Today’s homes are designed and built to be more airtight and energy efficient than ever, so ventilating the pollutants from cooking, showering, and cleaning is vital to the health of the residents and to the structural integrity of the home. Learning how to properly ventilate the home, especially the bathroom, is as important to the home as it is to the homeowners.

According to the Home Ventilation Institute, the industry’s trade association, during a shower, the humidity level in a bathroom can reach that of a tropical rain forest—uncomfortable and hot. Just tghe simple act of showering can produce a breeding ground for mold, mildew, and micro-organisms that can not only damage your home but also affect your well-being.

Mold in the bathroom is especially problematic. Mold is a fungus that thrives in warm, dark, humid environments. It spreads via spores that grow on wet or moist organic surfaces such as wood, wallboard, and bathroom tile. The only effective way to prevent mold is to attempt to keep indoor moisture levels low. Mildew is simply a type of mold that spreads particularly well in organic, moisture-rich environments.

The main problem with showering when there is not proper ventilation is the build-up of moisture, which can deteriorate joists above and framing around the bathroom, crack or peel paint, ruin gypsum wallboard, warp cabinets, and erode fixtures. The formation of mildew on tile grout is encouraged by these conditions.

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However, bathroom exhaust fans, ducted to the outside, effectively remove moisture during and after a shower and help prevent the growth of harmful bacteria as well as assist in eliminating unwanted bathroom smells.

The primary use of an exhaust fan is to extract moist and stale air from the bathroom to outside the home. An exhaust fan is designed to be out of sight, anchored to the ceiling between joists, with an exhaust duct leading to the outside. The only part of an exhaust fan you should see is the grille.

If you’ve spent years not utilizing your bathroom exhaust fan because of the noise, consider that some of the latest fans are nearly inaudible. Today’s exhaust fans no longer sound like a Boeing 757 landing on top of your home, plus, they are easy to install.