Why is my bathroom steaming up?
Discussion
I've got a cheap'n'nasty little new build house, which in a flash of faux-poshness has an en-suite shower.
Although new, it was pretty crappy, bland white porcelain tiles, a thin plastic tray with a flimsy door, sealant everywhere and one of those dreadful handheld shower-on-a-hose things. And carpet on the actual bathroom floor
Last Christmas, in an unusual bout of self-confidence I ripped it all out, replaced the naff cubicle with a walk-in low level stone resin tray, tiled the lot and it now looks like this:
Thing is, since doing the work, the bathroom fills with steam on a scale it never used to every time the shower is used. I mean from the ceiling down to around waist level it turns to indoor fog. The electrics are all up to spec so that aspect doesn't concern me, it's just annoying.
Nothing's changed except the wall/floor finish and lack of door to the actual shower. There is an extractor fan which operates on the lighting circuit, and the outlet from that is clear, I've added a vent through the door to the bathhroom to allow a through-flow of fresh air but still it turns in to a bloody sauna...
Is it simply that the new fully-tiled finish is causing more condensation and I need to uprate the ext fan?
Although new, it was pretty crappy, bland white porcelain tiles, a thin plastic tray with a flimsy door, sealant everywhere and one of those dreadful handheld shower-on-a-hose things. And carpet on the actual bathroom floor
Last Christmas, in an unusual bout of self-confidence I ripped it all out, replaced the naff cubicle with a walk-in low level stone resin tray, tiled the lot and it now looks like this:
Thing is, since doing the work, the bathroom fills with steam on a scale it never used to every time the shower is used. I mean from the ceiling down to around waist level it turns to indoor fog. The electrics are all up to spec so that aspect doesn't concern me, it's just annoying.
Nothing's changed except the wall/floor finish and lack of door to the actual shower. There is an extractor fan which operates on the lighting circuit, and the outlet from that is clear, I've added a vent through the door to the bathhroom to allow a through-flow of fresh air but still it turns in to a bloody sauna...
Is it simply that the new fully-tiled finish is causing more condensation and I need to uprate the ext fan?
Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 20th September 10:33
The en-suite looks very chic! 
Presumably this is a room without windows? If so, it could be the fan you have isn't up to the job.
We had a simliar problem in our house which had a vented bathroom with no windows, but no powered extractor on the vent. I fitted a Marley fan on the vent and we don't have the problem anymore.
Presumably this is a room without windows? If so, it could be the fan you have isn't up to the job.
We had a simliar problem in our house which had a vented bathroom with no windows, but no powered extractor on the vent. I fitted a Marley fan on the vent and we don't have the problem anymore.
It's probably the improved shower giving you a greater flow of water that's causing the additional steam.
You're going the right way about solving it though. The next step is to get a bigger extractor as the airflow isn't great enough to keep up with the amount of steam being generated.
You're going the right way about solving it though. The next step is to get a bigger extractor as the airflow isn't great enough to keep up with the amount of steam being generated.
5potTurbo said:
The en-suite looks very chic!
Presumably this is a room without windows? If so, it could be the fan you have isn't up to the job.
We had a simliar problem in our house which had a vented bathroom with no windows, but no powered extractor on the vent. I fitted a Marley fan on the vent and we don't have the problem anymore.
Thanks! Must admit was pretty pleased with the results bearing in mind a) I have no tiling experience b) no plumbing experience.Presumably this is a room without windows? If so, it could be the fan you have isn't up to the job.
We had a simliar problem in our house which had a vented bathroom with no windows, but no powered extractor on the vent. I fitted a Marley fan on the vent and we don't have the problem anymore.
Yes, it hasno windows, but it's already got a powered extractor fan, I guess it just needs upgrading a bit then?
Another pic for you (the shower bit is just to the left of the radiator:
Crossflow Kid said:
5potTurbo said:
The en-suite looks very chic!
Presumably this is a room without windows? If so, it could be the fan you have isn't up to the job.
We had a simliar problem in our house which had a vented bathroom with no windows, but no powered extractor on the vent. I fitted a Marley fan on the vent and we don't have the problem anymore.
Thanks! Must admit was pretty pleased with the results bearing in mind a) I have no tiling experience b) no plumbing experience.Presumably this is a room without windows? If so, it could be the fan you have isn't up to the job.
We had a simliar problem in our house which had a vented bathroom with no windows, but no powered extractor on the vent. I fitted a Marley fan on the vent and we don't have the problem anymore.
Yes, it hasno windows, but it's already got a powered extractor fan, I guess it just needs upgrading a bit then?
Another pic for you (the shower bit is just to the left of the radiator:
I wouldn't know where to start and would end up with flying my Dad out here to help me with it!
5potTurbo said:
I wouldn't know where to start and would end up with flying my Dad out here to help me with it!
First step was to simply turn off the water and rip EVERYTHING out (and discover how shoddily put together new builds are
). Until I'd done that I had no way of knowing if what I had in mind was achievable, and in the end there was a fair bit of re-planning during the refurbishment. When I took the old room apart I still hadn't decided on a light tone or dark, and it was only when the useable space was opened up and bare that a decision could be made. Placing sample tiles/colours against the old bathroom just didn't work.
The end result is, happily, the look I was going for.
Once all the services (water, waste, electrics) were refitted and working it was just a case of putting it all back in, pretty much in the same order in which it all came out.
All I'd say is don't rush it. It took me the best part of two months to complete, with a few whole days over Christmas, then evenings and weekends only.
There were evenings when, due to getting home late/lack of energy/potential noise I'd end up cutting and fixing one, yes one tile on the wall. But as you can see, they ain't little
mk1fan said:
Where's the extractor in relation to the door and the shower?
I'd second that you're probably getting more flow through the shower than before, creating more steam.
The room is an L shape overall, with the door at one "end", with the shower enclosure being formed by the other leg of the L. I'd second that you're probably getting more flow through the shower than before, creating more steam.
Vent is on the corner, so at the point where the centre line of the door and the centre line of the shower meet if that makes sense?
In terms of shower, fan and door, the layout hasn't changed, just the decor and, as mentioned, possibly the flow-rate of the shower itself.
It was worth it though. With no door I can now watch the Mrs under that rain-head shower.
As above, I would suggest that the previous moisture was being absorbed by the bare plaster and carpet. Also, the cold surface of the tiles will increase the ammount of condensation. Keepting the room warmer will reduce this slightly. I do hope that you properly waterproofed your walls around the shower before you put the tiles on?
It sounds like the extractor fan you have is the cheap £15 from B&Q (or £5 cheapest of the cheap rubbish that is used in new-builds these days).
Anyway, yes an improved extractor will improve matters greatly. You can get chic fittings that have the extractor arround a light fitting which are cool. As said earlier the extrator should be above your shower head above the middle of the shower tray.
The first thing to do is look at the ducting. This should be clear and lead to the outside of the house so that the moisture does not cause mischief elsewhere. You can also consider a very powerful (large but low speed) extractor that looks like a giant turbo. You can mount this on something hard and ensure that it is decoupled from your cieling joists and ducting (using anti vibration mounts and a short length of flexible duct - like on the extract for your tumble drier) this, combined with baffled outlets will make the extracton system virtually silent.
It sounds like the extractor fan you have is the cheap £15 from B&Q (or £5 cheapest of the cheap rubbish that is used in new-builds these days).
Anyway, yes an improved extractor will improve matters greatly. You can get chic fittings that have the extractor arround a light fitting which are cool. As said earlier the extrator should be above your shower head above the middle of the shower tray.
The first thing to do is look at the ducting. This should be clear and lead to the outside of the house so that the moisture does not cause mischief elsewhere. You can also consider a very powerful (large but low speed) extractor that looks like a giant turbo. You can mount this on something hard and ensure that it is decoupled from your cieling joists and ducting (using anti vibration mounts and a short length of flexible duct - like on the extract for your tumble drier) this, combined with baffled outlets will make the extracton system virtually silent.
It was the door that was stopping at least some of the steam. interesting to see how a bigger fan will cure the problem - I suspect it could make it worse.
At the end of the day steam is caused by hot air from the shower mixing with cold air, getting rid of air with an extractor will pull in more cold air and could make matters worse.
The only way to alleviate the problem is some sort of door to fully enclose the shower.
I've fitted a cover to my shower cubicle - no extractor. Almost no steam even in winter.
At the end of the day steam is caused by hot air from the shower mixing with cold air, getting rid of air with an extractor will pull in more cold air and could make matters worse.
The only way to alleviate the problem is some sort of door to fully enclose the shower.
I've fitted a cover to my shower cubicle - no extractor. Almost no steam even in winter.
Crossflow Kid said:
Thanks for the tips. Will have a look at the weekend. An uprated fan appears to be in the cards.
something that pulls a min 15 litres a second , preferably 30 .Also , is there sufficient fresh air getting in to the space ? by either a ducted trickle vent from outside or a crude 1/2 " removed from the bottom of the door .
If there is nothing to replace the air being extracted , the fan , new or old will be moving just about sfa .
Busamav said:
Crossflow Kid said:
Thanks for the tips. Will have a look at the weekend. An uprated fan appears to be in the cards.
something that pulls a min 15 litres a second , preferably 30 .Also , is there sufficient fresh air getting in to the space ? by either a ducted trickle vent from outside or a crude 1/2 " removed from the bottom of the door .
If there is nothing to replace the air being extracted , the fan , new or old will be moving just about sfa .
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff