When you think about cleaning the bathroom you probably don’t immediately think about cleaning your exhaust fan. The fan is usually high on the wall or in the ceiling and difficult to get to, but it’s still a major source of dirt, residue and bacteria in your bathroom. Bathroom exhaust fans are designed to pull out the warm, moist air from a shower so that your bathroom isn’t repeatedly subjected to extremely damp conditions on a regular basis. But bathroom fans are subject to getting dirty fairly quickly because they are pulling moist air and dust towards them which often settles and sticks to any surface on or around the fan. The movement of fans also tends to create a build up of static electricity which can cause additional dust to stick fast to the exterior and and interior of your exhaust fan. Dampness in any room of your home will eventually lead to mold, bacterial build up, paint and trim damage and could even lead to the structure of the room rotting in some cases.
If you have a steamy bathroom that doesn’t have an exhaust fan you may want to think about putting one in or opening a window when you take a shower. If you have an exhaust fan that isn’t working as well as it used to, has a bad smell coming from it or has simply become louder over time then you may want to try giving it a good cleaning.
I learned first hand the importance of cleaning a bathroom exhaust fan when the light in my own bathroom’s fan burned out after four years of service. I have a decorative bathroom fan and found that to remove the light I would have to unscrew the little decorative knob which held the glass bowl on the light fixture. So I turned off the power got to work.
As I began to do this I felt the paint chipping away, which was a sure sign of moisture damage. As I kept turning I found that, sure enough, there was a lot of rust and corrosion on the main pole that held the decorative glass bowl on. I ended up unscrewing the entire pole from inside the fixture, which essentially meant that I was disassembling my entire exhaust fan because everything was held on with this one corroded knob at the bottom.
Up to this point I had mostly just wiped away a thin layer of dust from the outside of the fan every so often and even taken a vacuum hose to the fan a couple times, figuring that would get anything my damp dust rag couldn’t. But now that I had to take down the glass bowl and the ceiling plate as well, I could get my fist glimpse at the fan mechanism itself.
This is why cleaning your bathroom exhaust fan is so important.
It wasn’t a pretty site. In fact, it was downright disgusting. Over four years there was a solid inch of dust build up under the bathroom exhaust fan coverings that no vacuum could get to. A good cleaning of my bathroom fan was needed. Unfortunately, cleaning a bathroom exhaust fan requires a few more steps than just cleaning a ceiling fan. So here’s how to clean a bathroom exhaust fan:
1. Turn off the power: You will probably not be doing any direct electrical work like what’s involved in replacing a wall fixture, but you’ll still want to be careful around exhaust fans simply because there could be moisture trapped inside or around them and you may want to use a damp cloth to clean them. Turning off the switch is a good start, but you’re really better off turning off the breaker to the exhaust fan circuit if you’re going to do this correctly.
2. Getting ready to clean the fan: You’ll probably need to climb on something just to get to the fan housing. Use a quality step stool or ladder and be extra careful in the bathroom. Surfaces are slick and hard in a bathroom, and you don’t want your head hitting any of them on the way down. This can be a little bit of a dirty job, so think about putting down some old towels or some drop cloths if you’re worried about dust and dirt falling out of your exhaust fan.
3. Remove your exhaust fan cover: Different exhaust fans come apart in different ways, but the outer covering or decorative bowl is either held on with some sort of screw mechanism or sturdy clips. When all else fails, read your bathroom exhaust fan manual. I know, you don’t have the manual. You can find a lot of manuals online or even go to your local home improvement store and simply ask about your particular fan design. You’ll also want to carefully remove and set aside any light bulbs you might have in your bathroom exhaust fan
Not cleaning my fan regularly probably contributed to this corrosion.
4. Quickly inspect your fan: Take a moment to just look around your fan housing with a flashlight. If you see worn wires, rusty parts or corroded pieces anywhere then it might be time to replace your bathroom exhaust fan. Yes, you can keep cleaning it, but if it’s in bad enough condition you could have a real safety hazard in your bathroom. The last thing you want is to be in a shower and night and have your exhaust fan blow a circuit or cause a fire in your bathroom ceiling.
5. Dry clean your fan first: My first step is usually taking my vacuum cleaner hose to all the little parts and nooks and crannies in both the fan housing and anywhere around the ceiling that has caked on dirt. Things vacuum off much better when they are dry, so I always do this before I start wiping things down.
6. Wet clean next: Now that you’ve removed the cobwebs and piles of dust from your fan you can move on to the more intricate detailed cleaning. You may want to take a damp rag or cleaning wipe (baby wipes will work, too!) and begin wiping down most everything you see. If you have any mold or mildew then consider using one of those household cleaning sprays or even a little window cleaner with ammonia (but those can sometimes damage surfaces, so use sparingly). Be careful around any electrical housings (you don’t want them to get too soaked, just wipe over them once) and try wipe down your actual exhaust fan blades if you can get to them.
7. Thoroughly clean the fan cover and grill: Your exhaust fan cover was removed, but it may also have dust and grime on it. You can wipe that down or even put it through running water if it’s plastic. There’s no sense in cleaning the fan in your bathroom ceiling and then putting a dirty cover back over it. If you need to scrub dirt or dust or grime off the grill covering you can try using an old dampened toothbrush or wrapping a towel around a butter knife and using that to scrub back and forth.
8. Let everything dry: Hopefully you didn’t get anything other than the grill cover completely soaked, but you might want to give everything a half hour to an hour to fully try. You can pat down the exhaust fan cover with a dry towel or cloth.
9. Reassemble the exhaust fan: Now you will want to put any light bulbs back in place (you may want to put in a new one while you’re at it and use the old one in a lamp or someplace that’s easier to replace it when it blows). You’ll want to put the exhaust fan cover back on and tighten and screws or clamps that keep it in place.
10. Turn on the power and test it out: Did cleaning your bathroom exhaust fan make your sweat? Get covered in old dirt and dust? Take a shower and try things out!
In my case I hadn’t really opened the exhaust fan housing in four years, so I had a lot of dust build-up.
To keep your bathroom exhaust fan clean going forward you will want to wipe down the outside of your fan grill and maybe take a vacuum hose to it (without taking everything apart) at least once a month or so, depending upon how many people are in your home and how often you use your fan. Of course, forced hot air heating systems and air conditioners also tend to push more dust into the air, so you may find that your exhaust fan has more dust build up during certain seasons. You may want to make it an annual ritual to open the fan housing and just give it a quick cleaning. Your fan may last longer and your bathroom will be exposed to much less moisture over time as your exhaust fan keeps doing what it’s supposed to do!
Thanks for posting on how will i clean my bathroom exhaust fan.I am really having a hard time by cleaning it.After i read this it gives me more easiest way finding how to do quick cleaning and preventing the product from damage.
Prior to reassembly, spray some lubricant at the motor spindle (the part that rotates the fan). This will help make that exhaust run smoother and quieter! Great write up.