Is a Dirty Exhaust Fan a Good Thing?

It might seem like an odd question, but is a dirty exhaust fan actually a good thing? The simple answer is no, but to answer the question fully, we need to look at it a little differently.

What is the Purpose of an Exhaust Fan?

The main purpose of an exhaust fan is to improve the indoor air quality of the room by removing moisture, odors and contaminates from the living space. This means that particles are going to be traveling through the exhaust fan and ducting.

How is a Dirty Exhaust Fan a Good Thing?

A dirty exhaust fan, or one that has a build-up of dirt on it is a good thing in the sense the fan is operating correctly and effectively. As contaminates travel through the fan, they are inevitably going to build up on the inner workings on the fan. Most commonly on the fan blade and the fan grill. In its simplest form, this means the exhaust fan is doing its job and removing the unwanted contaminates from the living space. If you exhaust fan runs for any length of time (months/years) and you never need to clean it, it means one of two things. One, you live in a home that has no dust, no contaminates, no pets, and probably no people. Second, the fan is not being used as much as you think it is or should be.

How is a Dirty Exhaust Fan a Bad Thing?

Before the screaming, yelling and rebuttals start pouring in – yes, we agree that a dirty exhaust fan is not a good thing for the overall function of the fan. As dirt and debris builds up in and on the exhaust fan as well as the ducting, the performance of the fan is going to reduce. You will typically see a decrease in the amount of airflow the fan is able to produce and an increase in the sound level. As we mentioned before, the most common place for dirt build-up is on the fan blade in the form of what is going to look like lint. This build-up on the fan blade adds weight and causes the motor to have to work harder. This not only can reduce the effectiveness of the exhaust fan; it can also shorten the motor life. The same holds true with build-up in the other areas such as the grill and especially the ducting. The narrower the openings become, the less effective the exhaust fan will be.

What Should I Do?

The best way to combat a dirty exhaust fan is to have a regular cleaning schedule. Most maintenance can be done by the average homeowner. There are however a few steps to take to reduce the chance of injury or damaging your fan.

First and foremost, consult the cleaning instructions for your particular model. While most cleaning instructions for exhaust fans are similar, there are differences. Fans with a light will have slightly different instructions than one without. In general, never use water or liquid cleaning products directly on the fan motor. For parts you can use a liquid cleaner or soap/water to clean, always makes sure they are completely dry before reinstalling and restoring power.

Second, always make sure to turn the power off to your exhaust fan before starting any cleaning or maintenance.

Third, if you are unsure of how to clean your exhaust fan, consult a HVAC or Electrical professional. Duct cleaning service can also be another resource to consult.

While we will admit, asking the question – Is a Dirty Exhaust Fan a Good Thing, is a bit of a leading or trick question, it does prove that it is doing what it is supposed to be doing. As we outlined, taking a few steps to ensure your fan is clean and properly maintained will benefit your home’s indoor air quality as well as the life of your fan.

Learn More

To access Air King user manuals, including maintenance instructions, visit the User Manuals section of the Air King website. To learn more about Air King exhaust fans, visit the exhaust fan section of the Air King website.

Using Flex Ducting with an Exhaust Fan

A question that comes up often is if flex ducting can be used to exhaust a fan. The simple answer is yes, but it is a little more complicated than that. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of flex ducting:

PRO – Easier to Install

There is no doubt about it, flex ducting is a lot easier to install than rigid ducting. With rigid ducting, you have to plan out the system and account for elbows as well as needing to bind the ducting together with tape or adhesive. Flex ducting allows you to run one continuous line right to the wall or roof cap without much thought.

PRO – Easier for Room Level Installations

When installing an exhaust fan in a location that does not have attic assess, using flex ducting is an almost must. It allows you to make the connection to the fan’s duct collar without needing to cut a larger opening (and then repairing) in the ceiling.

PRO – Cost Effective

Generally, it will be less expensive to use flex ducting over rigid ducting, especially when you add in the extra labor involved.

CON – Lower Performance

When using flex ducting, one of the biggest issues is reduction in performance of the exhaust fan. The ducting will reduce the airflow and increase the sound level. The issue comes from the ridges in the ducting. Air gets “trapped” in them and causes a higher static pressure (read our earlier post here regarding static pressure to learn more). Higher static pressure causes the motor to work harder, which causes it to run less efficiently and louder.

CON – Not Meeting Specifications

This is a continuation of the lower performance. In situations where a specific airflow (CFM) is required, the lower performance from the ducting could cause the fan to fail inspection. For instance, if you have a fan that you expect to perform at 50 CFM but you are using flexible ducting, it might only produce 40 to 45 CFM. That might put you below the required airflow and cause the fan to fail.

CON – Less Durable

Typically, flexible ducting is constructed of either thin plastic or thin aluminum. Both will deteriorate over time or are very easily punctured. Rigid ducting is either going to be PVC plastic or thicker wall metal and should last a lifetime.

While using flexible ducting has a time and place, we do not recommend it in situations where rigid ducting can be used. Rigid ducting will almost always provide, better ducting, better performance and longer life. To learn more about Air King exhaust fans, visit airkinglimited.com. Also, read through our many blog posts regarding ducting, static pressure and choosing exhaust fans.

Garage Ventilation

Garage ventilation is something that is very easy to overlook but can have a big impact on your home’s overall indoor air quality. Let’s first look at what is happening in a typical garage and what contaminates are being produce. 

Automobiles

The biggest source of contamination in a garage is almost always going to be a car. While a gas-powered car will certainly produce larger amounts of contaminates in the form of carbon monoxide, electric cars also produce contaminates. Automobile contaminates include off gassing from tires, dirt and debris, fluid or oil leaks and so forth.

Storage

For many, the garage is a storage area for everything from a lawn mower to holiday decorations to paint to spare gasoline and the list goes on. Many of these items produce some unwanted contamination into the air.

Trash

A lot of homes store their trash cans in the garage. While the contaminates mostly are smells (that chicken container that has been sitting for three days in a hot garage), some can be a little more aggressive like oily rags, old cleaners, painting supplies and so forth.

Heat

In the summer months garages can get really hot. That heat can stay trapped in the garage and warm the entire home.

Now that we have identified what is happening in the garage, we need to talk about the types of garages. There are basically three different type of garages and all of them have varying ventilation needs.

Attached Garage with a Room Overtop (FROG)

This is a garage that is integrated in the design of the home. Some refer to them as FROG or Front Room Over Garage. Builder’s use this style to maximize space and add square footage. This building type requires the highest amount of garage ventilation. The reason being that contaminates from the garage can penetrate into the living spaces in multiple ways. Depending on the construction and the amount of contaminates building up in the garage, they can seep into the room above the garage through the floor. Hopefully the home was built with barriers in place to prevent this but unfortunately some are not or those barriers fail over time. A second way contaminates can enter the home is through the attached walls. As with the room above the garage, if not properly constructed, contaminates can seep through the walls. The third and most common way that contaminates can enter the home is through the connecting door. This happens each time the door is opened and a person walks into the home. The process is going to allow contaminates to come in with the air or brought in when people enter. Depending on how tight the door is sealed, this could also be a source where the contaminates are seeping into the home.

Standard Attached Garage

A standard attached garage is going to have all of the same possible points of contamination as the FROG just without the room overtop. While this has the potential to produce less infiltration into the home, there is still a need for garage ventilation.

Detached Garage

A detached garage is one that does not have any connection to the home’s main living areas and therefore will not be a direct source of contamination into the home. The contaminates that you need to be concerned with are only when occupying the space – especially if it is used as a workshop or a place that is occupied for extended times.

Now that we have identified the contaminates and the type of garages, why and how do we to ventilate them? Many argue that a garage is typically not as well sealed as the main living areas so there is significantly more natural ventilation than the rest of the home. An additional argument is that opening the garage door provides all the ventilation that you need. Both points are valid however the amount of contaminates that can build up in a garage may not be able to be properly ventilated through these means. Think about when you walk into the garage after it has been closed for a while. Is there a strong scent of gas, rubber, paint, chemicals and so on? Those are all the contaminates that are building up and are possibly seeping into your home (for attached garages) or you are breathing in when you are in the garage.

Having some type of exhaust fan system in place is the best solution for mitigating these contaminates as well as any heat buildup. A solution like the Air King EWF-180 is designed to vent contaminated air directly out of spaces like garages. If you don’t want a fan running continuously, adding a timer is an option. With a timer you can have the fan operating during the times of day where the most contamination buildup is occurring. While opening widows (if present) is helpful, it will not provide the airflow you need for proper garage ventilation. Having windows open in your garage could also be a security risk. To learn more about Air King’s ventilation solutions, visit airkinglimited.com.

5 Signs of Poor Ventilation In Your Home

Our homes are our sanctuaries and we want to keep them as healthy as possible so identifying signs of poor ventilation is a great place to start. Ventilation simply put is removing the “bad” air from inside the home and replacing it with fresh air. This can be done in a few different ways. Mechanical ventilation is the most common. This is where an exhaust fan is utilized to exhaust the stale/contaminated air out of the home. Other methods are considered natural ventilation where you rely on opening windows or doors to allow the fresh air to come in and push the stale air out. There are more nuances to these but the basics are either you are controlling the ventilation of the home through an exhaust fan or you are letting nature control it through openings in the home. Now that we have an understanding of ventilation let’s take a look at some of the signs your home is not being properly ventilated.

Mold or Mildew

The easiest place to look for this is in the bathrooms as that is where it will be most prevalent. If your bathroom is not properly ventilated, it won’t take long for the constant presence of moisture to create a mold and mildew issue.  This typically happens for one of 3 reasons:

1. A bathroom exhaust fan is not present. Without any way of mitigating moisture, it will be very difficult to control moisture build-up. We would highly recommend installing an exhaust fan.
2. The current exhaust fan is not being used properly or is not working. This could be either it doesn’t get turned on or is not run for a long enough time. For most bathrooms, the fan should run for at least 20 minutes after the shower has been used. A solution for both of these is to install a humidity sensor that will automatically sense the humidity level of the room and turn the fan on or off accordingly. If you are in the market for a new exhaust fan you can look for one that has this feature integrated into the fan. For existing exhaust fans, a wall switch (like the Air King DH55) can easily be added.
3. The current exhaust fan is not powerful enough for the room. In general, you will need at least 1 CFM (cubic feet per minute) of ventilation for one square foot of space. For instance, a 10-foot by 10-foot bathroom equals 100 square feet, requiring at least 100 CFM of ventilation. The challenge is that just because a fan says it delivers a certain amount of CFM, it might not. Factors such as how the fan was installed, how much ducting and many more factors can decrease the fan’s airflow. The solution might be to upgrade your fan to a higher airflow. If installing a new fan is not an option, running it longer is a work around. You can also consider a humidity switch as was discussed above.

Dust

This seems like a little bit of an odd one. All homes have dust – right? While that is true, let’s take a look at how dust accumulates. In order for dust to build-up it cannot be moving around. It has to settle in one place. If your home is being properly ventilated a good amount of the dust should be exiting the home. It will not be 100% but it should be noticeably less. Having an exhaust fan running continuously can help the build-up. National building codes now require a whole-house continuously running exhaust fan to be installed in a central location of the home. This is a great first step to having a properly ventilated home.

Musty Smell

Does your home smell musty, especially when you come back after being away for a few days. This is a tell-tale sign of poor ventilation. The smell is typically coming from a build-up of moisture somewhere in the home and is usually because fresh air is not getting into the home. As with the other signs, having properly operating exhaust fans – especially a whole house exhaust fan will greatly reduce moisture build-up and the musty smells that it produces.

Sickness

Does it seem like someone is always sick in the household? A contributing factor could be poor indoor air quality. If things like mold and mildew are present in the home and are not mitigated, they will cause a constant state of unhealthy air to be breathed in by all the inhabitants of the home which could lead to sickness. Poor ventilation can also contribute to illnesses being passed from one member of the household to another as well as prolonged illness. Have you heard the term “go out and get some fresh air”? A second best to that is making sure the air inside is fresh. While having a properly ventilated home is not going to protect you from ever being sick, it could greatly increase your health by reducing the factors that lead to you being sick. If you are in a season where it seems like someone is always sick, try looking at your home’s ventilation and make adjustments to increase the amount of ventilation and especially the amount of fresh air coming into the home.

Hot or Cold Rooms

Here is another item that most people would not consider as part of signs of poor ventilation but do you have areas of your home that are either too cold or too hot? While there are multiple factors that could contribute to that – poor insulation, HVAC system issues, poorly installed windows and so forth, a hidden item might be ventilation. How ventilation plays into this is by making sure there is a good airflow through the home. This allows the conditioned air to be properly distributed through throughout the home. Without airflow your HVAC system might be pumping cool air (during the summer month) into the house but without good room to room airflow, some rooms will not be cooled as well as others. A simple way to demonstrate or test this is to go to the room furthest away from your HVAC system on a hot day where the air conditioner is running. Close the door for a little while and see what happens to the temperature of the room. It will probably increase compared to the rest of the home. This happens because the cooler air from the other rooms is not able to be circulated as it needs to be. While in theory each room should be able to be cooled (or heated in the winter) on its own – in reality, it just doesn’t happen that way and the home relies on the air being circulated.

Is your home showing signs of poor ventilation? We hope that this article can help you identify and correct them. Air King offers a full line of ventilation solutions that can help the overall indoor air quality of your home. To learn more about Air King exhaust fans and fresh air intake, visit airkinglimited.com.

When considering the overall indoor air quality of your home, many people will overlook laundry room ventilation. For the most part homes will have ventilation fans in the kitchen and bathrooms – which is a good thing, the laundry room however is almost always overlooked. Let take a look at components in the laundry room.

In homes that have a dedicated laundry room, they are typically isolated without any windows and very poor natural ventilation. The washing machine itself might not be a direct source of contamination but the laundry detergent and fabric softener are. For the most part these cleaners are stored in the same room and without ventilation, they can decrease the indoor air quality of the room causing you to breath them in while doing the laundry. A second component of the washer is it produces wet clothing. While most of the time this is going to be transferred to the dryer, it will increase the humidity level of the room. Without proper ventilation that extra humidity can lead to mildew or mold. The other major appliance in the room is the dryer. Whether you have a gas or electric dryer will have different impacts on the air quality. In a perfect world any contaminates from the dryer will be exhausted out the ducting from the dryer. Unfortunately, most systems are not perfect and a least a little bit of contaminates in the form of gas, lint and so forth are going to enter the room. Having proper laundry room ventilation will greatly reduce the risks to you.

We have covered the major appliances but in a good number of laundry rooms there are also some not so thought about items like a sink. Many times, the laundry room utility sink is used to dispose of items that you wouldn’t want to use the kitchen sink for. These can include paint clean-up, rags used for cleaning and other items that could contain chemicals that are being released into the room during the cleaning process. The laundry room can also be a storage place for household cleaners, bug sprays and so forth. All of these need to be ventilated out of the home.

Laundry room ventilation is something that definitely needs more attention given to it. The good news is that in general, a very small and inexpensive exhaust fan will be more than enough to properly ventilate the room and provide very good indoor air quality. To view Air King’s line of exhaust fans, visit airkinglimited.com.

Most homes across North America have at least one exhaust fan and eventually it will need to be replaced which begs the question – should I upgrade the exhaust fan? When we say upgrade the exhaust fan, we are referring to replacing it with a model that might be quieter, have more airflow or features like a humidity sensor. There are a few considerations when upgrading.

Is my old fan no longer working?

This is probably the most common reason why exhaust fans are replaced. In this case you have basically two options – replace it with the exact or similar model or upgrade it to a better model. A few simple questions can direct you to the decision that is best for you:

Did you have any issues with mold, mildew or the steam from showers clearing fast enough? If the answer is no, then you probably have the right amount of airflow. This is measured in CFM (cubic feet per minute). If not, this is a good time to upgrade the amount of airflow.

Was the current fan too loud? Sound in exhaust fans is measured in Sones. One sone is about the sound a refrigerator makes, two sones is twice that and so on. A fan that is at 0.3 sones is almost silent.

Do you have a light or do you want to add one? If the room is dark and you want to add lighting, this would be an opportunity to add a fan/light combination. Depending on how you want it to function (light working independent of the exhaust fan or not), this might require additional wires to be run to the fan.

Would the room benefit from having a humidity sensor? A humidity sensor either as a wall control or integrated into the fan is very helpful in rooms that always seem to struggle with moisture. The humidity sensor will turn the fan on or off depending on the humidity level of the room. This is really helpful is situations where the fan doesn’t get turned on or is not left on for the proper amount of time. A humidity sensor automates that process.

Is my current fan not effective?

Unfortunately, when it comes to the exhaust fans in a home, builders will cut corners a bit and install the least expensive model on the market. While for the most part they are still okay, there is a lot of room for improvement. You might look to upgrade the exhaust fan if the fan is not properly clearing the room of moisture or odors, the fan is too loud, or something is not mechanically working with it. While replacing a fan has its challenges, for the most part it is something that an average do-it-yourselfer can accomplish in a coupe of hours. A lot will depend on if you can access the fan from above (attic), the physical size of the fan and if the old fan’s ducting matches the new one. When deciding to upgrade, you can use the same criteria discussed in the section above.

Do I need to add an exhaust fan?

You might run into a situation where an exhaust fan wasn’t installed. In years past the building code only required that a window be the bathroom. The theory was that if you open the window, it provided the airflow to clear the room of moisture and odors. While there is some truth to that, thankfully we have evolved to understand that a mechanical solution (exhaust fan) is a much better and more controlled way to provide ventilation. Getting back to the question of if you don’t have an exhaust fan installed, this is a great opportunity to make sure you choose one that will fit your needs. Once again, you can use the same criteria as was outlined in the “Is my old fan no longer working?” section to ensure you make the right choice.

Determining if you should upgrade the exhaust fan of your home does not need to be a difficult one. Hopefully the information provide in this post will help you through the process. To learn more about Air King’s exhaust fan solutions and upgrade options visit airkinglimited.com

Choosing an Exhaust Fan With or Without a Light

When choosing an exhaust fan for your home, there are many features you need to consider – what sound level, do I want an item like a humidity sensor, how much airflow do I need and so on. One of the first decisions is typically if you need a light or not. Sometimes it is an easy one such as if the fan will be used in a location where a light is not needed. This is typically the case when it is used as a continuous running fan to comply with building codes outline by ASHRAE 62.2. Other times however it is not as simple.

In rooms that either need a light or would benefit from additional lighting you basically have two options. Utilize a combination exhaust fan with light or install a secondary light source. While this might seem like a simple decision, and for certain installations it is, there are a few considerations to take into account.

Light Location

In many installations the exhaust fan is located to maximize the ventilation of the room. That can mean installing it in the shower enclosure or maybe directly over a toilet. In some cases, the best location for the lighting and the ventilation might be the same but in other installations it might not be. For instance, if the room needs more ventilation over a toilet but the lighting is needed more over the sink, then it might be better to utilize a fan without a light and install a separate light over the sink.

Cost Consideration

When choosing an exhaust fan, cost is probably a top factor. A fan light combination is going to cost more than an equivalent model that does not have a light. There are also some other costs associated with a fan light combination. If the fan and light will be wired together (meaning anytime the fan is on the light is also on), the wiring will be the same as a fan without a light. However, if you are going to install the unit so the light and exhaust fan operate separately, there are additional costs for the extra wiring and you will typically need an upgraded switch (at least a two function from a one function switch). Before anyone starts to yell – yes there are additional costs to installing a separate light in the room as well including the fixture as well as the wiring. What you need to take into consideration is how much more does the fan with light cost in relationship to how much more a light fixture will cost. In cases where there are already a bunch of other lights being installed, adding one more might not be that much. In cases (such as a powder room) that might only need the light from the exhaust fan, it might not be cost effective to have a separate light installed.

The Aesthetics

How a fan looks can play a big factor in the decision-making process. In general, a fan with a light will need to be a bit larger and have more of a presence in the room where a fan without a light will have a lower profile. In some cases, such as a decorative fan light combination, it is a design feature of the room. In other cases, it might not fit in with the aesthetics of the room.

The Lighting

Almost all exhaust fans with light are going to have some type of lens cover on them. This is to protect the lights from having water spray up onto them – especially if they are used in a shower stall. With the lighting needing to be protected it can diminish how much light the fixture is actually giving off and how the light is dispersed throughout the room. Recessed lighting is going to be more focused and “bright” in one area. Lighting with a lens cover is going to be more spread out but might not be as bright. Which one to choose is dependent on how you are looking to light the space.

Hopefully this article will help you when choosing an exhaust fan and if you want to utilize one with or without a light feature. For more information about Air King exhaust fans – with and without lighting, visit airkinglimiited.com.