With winter in full-swing, keeping your home warm is a definite must. Nothing puts a chill down your back like an unwanted cold draft in your home – particularly in your bathroom. Ever wonder why that cold draft only seems to be in your bathroom? Not the best place you want to be cold, especially when getting in and out of the shower.
Most bathrooms have an exhaust fan to replace hot, wet air with cool dry air. Its purpose to keep wet areas like your bathroom dry in order to prevent an atmosphere in which mold can grow. The exhaust is connected to a duct that leads outside where the fan distributes the hot wet air that occurs during a shower. There is a small plastic device called a damper flap that regulates the flow of air – in this case, it is supposed to keep cold drafts out and your heated air in.
Like most commonly used mechanisms in your home, after time they can become loose or damaged. If you find that this is the case, you will either need to reseal or replace the damper. However, the damper might not always need to be replaced, after inspecting the situation, you may find that the damper flap is just stuck open. Simply move the flapper with your hand back into place so it is blocking the air duct.
Even with a damper flap, cold drafts can still find their way in, especially on those bitter windy winter days. If this is the case in your bathroom, you can get an exhaust fan draft blocker. This will only allow air to flow out and will restrict cold air from coming in. This simple device can be purchased at any hardware store and will keep all unwanted cold drafts out of your bathroom.
