Importance of Exhaust Fans in Our Homes

Importance of Exhaust Fans in Our Homes

While most of us are used to the exhaust fans in our kitchens and bathroom, we don’t really understand the importance of an exhaust fan beyond its air refreshing function. We simple think kitchen exhaust fans help clear the smoke and steam from the kitchen and bathroom fan is used to keep it odorless.

But exhaust fans perform a lot of other underlying functions that are not so obvious. Take for instance the job of a kitchen exhaust fan. It clears the air of the stem and the smell of the food. If you were to accidentally burn something, it will also clear the smoke. Now imagine if you didn’t have a fan in kitchen to get rid of exhaust.

The steam will settle on the cupboards and walls, encouraging mold and mildew. The kitchen will continue to hold the old food smell and the smoke and the oil will start to stain the wall. Not a pretty picture is it? We also tend to keep potatoes, onions etc outside in the kitchen and they will start rotting fast due to the excess moisture in the air.

The bathroom exhaust fan plays a similar role. Apart from odor, bathrooms tend to have more humidity with constant water use. This humidity can travel throughout house damaging wood work and one might even see fungal and mildew growth here and there.

For this reason it’s very necessary that both bathroom and kitchen fans have ducts that finish out the house. If the ducts are blocked or terminate within the house, the moisture will pool in and damage the surrounding areas of construction. If the bathroom exhaust fan stop working, you probably will start to see signs like mold on the wall, peeling paint or wall paper, moisture marks on tiles and roof, frost on window, rust on shower head and other metal finishing in the bath.

The need for a garage exhaust fan is something people sometimes overlook as it’s not as frequently used as the bathroom and kitchen. However, garages are not always as well insulated as our homes and we tend to store multiple things in the garage along with our car- like fabrics and wood, both of which have a tendency to grab moisture and culture mold and other fungus like growths. And since the garage is essentially connected to your home, this pores will eventually drift into the air you breathe and cause health problems, even though your exhaust fans in kitchen and bathroom are working.

The garage exhaust fan, run occasionally will not only keep the moisture level low but also keep the foundation of the building strong, since in many houses, the garage is part of the main building. Any damage to the garage walls and roof in the form of damp can cost you thousands of dollars in reconstruction.

Moreover, mold, mildew, odor – all these can affect our health as well, especially causing asthma or allergies in children and can even cause serious fungal infections in adults. Mold may not easy to spot but you have peeling paint or wallpaper or cobwebs on the wall, it may be mold. If you suspect mold, you can take a sample and take it for testing to a lab. Install proper sized exhaust fans for most efficient ventilation, whether it’s your kitchen, bathroom or garage.