Duct first, fan second
Vents is a Ukrainian manufacturer with a big range of household fans, from basic models to versions with a timer, humidity sensor and backdraft shutter. Any of them, though, works only as well as the duct it’s connected to.
Most Warsaw blocks have natural (gravity) ventilation, with shafts shared by several flats. Some housing cooperatives and communities don’t allow powered fans on those shafts, or set conditions. Ask the building management before you buy anything.
If there’s a gas water heater with an open combustion chamber in the bathroom or the kitchen next door, this gets serious. An extractor fan can reverse the draught in the flue and pull exhaust gases, carbon monoxide included, into the flat. A fitter with gas qualifications has to assess that installation, not just an electrician.
Air also has to come in from somewhere. A tight door with no gap at the bottom or grille means the fan roars and the damp stays.
Rather hand the job over? More here: odd job man in Warsaw.
Timer, sensor, and how many wires
The simplest fan comes on with the light. A timer model keeps running for a few minutes after the light goes off, but for that it needs a permanent live feed in addition to the switched wire. If there aren’t three wires at the vent, they have to be run there, which means a chase or trunking.
A humidity sensor gets adjusted after fitting. Too sensitive, and the fan keeps switching on. Not sensitive enough, and it ignores the shower.
Vents bathroom fan installation: common mistakes
- A fan on a shared shaft without the building’s approval.
- Fitting next to a gas water heater without checking the draught.
- A timer model wired on two wires. It works like a basic fan, or not at all.
- Fan diameter that doesn’t match the duct, gaps stuffed with whatever was around.
Where else damp in a flat comes from is explained in our guide to the causes of mould and damp.
Vents bathroom fan installation: getting ready
- Take off the grille and measure the duct opening.
- Photograph the opening, the wires near it and the light switch.
- Say whether there’s a gas water heater in the flat.
How to book
A description in the app with photos is enough: which fan, what duct, any gas heater. Tradespeople in Warsaw send offers with their own price, and you choose by price, rating and reviews. The profile shows which of their qualifications have been checked, electrical and gas included.
Contact details and address go to the tradesperson after you choose. You pay him directly, and he issues the invoice. The fan, a backdraft shutter and extra cable are bought separately. He answers for his own fitting and redoes it if needed. A blocked shaft or the building’s shared systems are not on him.
Electricity, water and sometimes gas in one room: switch off the breaker before fitting, and never put an extractor next to a gas heater without a specialist’s opinion.
Order in the app
Describe the job, add photos and the address. Tradespeople send their own prices and dates, and you pick one of the offers.
Open the app
