Airflow
Ventilation and dryer vents
Wet-climate houses need a planned way for moist indoor air to leave. Bath fans, range hoods, HRVs, and dryer ducts are that plan — until they terminate in the wrong place.
Newer BC homes are tighter. That is good for energy and unforgiving for showers and laundry. Older homes leak in random ways, which can hide a failed fan until mold shows up in a closet. Either way, mechanical exhaust has to actually reach outdoors.
Bathroom fans
A quiet fan you never use is worse than a loud one you run. Twenty minutes after a shower is a reasonable habit. The termination matters more than the brand: flexible duct crushed in an attic, a fan dumping into the attic itself, or a roof cap stuck shut with paint will wet the sheathing all winter.
HRV and ERV
Heat-recovery ventilators are common in recent construction and retrofits tied to efficiency programs. They swap stale indoor air for filtered outdoor air while keeping most of the heat. They need clean cores and balanced ducts. They do not replace a bath fan over the shower, and they cannot dry a wet crawl space on their own.
Dryer vents, especially in condos
Many Vancouver and Burnaby towers have long horizontal runs. Lint collects, drying times stretch, and the appliance overheats. Houses with basement suites may share messy vent paths through a crawl. Rigid or semi-rigid metal duct, a clear outdoor cap without a mesh screen packed with lint, and periodic cleaning are the unglamorous fix.