Ventilation in the dressing room: options and methods for arranging an air exchange system

Have you planned to build a comfortable bathhouse? Already built it, but haven’t decided on ventilation? We will tell you about what the air exchange should be like in the dressing room. Agree, it’s better to spend a little more time on theory than to redo something later. Proper ventilation in the dressing room is necessary for the entire bathhouse as a whole.

It is impossible to make a good bathhouse without thoughtful communications. Thanks to our material, you will find a balance between heat and cold in the dressing room, and you will not have problems with condensation. The finish will be dry and the air will be as humid as needed. As a result, the bathhouse will last for many years without repairs, and you will not risk anything.

Nuances of air exchange in the dressing room

The bathhouse consists of alternately connected rooms with their own purpose, temperature and humidity. Each of them needs care. Some owners leave the dressing room without ventilation at all, and this is wrong. The room will become waterlogged and deteriorate. For dressing rooms there are three main options for air exchange, which we will discuss below.

A dressing room is a room for undressing in front of the entrance to the washing room, and it is often combined with a rest room. Usually there heat the stove. The dressing room is ventilated simultaneously with heating and after bath procedures. A well-chosen ventilation scheme will give the room more fresh air and make constant maintenance easier.

The ventilation system in the dressing room performs three main functions: removes dirty air, supplies clean air and heats it to a comfortable temperature.

A typical dressing room in an individual structure with a stove ash pit, an entrance to a separate sink and then to a steam room, a 2: 1: 1 proportion between these rooms

It is also installed in the dressing room in order to regulate the humidity and temperature throughout the bathhouse and normalize the temperature in the rest room. This is worth taking care of while heating and relaxing in the steam room. The stove also needs fresh air.

Further air exchange is directed to drying the room. Wood quickly deteriorates from dampness, especially in the dark. Due to moisture, windows and doors sometimes cannot be closed tightly. Microorganisms in a damp room emit unpleasant odors, and wood trim absorbs them and “seals them in.”

Vacationers will find it difficult to adjust to the air quality. But, proper ventilation after bath procedures will get rid of bad odors and extend the life of the building.

One of the options for circulation in the dressing room in the rest room, with air supplied through the opening above the stove and a pipe under the stove coming from the street - it will be a little hot for the rest room, but some bathhouse attendants will like it

Ventilation is calculated based on the following conditions:

• high humidity and a lot of steam;
• condensation forms;
• air exchange and temperature in the bathhouse have to be adjusted only on some days;
• hot air;
• carbon dioxide accumulates;
• there may be harmful combustion products;
• small window size.

In an ideal bathhouse, nothing threatens the health of visitors, and the conditions meet the requirements for a bathhouse relaxation.In the waiting room it is worth organizing two types of ventilation, natural with air gravity and one more to choose from: mechanical or combined. In the latter, the inflow is usually made gravity.

Which ventilation scheme should you prefer?

Get it right ventilation in the bath it can be difficult. If you are just designing a bathhouse, take care of small windows, micro-openings between rooms, supply openings with access to the street and plugs. But do not place exhaust vents on the ceiling, so as not to overcool the dressing room.

Put the correct proportions into the bathhouse building. Optimal combinations of sizes of a dressing room (combined with a rest room), washing room and steam room:

• 2 : 1,5 : 1;
• 1,5 : 1 : 1;
• 2 : 1 : 1.

Make a separate dressing room approximately the same size as the sink and steam room. For the combined one, allocate half the length and the entire width of the building.

A separate dressing room is a locker room with a need for fresh air and an exhaust hood to remove steam, which can be placed in an external room or here if the size of the building is small

Follow the rules and recommendations:

1. Achieve equality between the supply and exhaust flows.
2. Buy mechanical fans only that are moisture resistant.
3. The required ventilation intensity is more than 3 m³/hour per 1 m².
4. It is worth adding combined ventilation with forced exhaust and natural inflow to the openings between rooms and wooden windows.
5. It wouldn’t hurt to redirect some of the hot air from the steam room to the dressing room.
6. Lay the air exchange paths between the supply and exhaust past the toilet.

Consider a universal option steam room ventilation. To do this, place the door to the steam room near the ash pan.Opposite the stove diagonally, make an exhaust opening 15-20 cm wide on the wall. Leave about 20 cm between this vent and the ceiling, aim for a height of 2 meters above the floor. Be sure to install an axial fan if the exhaust opening does not go directly to the street.

There is also an option with a ventilation pipe. Make it vertical, but then turn it and connect it at an angle to the straight channel above the steam room, if there is one. Make the pipe diameter larger above the joining point. Otherwise, lead her out of the dressing room exactly through the roof.

To prevent the performance of the axial exhaust fan from decreasing, wrap it with penofol or at least its narrow part

Place the inlet opening half a meter above the floor. Select a location approximately diagonal to the exhaust hood. Make the inlet opening the same size as the outlet (15-20 cm). Swipe to the street and add a cap too. Thanks to it, you can influence the speed at which the incoming air will push out the internal one. The inflow is enhanced by an additional hole next to the ash pan to supply air directly into it.

Insulate exhaust pipe and the dressing room itself, so that there is a minimum of condensation. Thermal insulation will also make the air warmer, and after visiting the steam room it is better if the air temperature is comfortable. Make a circulation with a smooth temperature change along the height of the dressing room and on the way from the locker room, through the sink and to the steam room doors.

Be sure to insulate the floor. For a combined dressing room in the rest room, provide ventilation for the largest possible area per person and at least 1.3 m² per person.

Consider the tightness of the bath.A frame building requires increased air supply: it is better to install a supply fan in this type.

Make windows no more than 45 cm wide, preferably only made of wood. Install the entrance door with a size of approximately 180x80 cm. It is better to make interior doors a little smaller to reduce heat loss.

Scheme #1 - with open circulation

Let's consider a combined dressing room and a classic version of the setting.

At first, the moisture will not cause any inconvenience, but then the condition of the wooden ceiling will deteriorate - you won’t be able to relax normally in a dilapidated building

The first wall is narrow, with an entrance door. The second - with a doorway to a separate washing room or combined with a steam room. A stove is located a meter from the interior door, within the dressing room. The third wall is narrow, opposite the wall with the front door. The fourth is opposite the second, with seats for relaxation.

Make natural air exchange in the form of windows and also assemble combined ventilation.

Don't do it to the third wall inlet and always with a plug. Place the opening at a height of 50 cm from the floor, approximately in the middle of the wall, but with a slight offset towards the stove.

At the end of the fourth wall farthest from the inflow, organize an exhaust opening. Cut a hole in the top corner about 20cm below the ceiling. Insert an exhaust fan into the opening.

All that remains is to make the waiting room warmer. Together with this task, they solve the problem of removing air from the steam room. There it is collected under the floor, and through a pipe it will enter the dressing room. Do not just supply air, but also dispose of it at the same time.

There are three solutions:

1. Direct the pipe from the steam room to the dressing room and place the outlet directly next to the ash pan.
2. Bring the channel to the wall, and then air will flow through the hole.
3. Lay the pipe lower and make a cut in the floor next to the ash pan.

The air coming from the steam room will be quite warm, and the stove will warm up more intensely due to the fact that it absorbs it.

Scheme #2 - with closed air circulation

In this case, you can organize a dressing room without supplying air from the steam room.

For natural ventilation, install a wooden window with a tilting mechanism and fix it with a small gap: even at the minimum mode, condensation will not form, and the temperature can be raised using steam from other rooms

At a height of 40-50 cm from the floor, cut a supply opening with a plug - on a narrow wall adjacent to the one where the stove is located. Make a hole not in the middle of the wall, but closer to the ash pan.

From the corner between the inlet and the stove, draw an imaginary diagonal and at the end of the long wall, at a level no higher than half a meter from the floor, organize an exhaust vent. Approximately at the same height as the influx, but it can be lower.

Do not make a hole in the wall; instead, install a vertical pipe. Above the ceiling, insert the channel into the exhaust pipe rising from the steam room, and if it is missing, lead it out through the roof. Install a deflector on the head of the pipe.

The air in the upper part of the room will already be warm, but first it will fall down and go into the exhaust vent not as quickly as with the first scheme. Such a hood will also protect against excess steam, so in the waiting room, where it is minimal, a closed circuit will be even more effective.

Scheme #3 - supply and exhaust on one wall

Useful for different stove placement options. Including if it is located in the very corner.

In this scheme, there is no need to strive for a diagonal arrangement, but do not place the hood exactly above the inflow either. Due to local ventilation, the waiting room will sooner or later become waterlogged.

Three main diagrams with a conditional display of air exchange when the main part of the stove is located behind the wall. Remember that you need to achieve the most diagonal arrangement of inflow and exhaust

The inflow is located directly opposite the ash pit or obliquely. In this case, you need to ensure that the cold incoming air does not blow on vacationers. The inflow will come in from the street and go straight to the ash pan of the stove, which will heat the room. Some of the air will go into circulation.

If it is located obliquely relative to the ash pan, this volume will be larger. Place the inlet half a meter above the floor or a little lower if furniture gets in the way.

Make an exhaust hole at the top of the same wall. Cut it obliquely relative to the inflow: as far as possible from it, and not lower than 25 cm from the ceiling.

Warming up and insulating the dressing room

Between the locker room/rest room on one side and the steam room on the other, ideally there is a smooth transition between temperature conditions.

There are four options to achieve this:

1. The stove opens into both rooms.
2. An additional partition between the steam room and the dressing room, combined with the relaxation room.
3. Part of the heated air is supplied from the steam room.
4. There is a washing room on the direct path from the dressing room to the steam room.

It is also necessary to take care of the insulation of the room. The floor, walls and ceiling are insulated from the cold. Often they use foil insulation, but on a thick layer the foil should be laid manually.

Mineral wool, polystyrene foam and other foam materials, as well as expanded clay, are suitable for insulating the dressing room, but mineral wool will be the best in structure, especially if it is foil-coated

Floor insulation they begin by nailing smaller cranial bars to the lower parts of the logs, located in increments of 45-55 cm, longitudinally to the base. A rough covering is placed on top - oblong or wide boards. The subfloor is formed as a continuous floor.

The resulting structure is covered with a waterproofing membrane. Place it so that the layer is completely pressed against the protruding joists. Then, in the space between these slats, a proportionate piece of insulating fabric is laid: slightly larger in width, length and height. Mineral wool is also suitable as thermal insulation. They take more of it, since the material is highly compressed.

A vapor barrier is laid above with a slight overlap on the walls. In the process, pipes that will be in the thickness of the floor or below are insulated.

All that remains is to make the floor itself. The surface can be paved with tiles or boards. Usually they choose wood, this creates a warm floor and maintains the unity of the interiors. The covering must be made continuous, moving the boards as close as possible to each other.

The finishing deteriorates most under the ceiling, so use a thick layer of insulation. Thermal insulation can be collected on the ceiling, between the planks. Place a vapor barrier below, insulation above, then waterproof it. You can cover the top with cement screed and wooden boards.

You can read more about ceiling insulation in this material.

Option for thermal insulation of the ceiling above the dressing room: densely laid expanded clay, hidden in two layers of vapor barrier, and a wooden plank floor without screed

Log houses can be insulated in the finished building, but it is worth planning thermal insulation in advance. It is also worth taking care of the insulation of the front door.

Due to thermal barriers, they effectively combat excess moisture, but condensation can be avoided completely if you constantly do certain things. Keep doors closed and only open briefly. Adjust the shutters in the ventilation grilles.

Use plugs especially during warm-up. After procedures, cool the dressing room through open doors and windows. At the same time, allow short-term drafts. Ventilate each room in turn - through their windows.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Combined dressing room, and how you can heat it:

Analysis of the arrangement and ventilation of the dressing room, how to remove dampness and mold - in great detail:

Elements for bath ventilation - pipes, valves and grilles:

Sometimes the dressing room is a small locker room, but usually it is combined with a rest room. In the second case, you will need full, powerful ventilation. You can use one of the three schemes we described.

Based on the air exchange requirements that we wrote about. Remember that it is worth adding insulated surfaces to a combined or mechanical ventilation system, then the service life of the bathhouse will increase.

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