# More polite to leave bathroom fan on or off? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 7, 2024, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317 "2024-12-07T19:33:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/21 "2024-12-08T17:30:43Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > Is it so common that a bathroom fan stops immediately when turned off? In the case of my original post, we were sharing a rented house in which the fan starts and stops immediately. We’ve shared other rented houses, and they worked this way too. In my own home, likewise. I’ve seen timers in hotels, but not in private homes (though I don’t go to all that many private homes). I like the timer idea. Seems like it fixes everything. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/22 "2024-12-08T17:34:04Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > I’ve seen timers in hotels, but not in private homes (though I don’t go to all that many private homes). When I’ve seen timers in hotel bathrooms, they’ve typically been for a heat lamp in the ceiling, rather than for an exhaust fan. As far as the complaint from one of your house-mates, don’t close the door entirely (so the bathroom doesn’t appear to be occupied) and maybe go back to the bathroom after 10 minutes and turn off the fan. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/23 "2024-12-08T18:02:30Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Leave the fan on, open a window, light a candle, close the door Remove all cats, dogs, birds, and toddlers before lighting the candle. And, in general, I wouldn’t light candles in somebody else’s house (let alone go off and leave them unattended) unless I’d checked with the householder first. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/24 "2024-12-08T20:11:07Z")
Our townhouse had good ol’ builder grade fans, and neither the fan in my _en suite_ nor the range hood in the kitchen vented to the outside. That was one thing our gc corrected when we did our big remodel. My sister’s _en suite_ at least had a window to the outside (mine did not), and the powder room on the first floor had no fan, but a window. I also have a candle and matches handy on the sink in the powder room. We had no kids, and our dachshunds couldn’t reach the sink. ---
**Author:** ![frognot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frognot/32/8752_2.png) [@frognot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frognot)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/25 "2024-12-09T15:49:48Z")
Pure Citrus orange scented air freshener works very well and is not a cloying scent IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/26 "2024-12-09T17:10:42Z")
> [@frognot](#): > > Pure Citrus orange scented air freshener works very well and is not a cloying scent IMHO Is citrus oil the only ingredient in the stuff? Nothing else in there whatsoever? If you leave a couple of cut up oranges in your bathroom, that won’t bother me any (and I’ve known people to do that sort of thing.) Probably won’t make a fresh fart not stink, though. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/27 "2024-12-10T16:37:15Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Replace the switch on the fan with a timer switch so it doesn’t run forever and force someone else to turn it off. That’s the only politeness issue I can see with turning the fan off. This is code for new construction or remodels in most locations. My father remodeled our bathroom in the late 50s and did that. this. That’s what I did with my bathroom remodel. I don’t turn on the fan until I leave, because I don’t like the noise. > [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > Is it so common that a bathroom fan stops immediately when turned off? yes, that’s the default, an on-off switch. Or at least, it was. This makes me think I ought to upgrade my other bathrooms. But if you left a stink, you should leave the fan on to help clear the stink. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/28 "2024-12-10T17:28:28Z")
Not a problem for me. I had COVID and now my shit don’t smell 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/29 "2024-12-10T17:36:51Z")
Turn on the fan every time you use the bathroom. Even if it’s “just” urine, foul smells need to leave the house. Every time you flush, particles and filthy water get thrown out of it. The fan draws them in and up, preventing the rest of the house from getting a coating of yuck. It honestly makes me sick that people use bathrooms without doing this, and public bathrooms often don’t even have a fan that exhausts outside. It’s so disgusting to me. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/30 "2024-12-10T17:51:45Z")
To each their own, but that is IMO a very low disgust threshold. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/31 "2024-12-10T18:17:27Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > It honestly makes me sick that people use bathrooms without doing this, and public bathrooms often don’t even have a fan that exhausts outside. It’s so disgusting to me You’d better not come visit me. Both of my bathrooms have windows. Neither of them has an exhaust fan. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/32 "2024-12-10T19:50:41Z")
As you say. But houses are a lot more air tight than they were when I was growing up. Bad smells just build and build unless they are purposefully removed from the home. Most people I know don’t even open their windows on nice days - their houses are just hermetically sealed and artificially cooled/heated. So, flush after flush, that ick is just building up and shaping the scent of the household. It’s pretty gross. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/33 "2024-12-10T22:32:23Z")
Houses are not and should not be literally hermetically sealed. In another recent thread, I learned about how many air changes per hour they’re supposed to have. > [@Why does my apartment require so much water from my humidifier to increase the humidity](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-apartment-require-so-much-water-from-my-humidifier-to-increase-the-humidity/1011329/8): > > That’s incredibly aspirational though. The Passive House standard, the toughest building standard in the world can be passed with 0.6 ACH. Modern building codes tend to mandate somewhere around 3ACH and older houses would often have 15 - 25 ACH. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2024, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/34 "2024-12-10T22:46:11Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Houses are not and should not be literally hermetically sealed. In another recent thread, I learned about how many air changes per hour they’re supposed to have. The ACH numbers refer to purely penetrations in the envelope. Modern houses are designed to be as hermetically sealed as possible and then for active ventilation to be provided via HRV/ERV systems that filter/condition the air coming in/recover heat and humidity from the air going out. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/35 "2024-12-12T03:49:49Z")
I really don’t think you are spreading a lot of contamination when you flush urine. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2024, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/36 "2024-12-16T18:57:03Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@Napier](#): > > > > One of my friends complained that she assumed the fan meant I was still in there (she could hear it from around the corner where she couldn’t see the door was slightly ajar). > > I think that that particular friend of yours is a fussy outlier. IMO. Not necessarily. My current bathroom doesn’t have a fan, but in every other apartment I’ve ever lived in WITH a bathroom fan, it’s been in parallel with the light. You DON’T leave the light on when you leave the bathroom is a default assumption. If that’s “fussy,” just call me Fussbudget McFussington, Squire of Fussingshire-on-the-Wold. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/37 "2024-12-16T19:20:50Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Not necessarily. My current bathroom doesn’t have a fan, but in every other apartment I’ve ever lived in WITH a bathroom fan, it’s been in parallel with the light. > > You DON’T leave the light on when you leave the bathroom is a default assumption. My apartment’s bathroom lights are like that. About the only time they’re purposely left on when someone exits the bathroom is if we need the fan pulling out some godawful smell. Absent-mindedly leaving it on can happen, though. We have a policy of leaving the bathroom door open when it’s unoccupied, though, especially in the front bathroom that also contains the cats’ litterbox (they need access). ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2024, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/38 "2024-12-20T03:06:17Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I really don’t think you are spreading a lot of contamination when you flush urine. It doesn’t have to be an active pathogen to be gross and smell nasty. I’m not sure whether poop flush droplets are large enough to carry bacteria. I also don’t care; I just don’t want them building up inside my home. ---
**Author:** ![MW\_Degen\_Gamblr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ec9cab/32.png) [@MW\_Degen\_Gamblr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MW_Degen_Gamblr)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2024, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/39 "2024-12-20T03:21:12Z")
I’ve never considered turning on the fan. I don’t think I have particularly odorous bowel movements. I’m more self-conscious about people hearing sounds, such as turds plopping. For that reason I like to turn on the sink faucet while crapping. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2024, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317/40 "2024-12-20T03:47:38Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > It doesn’t have to be an active pathogen to be gross and smell nasty. I’m not sure whether poop flush droplets are large enough to carry bacteria. I also don’t care; I just don’t want them building up inside my home I’ve been in plenty of houses that had no fans in the bathroom and had windows closed for the winter. I’ve never been in one that had built up a pervasive stink from an even moderately clean bathroom. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-polite-to-leave-bathroom-fan-on-or-off/1011317.md?page=3)