Bathroom Ventilation Fan...leaking??

[freshprince1]

So we noticed a little puddle on our 2nd floor (ensuite) bathroom. After deducing that it wasn't from our 3 year old, we found that it had leaked out of our ventilation fan on the ceiling.

Has anyone encountered this before?

I assume we have a build-up of moisture somewhere and it is leaking back in somehow. The house is 2.5 years old, this is the first time this has happened.

Are there any implications to me climbing up into the attic? Is there a seal on the attic panel? Will I have to replace the seal if i go up there?

Any info is appreciated.

Thanks.

[kevie88]

haha you too huh?

My wife was umm.. in the bathroom, and the vent took a huge leak right on her back. I called my brother who's a journeyman HVAC/ductworker and he told me that during the cold weather the outside vent can get plugged and you get a lot of condensation in there. Eventually it will start to leak back down the vent.

He told me to leave the fan on for around 4-5 hours and see if it clears out, which it seems to have. We're back to normal here.

[spikerS]

it is a condensation issue, something about the different air temps, at least that is what i was told when it happened to us while renting a house by our landlord. apparently need to change the vent type on the roof...

[freshprince1]

Thanks guys. I'm going to put the fan back in, run it for a few hours and see if that helps. If that doesn't work, I might crawl up in the attic to see if there's a blockage.

[Kloubek]

Be careful about going into the attic, and avoid it if you can. They use spray insulation, which is VERY easy to compact down if you walk on it.

I was advised never to go into my attic unless absolutely necessary.

One more thought - how long do you leave the fan on for when you have a shower/bath? It should remain on for at LEAST 15 minutes afterward... preferably 30 or 45 minutes. Everyone should have this fan on a timer... it is one of the first changes I made in our new house.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Be careful about going into the attic, and avoid it if you can. They use spray insulation, which is VERY easy to compact down if you walk on it.

I was advised never to go into my attic unless absolutely necessary.

Also easy to start a crack in your ceilings drywall if you step in the wrong spot.

[mo_money2supe]

Originally posted by kevie88
My wife was umm.. in the bathroom, and the vent took a huge leak right on her back.

Yours too, huh? Same thing happened to my wife a couple of weeks ago. All I heard was a panic and a scream coming from upstairs!

We actually have 2 vents in our ensuite and both seem to leak from time to time. I try to leave both of them on for the whole day once a week. I use it at the same time as the furnace exhaust fan, again, left on for a whole day once a week. Turning down the humidifier helped too; just don't go too extreme, otherwise any wood in your house (ie. hard wood floors) will start to crack.

[black_2.5RS]

It's normal. It happens to me due to condensation from the hot showers mixing with the cold air outside. Run the fan to mix the air and even out the humidity and it'll be fine. If you're really worried, you may want to check and see if the goose neck on the roof is still good and tight but that seems like a lot of effort and to be honest - quite low probability of that being the problem.

[Cody D]

Our house is 3 years old and for the last two years we've dealt with this problem. This winter however I researched and fixed it. I had to go into the attic and cut the vent hose as short as I could, the problem I had was that the fan couldn't handle the overly long vent line. Now that I've shortened it I haven't had any leaking.