Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - Bathroom fan--necessary?

How important is it to have an exhaust fan in a bathroom with a window? The bath I'm thinking about has a shower in the tub and is a fairly small room.

Unless you will really keep the window open every time the shower is used, you need an exhaust fan.

The accumulating moisture will eventually cause mildew on surfaces and deterioration of wood and sheetrock materials, unless it is adequately exhausted from the room. The moisture can be more of a problem in a small room than a large one because the air becomes saturated more quickly.

Hope this helps.

Do a test...go to radio shack and buy a humidity gauge...about $15...set it in the bathroom in a few different scenarios...with the door and window closed...with the window open...then put it outside the bathroom with the same scenario's...you'll see how much humidity get put into the house...then you decide if you need one...

Hope that helps...that's what I did...
John

I bought a house last year in Dallas Tx and the house inspector said the new local code states you need an exhaust fan in each bathroom with a tub/shower. Something to consider if you plan on selling your house in the future b/c I imagine the inspector will be looking for such a thing.

The fan made a huge difference on the moisture buildup in my bathrooms. If you consider all the problems with moisture these days it seems best to get it outside ASAP.

Thanks, I made the decision to get one. Glad to know there's yet another reason it was the right decision.