- A bathroom exhaust fan sucks out bad odors and humidity from the bathroom. The removal of bad odor is a nice convenience, but the removal of humidity is important to the structural integrity of the house. Water from the sink and the shower creates a humid environment in the bathroom. If the humidity is allowed to remain, mold and rot can develop in the walls and floors. Particularly bathrooms that do not have windows to provide ventilation need a bathroom exhaust fan. Even when a window does exist, a bathroom exhaust fan will increase ventilation efficiency.
- Bathroom exhaust fans are installed in the ceiling of the bathroom, therefore installation is simpler in a house that does not have an attic: the fan simply vents through the roof. If the house does have an attic, the fan vents into ducts that run through the attic and out the roof. All bathroom exhaust fans must be hooked into an electrical source to power the fan.
- New houses commonly have bathroom exhaust fans built-in, but many older homes do not have them. Fans can be installed by contractors so that they are connected to the light switch in the bathroom. This way they will turn on whenever the lights are turned on. Alternatively, they can be connected to their own switch, so that they can be controlled separately from the lights. Timers can also be installed on fans to control the amount of time that they stay on for.
- One of the main complaints about bathroom exhaust fans is that they are noisy. However, newer bathroom exhaust fans make much less noise than their older counterparts, and they are also more energy efficient.
