"Occasionally kicks on randomly if it's super humid outside, but nothing major."
Mine does that too, but honestly, I find it more annoying than helpful—especially when it randomly wakes me up at night. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive...or my fan has a mischievous personality.
Mine used to do that too, drove me nuts at first. I remember waking up at like 3 am thinking someone had broken into the house, only to realize it was just the fan kicking on because of humidity. Took me a while to get used to it, honestly. Eventually, I figured out it was actually doing its job pretty well—keeping mold and moisture down, especially in summer when things get sticky.
Have you checked if yours has a humidity sensor built-in? Some of the newer models have adjustable sensitivity settings. Mine had a little dial hidden behind the cover that I didn't even notice until months later. Tweaking that helped a lot with the random nighttime wake-ups. Might be worth looking into if you haven't already.
But hey, mischievous personality sounds about right... sometimes I swear appliances have their own secret lives when we're not looking. Had a fridge once that would randomly start humming loudly whenever I had guests over—like it was jealous or something. Anyway, glad your reno turned out comfortable overall. Bathrooms can be tricky to get right for everyone, so that's definitely a win.
Haha, your fridge story made me chuckle—I've had appliances pull similar stunts. Had a dishwasher once that would randomly beep at odd hours, like it was trying to communicate in Morse code or something. Never did figure out what it wanted...
Anyway, about the bathroom fan thing—totally agree on the humidity sensor. I've installed a bunch of these in rental properties over the years, and honestly, they're worth every penny. Mold and moisture aren't just annoying; they're genuine health hazards and can cause structural damage if left unchecked. I always tell people it's better to have a fan that's slightly over-sensitive than one that doesn't kick on enough.
One thing I'd add though—make sure you periodically check and clean the vent ducts too. Had a tenant once who complained about the fan running constantly, and when I finally got up there to check it out, turns out the duct was almost completely blocked with lint and dust buildup. Not only was it making the fan run overtime (and driving them nuts), but it was also a serious fire hazard waiting to happen. After cleaning it out, everything went back to normal.
Glad your reno turned out comfortable for everyone though. Bathrooms are notoriously tricky—so many little details that can go sideways if you're not careful. Sounds like you nailed it overall, even if your fan has a bit of an attitude problem...
Good call on checking the ducts regularly—I've seen similar issues during my apprenticeship. Had a homeowner once whose bathroom fan was barely pulling any air. When we opened up the duct, it was packed solid with bird nesting material...talk about a fire hazard waiting to happen. Definitely reinforced for me how important it is to install proper vent covers and do routine checks. Glad your reno turned out well overall, even if appliances sometimes have minds of their own.
That's a good reminder about vent covers. I had a similar issue—not birds, but mice. They somehow squeezed into the ductwork and made a cozy home right above the bathroom ceiling. Took me forever to figure out where that scratching sound was coming from...ugh. After that, I installed metal mesh covers on all exterior vents. Definitely worth the extra effort, even if it seems minor at first. Glad your reno worked out nicely, though—bathrooms can be tricky to get just right.
