Cleaning

Bathroom fan cleaning—the how and why

dirty bathroom fan

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Bathroom fans are important, especially in bathrooms without a window. This is because bathrooms are humid places and keeping the optimal bathroom humidity is difficult. A bathroom fan can help regulate this, but it will also get dirty. Here’s how to clean a bathroom fan—plus what you’ll need to do it. 

Why clean a bathroom fan?

The purpose of a bathroom fan is to remove excess moisture from the air. Anyone with a smaller bathroom will know how steamy things can get when they enjoy a relaxing shower. As if you didn’t have enough on your hands having to remove all that limescale, too! A bathroom fan will help prevent too much humidity in the air, but will need a bit of TLC itself. Especially if you don’t have a bathroom window, your bathroom extractor fan is the only way to get that extra moisture out. Caring for it will make sure that it works for longer, and help keep your home clean.

Bathroom fan cleaning—here’s how

So now that you know why bathroom fan cleaning is important, you’ll want to know how to do it! Here is our bathroom fan cleaning guide.

You’ll need:

  • All-purpose cleaner or soap
  • Bucket
  • Duster
  • Sponge
  • Microfiber cloth
  • Painter’s drop cloth or newspaper
  • Goggles
  • Face mask
  • Shower cap (yes, really)

The how-to:

  1. Put on your face mask, shower cap and goggles (household PPE). This might seem strange, but it’ll make sure that you are protected from dust and debris that might fall while you’re working.
  2. Lay out your painter’s drop cloth so that your floors don’t get covered in dust or debris, either.
  3. Be sure the power to the fan is completely off.
  4. Take off the cover of the fan. This may have a lot of dust on it, so wipe it down with a kitchen towel before placing the cover into a bucket of water with soap or all-purpose cleaner.
  5. Using a duster, clean the inside of the unit.
  6. Soak your sponge in water and add a bit of soap directly to the sponge. Use this to clean the unit. It’ll help dislodge stubborn dirt.
  7. Take the cover out of its soapy water bath and rinse it off. Dry it with the microfiber cloth.
  8. Dry the unit, too.
  9. Replace the cover.
  10. Clean up the painter’s drop cloth. Feel free to remove all that PPE, too.
  11. Turn the power back on. 

We hope our bathroom fan cleaning tips have enlightened you, and don’t forget to check out our other cleaning-related tips—register with Ask Team Clean so you don’t miss out!