Ductless Bathroom Fan

[Michelle Bright]

Hey BP! What are your opinions about installing a ductless bathroom fan? The home is brick and the basement bath has neither a fan nor a window. One of the more cost affordable solutions I ran across was to purchase a ductless fan. Any one have any experience. Or should I just not add a fan or a window. The tenant has been living in the unit for 15 years and the inspection report did not say anything about mold. This would be a DIY project.

Thanks in advance!

[Jon Holdman]

What would be the point of a ductless bathroom fan?  The point of a fan or window in a bathroom is to get moisture and bad smells out.  At most a ductless fan will circulate air through a filter that might (or might not) help with smells.

[Jason D.]

I would be sure that a ductless fan will meet building code. All codes that I've seen require ventilation, not just circulation.

[Brandon Hurlburt]

Why can't you run some flex to the exterior? You should use 4" aluminum pipe, but even flex would be fine. If it is a suspended ceiling just pop out a tile and use a hammer drill to drill a hole to the outside. Put a sleeve through and connect the flex to it. If it's a dropped ceiling use a jabsaw to cut and access hole, then when you're done up there, just screw a 1x4 to the cut out piece so it holds back up there level with the other sheet rock and tape, mud, sand, and repaint it. After you're done in there just put a vent cover on the outside to make it look neat.