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| Information you need to do building and remodeling projects
right the first time and protect the safety and value of your
home. |
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Prevent Mold with Proper Kitchen and Bathroom Ventilation
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| Printable version |
| Mold poses significant health risks and can affect the value of your home.
Mold is difficult and costly to remove. Prevention is the best way to deal
with mold. Proper ventilation and removal of moisture from your bathroom
and kitchen are great ways to prevent mold growth in your home. If you observe
excessive mold or mildew build up around your windows and vents, you may
want to check your home's ventilation system.
The 2008 Oregon Residential Specialty code has adopted new requirements
for kitchen and bathroom ventilation. This code is required for all new
construction. The kitchen and bathroom ventilation sections are also highly
recommended for all kitchen and bathroom remodels. For more information,
talk to a licensed and bonded contractor.
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The new requirements for kitchen ventilation are:
- Stove exhaust hoods must be metal and at least .016 inch thick
- Exhaust systems cannot recirculate air inside the home, they must
vent to the outside
- Exhaust hoods must circulate air at 25 cubic feet per minute (cfm)
for continuous fans (fan systems that are always on) or 150 cubic feet
per minute (cfm) for intermittent fans (fans attached to a switch)
- There must be 24 inches between a cooking surface and any wood or
other combustible surface (except for down draft exhaust systems or
combination microwave oven/ventilating hoods)
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The new requirements for bathing facilities and spas are:
- Continuous fans shall be rated at a maximum of 1.0 sone (a sone is
a sound rating, the lower the number the quieter the sound)
- Intermittent fans shall be rated at a maximum of 3.0 sone
- Attic fans that are located 4 feet or more from the air inlet grill
are exempt from sone requirements
- Continuous bathroom or spa fans must circulate air at 20 cubic feet
per minute
- Intermittent bathroom or spa fans must circulate air at 80 cubic feet
per minute (fans attached to a timer or de-humidistat)
- Half bathrooms (without showers or bathtubs) must have fans that circulate
50 cubic feet per minute
- The venting system must be controlled by a de-humidistat (a sensor
that detects moisture in the room), timer, or other automatic control
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| Also, for both kitchen and bathroom fans it is important to know that
the amount of duct work (the distance that the air is vented) has a big
effect on the amount of air the fan circulates: the more duct work, the
less air circulated. |
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| The 2008 Oregon Residential Specialty Code has a table (M1507.4) that
contractors can use to determine the size of the fan needed to circulate
air for the length of duct work that will be used. |
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