"Getting the vent close to the main source of humidity can make a huge difference."
Couldn't agree more with this. When we did ours, the vent was originally way off in no-man's land—like someone threw a dart at the ceiling and said "good enough." Ended up moving it closer to the shower, and honestly, best decision we made. Did you have to deal with extra ductwork or was your setup pretty straightforward?
We had a similar issue—our vent was practically useless because it was so far from the shower. Ended up rerouting the ductwork, wasn't too tricky but definitely added an afternoon of work... totally worth it though, bathroom feels way less swampy now.
Had to chuckle at the "swampy" comment... been there, done that. A few thoughts from someone who's tackled more than a few bathroom vent nightmares:
- Totally agree that rerouting ductwork can make a huge difference. People underestimate how much moisture a shower pumps into the air. If your vent isn't close enough, you're basically just decorating your ceiling with mold spots.
- One thing I'd add: make sure your ductwork is insulated if it runs through an attic or cold space. Learned that the hard way when condensation started dripping back down through the fan. Not fun.
- Also, if you're already up there messing around, it's worth checking the fan itself. A lot of older fans are pretty weak. Upgrading to a stronger, quieter model can be a game changer. I swapped mine out last year, and now I don't feel like I'm showering next to a jet engine anymore.
- And speaking of swampiness, don't forget to check the vent cover outside. Birds love building nests in those things, and nothing ruins your carefully rerouted ductwork faster than a family of sparrows moving in.
Glad you got it sorted though—nothing beats stepping out of the shower into a bathroom that doesn't feel like a rainforest.
"make sure your ductwork is insulated if it runs through an attic or cold space. Learned that the hard way when condensation started dripping back down through the fan."
Haha, yep, learned this lesson myself last winter. Thought I had everything sorted until one chilly morning, I'm brushing my teeth and suddenly feel a cold drip on my head—talk about a rude awakening. Insulating the ducts made a huge difference. Glad to know I'm not the only one who's had surprise indoor rain showers...
Same here, dealt with a similar issue a couple years back. I figured my bathroom exhaust fan was good to go after installing it myself—saved a few bucks, felt pretty proud. Then came winter, and suddenly there's water dripping down onto the toilet seat every morning... not exactly what you wanna deal with first thing. Took me a while to pinpoint the cause, but once I insulated those ducts running through the attic, problem solved. Definitely worth the extra effort and minimal expense. Funny how these small details always seem obvious after the fact, huh?
