Showerthought: my bathroom fan was just moving air around, not actually venting it

Found out last month the duct from my upstairs fan was just dumping into the attic, not outside. Had to cut a new hole in the roof to fix it. Anyone else find a hidden venting mistake in their old house?

3 comments

3 Comments

miles_sanchez1mo ago

Honestly that's still venting, just to a different space. The air is moving from a wet room to a dry one, which is the whole point. My last place had the dryer vent just blowing under the house. That was a real problem because of the lint and heat. An attic is big and passive, so dumping moist air up there isn't the same kind of mistake. It's not ideal, but it's way better than letting mold grow in your bathroom.

adam_lewis1mo ago

Yeah I saw a home inspector talk about this once. He said venting into an attic can still cause mold on the wood over time, especially in colder climates. It's definitely better than nothing, but it's still a risk.

morgan_ramirez27d agoMost Upvoted

Huh, never thought about the lint catching fire risk up there though.