# Why don't hotel bathrooms have ventilation fans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 15, 2016, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-hotel-bathrooms-have-ventilation-fans/746180 "2016-02-15T04:03:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Phu\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Phu\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phu_Cat)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-hotel-bathrooms-have-ventilation-fans/746180/21 "2016-02-15T21:09:50Z")
Take one square of toilet tissue and hold it against that square grating in the ceiling or wall near the ceiling and see if it doesn’t stick there. That’s cuz there’s a low pressure hose attached to that grate. Phu Cat ---
**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:** [February 15, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-hotel-bathrooms-have-ventilation-fans/746180/22 "2016-02-15T21:54:32Z")
I don’t recall a hotel room bathroom that didn’t have a vent or a fan, and it’s mostly been vents. I assume vents are far more economical for hotels. Even if there’s a large central fan it will be more efficient than one per room, cost less initially, won’t require frequent replacement units, and won’t need wiring in the ceiling. Yet for a while there was a phone in nearly every hotel room bathroom I stayed in. That seems to be going away since everyone has cell phones. I wouldn’t notice if there was no phone at all in hotel rooms now. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-hotel-bathrooms-have-ventilation-fans/746180/23 "2016-02-15T22:17:36Z")
A lot of hotel bathrooms have a sun lamp on a dial. You dial it for, like, 20 minutes and the brighter lamp zeroes out all the mist before turning itself off. Most hotels I’ve been to have fans and vents, though. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-hotel-bathrooms-have-ventilation-fans/746180/24 "2016-02-15T22:46:59Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The solution to a foggy mirror is right there in your hands: a towel. > > Most of us tend not to do it at home since it leaves streaks on the mirror that we later have to clean. Hotel room mirrors are miraculously self-cleaning. > > Not that I abuse the staff by making a larger mess than necessary, but I make the degree of mess I need to conveniently accomplish my mission. Or smear shaving cream all over the mirror. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2016, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-hotel-bathrooms-have-ventilation-fans/746180/25 "2016-02-16T00:06:45Z")
Now that’s just vandalism. I assume you’re kidding. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-hotel-bathrooms-have-ventilation-fans/746180/26 "2016-02-16T00:21:35Z")
Shaving cream (spread on, rub off) is an old army trick for fogless mirrors. It works, but it’s more effort than I’m willing to put in for a single shower. > **[Why does shaving foam stop the mirror from steaming up?](https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/why-does-shaving-foam-stop-mirror-steaming)** > > Hello Guys,  Very good job! I whole heartedly approve of making science approachable for non-scientsists. You guys manage to do this very well. When I take a shower the mirror in the bathroom mists ---
**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:** [February 16, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-hotel-bathrooms-have-ventilation-fans/746180/27 "2016-02-16T00:40:52Z")
Soapy water works the same. I use that every day on the shaving mirror in my shower at home. On the road the hotel provides the soap. I have to bring my own shaving cream. So there’s another idea for solving foggy hotel mirrors. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-hotel-bathrooms-have-ventilation-fans/746180/28 "2016-02-16T08:02:40Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Hmm, I stay in a lot of hotels. I’m in a Marriott now and was in a Westin last month and a Hilton Garden Inn before that. No fans in any of them. There is always a vent though. > > eTA: i missed post 7. There is a common fan? If so, there are all very weak for some reason and must stay on at all times since there is never an on/off switch. No independent switch, the fan comes on when any of the bathroom lights does. I notice because I hate the noise. One of the signs that my mother was losing her hearing was that she stopped hearing those hums. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-hotel-bathrooms-have-ventilation-fans/746180.md?page=1)