, and the housing. Follow these easy steps to clean your bathroom fan:
- Turn off the breaker to the restroom. Flip your fan switch to the ‘on’ position to ensure it’s ‘off’ before disassembly.
- Remove the vent cover and fan blades and motor.
- Submerge the vent cover in hot, soapy water. Wipe clean and allow to completely air dry before reattaching.
- Wipe down the fan blades and motor. A vacuum attachment works great in any hard-to-reach areas.
- Use a vacuum attachment to thoroughly clean debris from the housing.
- Once all parts are completely dry, reattach the fan and motor and the vent cover.
- Turn the breaker back on and make sure your fan is in working condition.
Enjoy the Benefits of Cleaner, Healthier Air
Clean air not only smells great, it’s also better for you. Now that you know how to choose the right fan, check out Zoro’s large selection of bathroom fans featuring the latest innovations from the best brands.
Product Compliance and Suitability
The product statements contained in this guide are intended for general informational purposes only. Such product statements do not constitute a product recommendation or representation as to the appropriateness, accuracy, completeness, correctness or currentness of the information provided. Information provided in this guide does not replace the use by you of any manufacturer instructions, technical product manual, or other professional resource or adviser available to you. Always read, understand and follow all manufacturer instructions.