I have recently purchased a 26 year old home, which has a bathroom fan that vents directly into the attic (blown insulation) above. My two options are: 1) Vent the fan directly up through the roof. 2) Vent the fan through a soffit vent. The problem here is that the bathroom wall is against the garage, so if I use a vent through the closest soffit, the moisture will be vented into the garage. If I want to vent to the outside, I will have to have a run from the fan through the soffit on the other side of the house, which is a distance of approximately 20 feet. What would your advice be in solving this dilemma? Perhaps there might be another way that I have overlooked.
Answer:
You've put yourself into an ideal position. A squirrel cage type fan (much more powerful than the normal ones) can be installed in the attic some distance from the bathroom and mounted to structure so there is no noise from it. Now you're in a position where the fan draws air farther than it pushes it and besides being more effective as a steam remover, you have the option of venting through the roof or the soffit; the latter is my preference.
