Suggestions: Bathroom - Shower ceiling moisture problem

I have a little problem with moisture on my shower ceiling (some bubbling of the ceiling paint, some yellowish goo-looking droplets, etc). It's a tiny bathroom, the tub has a sliding glass shower door (with about an 8" space/opening between the top of the shower door and the ceiling for ventilation). My bathroom exhaust fan is located outside the shower (but, not right outside the shower, either.. it's located on the same side as the tub, but behind the tub wall in the corner.. not ideal, I know, but the previous owners were DIY-ers, and did some funky stuff). Anyway, I'm not convinced that upgrading my fan, and placing it just outside the tub will necessarily solve my problem, and the reason is this.. My shower/tub area has a drop-ceiling (the ceiling inside the tub is a good 12" lower than the ceiling outside the shower). SO, I'm not sure that placing another fan right outside the shower will be able to draw the moisture over that "hurdle", because the moisture wouldn't be drawn straight up to the fan.. it would be dragged across the shower ceiling, and THEN up.

I hope I explained this well enough for everyone to understand. Do you guys have any suggestions? The higher ceiling (outside of the tub) is fine, no problems. I know I could probably hire someone to refit my shower area with a complete shower insert (with an acrylic ceiling), but just wondering what I can do in the meantime.

 

Welcome to the forums!

You might try painting the ceiling with Zinnser's PermWhite. It's one of the better bath rm paints formulated for a damp environment. Tiling the ceiling would be another option.

 

is there an attic above?? you can try to relocate the fan to directly above the shower

 

Fan in the highest part is correct. Are you running the fan for at least twenty minutes after showering? The fan may not be large enough.

 

Here's a couple of pictures..

It might not even just be the steam, but I'm sure I'm just getting splashing water on the ceiling, being so low.

Oh, and yes, I open the doors on both sides, and run the fan for a good 30 minutes. I get a good amount of steam on the mirrors, too, but that fades pretty quickly. Just the shower ceiling is a problem. The rest of the ceiling is fine throughout my steamy showers. Fan has been tested with the "Kleenex test", so I know it's working. But, as you can see from the pic, the placement is not ideal.

 

Yes, the attic is above, and the fan can be moved.

 

It's a little hard to tell from the pics - is the ceiling painted with flat latex or a latex enamel?
I can see where the exhaust fan being around the corner could be a problem. It would work better if it was in front of the shower.

 

i would replace the light in the shower with a combination fan/light unit. this should solve any issue you have. size out your exhaust cfm's by taking room LxWxHx0.13. this will give you the cfm's needed for the entire bathroom.