Cooling down my bathroom

[BlueHouse]

I have an interior bathroom with no windows.  I use the exhaust fan religiously whenever I shower.  I spend the last minutes of my shower in as cool water as I can stand.  I've gotten to a routine where I can produce very little or no steam on the shower doors or mirrors. 

Still, drying my hair in the summertime is difficult.  By the time my hair is dry, the roots of my hair and scalp are damp with sweat due to the humidity.  The heat from the dryer and the residual humidity from the shower make it so uncomfortable, my face will even start to sweat.   This is problematic in the mornings while I'm getting ready for work.   I have a small fan on the countertop that I have pointed directly at my face while I'm drying my hair, which helps a little, but I really don't like having a small appliance on my countertop all summer long.

Short of showering the night before, are there any other ideas for cooling down the bathroom and me (without making the rest of the house overly cooled)?  I'm considering getting a wall-mounted fan (just a circulating fan...not an exhaust fan because I already have one of those).  What I've seen so far are just regular ugly-looking fans with wall mounts, and they are in the $300-400 range! Any other ideas out there? 

[anotherAlias]

I had a similar problem compounded by a SO who showers immediately after me.  My solution was to dry my hair in another room.  We have another bathroom in the finished basement.  So it is usually a bit cooler and definitely less humid there.  In other living situations, I've used my bedroom or a hallway that had a full length mirror as my hair drying area. I still use a big box fan blowing on me while I dry my hair but not being in the same room as the recent shower helps alot.  Drinking ice water while drying is also helpful if I'm still too hot.

[lthenderson]

Most bathroom exhaust fans suck or technically don't suck enough usually turning over from 90 to 140 cfm. I always upgrade my exhaust fans whenever I get into a new house usually using inline exhaust fans that mount up in the attic and are vented to the outside air (and not in the attic as many I find are) that turns over around 230 to 250 cfm. Once you get a decent exhaust fan, you can take the longest, hottest shower you want and never ever worry about steamed up mirrors.

[bacchi]

Yes, get a better exhaust fan.

[BudgetSlasher]

I agree with getting a better exhaust fan. And leave the fan on after you shower.

If that doesn't help, a fan has to have air available to suck, if there is not enough space around the door (or if you have one like ours that has exterior doors with weatherstripping) you might need to find a way to let a little extra air be pulled into the bathroom. But, only if you are not letting humidity/steam out of the bathroom at the same time.

[redbird]

In addition to the exhaust fan, what kind of light bulbs do you have in your bathroom light fixtures? The previous place I lived had 5 incandescent bulbs in it. The lighting was only above the sink in the Hollywood dressing room bare bulb style. Those bulbs combined with a small space and no windows made the bathroom HOT if you were in it for longer than a few minutes, even if you weren't showering. I changed the bulbs to LEDs and that helped immensely.

[bacchi]

Think about getting a shower shut-off valve. Turn off the water when you shampoo or shave or lather.

[shelivesthedream]

Why are you drying your hair in the bathroom anyway? Why don't you just do it in the bedroom?

[BlueHouse]

I think you guys have touched on something I haven't considered. My bulbs are all CFL, but the one over the toilet is a combined bulb/fan. That bulb never really turns on anymore unless I take a crutch and jiggle it around to make a connection, which I never bother win anymore and has been getting harder and harder to do each time. Now I can only get that bulb to blink while I'm jiggling.

Yet I've been turning the knob all his time not realizing that if the bulb isn't getting powere, then how could the fan that is integrated into the bulb?  When I turn the knob, a sound comes on that I always thought was the fan but maybe isn't.

I've never seen what's up there as I can't reach it from a ladder - because it's over the toilet and next to a ploy wall, very awkward. And it's a push-in bulb, so I can't grip it with one of those bulb changer things. Maybe I need to fupinally get that thing fixed.

[GuitarStv]

Shower with cold water.  This generates almost no humidity, and will give you more time between getting out of the shower and starting to sweat.

[BlueHouse]

Shower with cold water.  This generates almost no humidity, and will give you more time between getting out of the shower and starting to sweat.

I already take some measures to reduce the humidity (partial navy shower, lukewarm water through shampoo, cool to cold water through conditioner, then ice cold for as long as I can stand. 

[Spork]

I think you guys have touched on something I haven't considered. My bulbs are all CFL, but the one over the toilet is a combined bulb/fan. That bulb never really turns on anymore unless I take a crutch and jiggle it around to make a connection, which I never bother win anymore and has been getting harder and harder to do each time. Now I can only get that bulb to blink while I'm jiggling.

Yet I've been turning the knob all his time not realizing that if the bulb isn't getting powere, then how could the fan that is integrated into the bulb?  When I turn the knob, a sound comes on that I always thought was the fan but maybe isn't.

I've never seen what's up there as I can't reach it from a ladder - because it's over the toilet and next to a ploy wall, very awkward. And it's a push-in bulb, so I can't grip it with one of those bulb changer things. Maybe I need to fupinally get that thing fixed.

Turn on the fan.  Strike a match.  Blow it out.  Stand on a ladder/chair and hold the smoking match up by the fan.  If the fan is running, you'll be able to see the smoke zoom up to the fan.

It could just be the light socket.  It's really common for people to over tighten light bulbs and bend that little copper button to hell.  If this is the case, you can kill this circuit at the breaker (<---important).  Reach in the socket with a pair of needle nose pliers and gently bend that button outwards a little.  Then screw that bulb in and see if it works better.  (It could also be the bulb... CFLs are a complicated mess of electronics all in a little package.)

[lbmustache]

I have a similar issue and don't have enough countertop space for a fan. I actually bought one of these: http://www.target.com/p/lasko-6-2-speed-clip-fan-white/-/A-11189992  and clipped it to my light fixture. This will obviously only work if you can do that, or can clip it to the side of your counter.

[C-note]

We have a basement bathroom with a fan but no windows.  My husband likes to shower in the basement bathroom.  He bought a pedestal fan that sits in the hall.  He opens the door and turns the fan on after he's done showering.

[BlueHouse]

I think you guys have touched on something I haven't considered. My bulbs are all CFL, but the one over the toilet is a combined bulb/fan. That bulb never really turns on anymore unless I take a crutch and jiggle it around to make a connection, which I never bother win anymore and has been getting harder and harder to do each time. Now I can only get that bulb to blink while I'm jiggling.

Yet I've been turning the knob all his time not realizing that if the bulb isn't getting powere, then how could the fan that is integrated into the bulb?  When I turn the knob, a sound comes on that I always thought was the fan but maybe isn't.

I've never seen what's up there as I can't reach it from a ladder - because it's over the toilet and next to a ploy wall, very awkward. And it's a push-in bulb, so I can't grip it with one of those bulb changer things. Maybe I need to fupinally get that thing fixed.

Turn on the fan.  Strike a match.  Blow it out.  Stand on a ladder/chair and hold the smoking match up by the fan.  If the fan is running, you'll be able to see the smoke zoom up to the fan.

It could just be the light socket.  It's really common for people to over tighten light bulbs and bend that little copper button to hell.  If this is the case, you can kill this circuit at the breaker (<---important).  Reach in the socket with a pair of needle nose pliers and gently bend that button outwards a little.  Then screw that bulb in and see if it works better.  (It could also be the bulb... CFLs are a complicated mess of electronics all in a little package.)

Will try the match thing tonight (if I can find matches). 
As for the little copper button you mentioned...Not sure if that can happen with a push-in bulb (there's no tightening), but I'll see if I can see it in the dark from a weird angle.   
Is the general thinking that the fan is somewhere in the ceiling and the bulb is just near it?  I thought the bulb and the fan were one and the same (that's how it's been explained to me, and as mentioned before, I've never been able to get the bulb out because of it's awkward location - but will give it another try tonight). 

Thanks very much for the ideas.  (I feel like these would occur to me if I were at all handy).  Please don't hesitate to tell me anything that you think is too basic.  Clearly I need the help!

[Spork]

I think you guys have touched on something I haven't considered. My bulbs are all CFL, but the one over the toilet is a combined bulb/fan. That bulb never really turns on anymore unless I take a crutch and jiggle it around to make a connection, which I never bother win anymore and has been getting harder and harder to do each time. Now I can only get that bulb to blink while I'm jiggling.

Yet I've been turning the knob all his time not realizing that if the bulb isn't getting powere, then how could the fan that is integrated into the bulb?  When I turn the knob, a sound comes on that I always thought was the fan but maybe isn't.

I've never seen what's up there as I can't reach it from a ladder - because it's over the toilet and next to a ploy wall, very awkward. And it's a push-in bulb, so I can't grip it with one of those bulb changer things. Maybe I need to fupinally get that thing fixed.

Turn on the fan.  Strike a match.  Blow it out.  Stand on a ladder/chair and hold the smoking match up by the fan.  If the fan is running, you'll be able to see the smoke zoom up to the fan.

It could just be the light socket.  It's really common for people to over tighten light bulbs and bend that little copper button to hell.  If this is the case, you can kill this circuit at the breaker (<---important).  Reach in the socket with a pair of needle nose pliers and gently bend that button outwards a little.  Then screw that bulb in and see if it works better.  (It could also be the bulb... CFLs are a complicated mess of electronics all in a little package.)

Will try the match thing tonight (if I can find matches). 
As for the little copper button you mentioned...Not sure if that can happen with a push-in bulb (there's no tightening), but I'll see if I can see it in the dark from a weird angle.   
Is the general thinking that the fan is somewhere in the ceiling and the bulb is just near it?  I thought the bulb and the fan were one and the same (that's how it's been explained to me, and as mentioned before, I've never been able to get the bulb out because of it's awkward location - but will give it another try tonight). 

Thanks very much for the ideas.  (I feel like these would occur to me if I were at all handy).  Please don't hesitate to tell me anything that you think is too basic.  Clearly I need the help!

Hmmm... If it is a plug in style base (that's what I'm hearing here) ... then no, probably no little springy button. 

[Goldielocks]

I no longer shampoo my hair every day.   I find this problem of too hot only occurs in the summer (otherwise, I open a window for cool breeze in the morning).


So..  when I need to wash my hair, I do it the night before.  Wet hair going to sleep is also cooling (no a/c here).  In the morning, I may just pop on a shower cap and get the rest of me clean.   This way, drying my hair in the morning only takes 5-10 minutes, maximum, to dry and style, because it partially dried overnight.

[redbird]

I know this thread is about 2 weeks old, but I moved into my house that I bought now! The bathroom fans suck... err, don't suck enough. :) The builder presumably put super cheap ones in the bathroom. They simply don't seem to really help get rid of very much humidity in the bathroom.

I saw suggestions for higher CFM fans. I'm starting to research them now, but does anyone have any brand and/or model suggestions for me? Any help would be very much appreciated!

[lthenderson]

I know this thread is about 2 weeks old, but I moved into my house that I bought now! The bathroom fans suck... err, don't suck enough. :) The builder presumably put super cheap ones in the bathroom. They simply don't seem to really help get rid of very much humidity in the bathroom.

I saw suggestions for higher CFM fans. I'm starting to research them now, but does anyone have any brand and/or model suggestions for me? Any help would be very much appreciated!

My favorite brand has been King Air which sells them in kit form with everything you need. Say for a two bathroom setup, this is the kit I get:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002PU9Q94/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[bacchi]

Panasonic WhisperCeiling.