Ventilation in the bath: options, their pros and cons

Note that in our country SNiP 41-01-2003 “Heating, ventilation and air conditioning” is in force. It regulates ventilation rates in public, residential and industrial premises. However, such norms do not apply to baths! This is a special room where the microclimate changes significantly, and the temperature and humidity reach stress levels.

This is a very important difference between the bath and all other rooms, because the change in the microclimate here occurs in a short time, and people are in the steam room for a short time. Such distinctive features of the bath necessitate a special approach to creating effective ventilation..

As in all other rooms, there can be two types of ventilation in the bath: natural and forced..

Let’s first deal with the types of natural ventilation in bath rooms:

1. Airing. The simplest option, which does not require any additional costs for arrangement. We just open the door to the steam room, the window in the dressing room, we arrange a draft. But this method has its drawbacks. Firstly, the steam from the steam room usually does not go outside, but into other rooms where high humidity and condensation appear. Secondly, it is impossible to keep the door open all the time, and as soon as it closes, the humidity and temperature indicators rise sharply again. Thus, airing, of course, helps to reduce the temperature and humidity inside the bath, but can only be used occasionally, in case of urgent need, as a temporary measure. An exception is a special opening at the bottom of the steam room door, which is traditionally closed with a decorative grill. Such ventilation will work constantly;

2. Oven ventilation. This option can only be used if the furnace is located directly in the steam room. Warm air will be removed from the room through the firebox and chimney. Natural ventilation can be controlled using the firebox door and a gate (valve). However, ventilating with an oven does not allow the temperature and humidity to drop quickly. In addition, its efficiency will depend on the furnace draft;

3. Ventilation through vents. These are special holes in the walls of the steam room. They need to be planned even at the construction stage, because later it will be difficult to drill a hole in the logs, you can stumble upon a dowel. Usually, the vents are placed under the shelves of the bath, about 20 cm from the floor level, and under the ceiling – for the release of warm air, which, as you know, rises up. Thus, two air vents – above and below the steam room – will provide natural ventilation of the room. You can regulate the air flow using special dampers, which, by the way, can look very attractive. Outside, the air outlet is closed by a grate.

Now let’s move on to forced ventilation in the bath. The most common way is to install a fan in the air duct, a hole in the wall. The fan should be chosen based on its power parameters, they must correspond to the size of the room. According to experts, if the volume of the steam room is 12 m³, then the fan power must be 72 m³/hour. This provides six-fold air exchange throughout the room within an hour..

Important! The protection of the fan casing installed in the steam room must be at least IP44 according to European parameters. Remember that the electrical appliance will have to operate in extreme conditions of humidity and high temperature, so take care of the safety of the case and wiring.

Experts, as in the case of air vents, advise making outlets under the ceiling, this is where the fan will be installed. Cold air inlets are again located at the bottom of the steam room door, under the shelves. If the floor in the steam room is drain, then the inlets are not needed at all – the air will pass through the cracks in a natural way.

Important!Bath ventilation will be most effective if the inlet and outlet openings are diagonally or on opposite walls.

Experts advise doing forced ventilation in the bath. In this case, the air will enter the room forcibly, but it will come out naturally. Exhaust – the opposite case, when air is forcibly removed from the room, but enters in a natural way. With exhaust ventilation, the fans operate in difficult conditions, removing hot and humid air, but the option is generally also effective. But supply and exhaust ventilation is usually equipped only in large bath complexes, this is an expensive and difficult to install type.

Experts believe that for a medium-sized budget bath, only two types of natural ventilation will be enough – through the firebox of the stove and with the help of ventilation. Perfumes will also be a good option for ventilation of most baths..