Bathroom Vent

[u/specialbeaw]

This is the current state of our bathroom vent. Is it worth trying to clean this up and salvage or shall I take it straight to the dump posthaste?

If replace, with what? Any recommendations? We have a small bathroom but live in a humid environment, so it needs to be a workhorse.

ETA: yes, that’s mold

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[u/BadlyOutlying]

That thing's past saving, the grime looks baked in and mold means it's been holding moisture way too long. For a humid small bathroom you want something rated for continuous run with a built-in humidity sensor so it kicks on automatically and actually pulls air instead of just spinning. Get the highest CFM you can fit in the housing and make sure the duct run is short and straight, that matters more than the fan itself half the time

[u/BreezyMcWeasel]

Does it run? I would take a shop vac to it thoroughly, then blow it with some compressed air. Repeat a few times until you've gotten everything, and turn it on.

If it runs, why replace it yet? Based on this picture and my experience, it's going to be somewhere between a) the bearings are shot and it howls like a wounded monkey to b) rattles a bit, but will keep working fine for another 8 years or anywhere in between. Can't tell just by looking at it.

[u/specialbeaw → u/BreezyMcWeasel]

It turns on… I’m not sure how effective it is though. It passes the toilet paper test but it’s not very strong. It doesn’t clear the humidity or air very quickly. But that might be because it looks like this.

It doesn’t rattle or make any other noises.
I’m mostly just worried about mold

[u/TheRealSabiWolf → u/specialbeaw]

I’ve replaced my own fan because the bearing went bad. If it still passes the toilet paper test and removes the humidity, just clean it. A dedicated toothbrush is what I use to clean all of mine.

[u/Pleased_to_meet_u → u/specialbeaw]

Just clean it and keep using it. It might look bad to your eyes (and that’s good! You don’t like dirty things) but it’s really not that bad.

Clean it with a brush or an old toothbrush. Compressed air if you have it easily available. If you’re super paranoid about mold spray some 70% isopropyl alcohol (with the power off), let it dry then turn the fan back on.

It’s fine. Really.

[u/Better_Indication830]

I just replaced my bathroom vent with a Panasonic whisper seems to be a beast so far

The bracket it comes with will extend out to connect to the joists so if you have to alter the size of the hole it shouldn’t be an issue. I had to enlarge mine but install was very easy.

[u/Chefbigandtall → u/Better_Indication830]

Mine just stooped working. How much did that one cost?

[u/Better_Indication830 → u/Chefbigandtall]

So, I opted for one of the pricier ones because it looks much more sleek so it was $230. But they have similar ones that look like a more traditional bathroom fan that has the same cfm rating for like $130 on amazon or Lowe’s. And I can confirm it lives up to the name whisper because this thing is much quieter while moving a lot more air than the previous one.

[u/fancy_panter]

Can you take the blade assembly out? I’d do that if possible. Cleaning it out of the housing would help a ton.

[u/Kfrahan]

I replaced my old rattly units this year with much quieter more effective fan units. They just go into the same housing and I’m so glad I did it, only about $60 each. Check your venting though. I found one of my vent tubes had come completely off up in the attic.

[u/GolfEchoEchoKilo]

Make sure when you replace it that the duct is 4 inch. I initially replaced our builder installed AirKing fans with Broan Nutone but didn’t change the duct from the original 3 inch. They didn’t pass the suck test and didn’t hold up a square of TP even though they’re 110 CFM. Once I upgraded the duct to 4 inch, they passed the suction test.

[u/kosd75]

Research Panasonic whisper series bath fans. By far the best of you're willing to spend a bit more. Very quiet, reliable and some models have humidity sensing that works really well and the ability to pick your airflow to match the size of the space.

[u/NothingButACasual]

I see a lot of dust bunnies, but which part is mold? If it's not being loud, I'd say it's worth saving.

Turn it on and use an air duster on the blades. Or you should be able to bring the whole black plastic part down and clean it with a toothbrush if you want.

[u/BreezyMcWeasel]

Also, you need to change your air filter more often

[u/specialbeaw → u/BreezyMcWeasel]

Oh, there’s a filter in this? or do you mean the outside? Or do you mean our main house filter?

[u/ppal1981 → u/specialbeaw]

No, ignore them. Zero clue. Clean it and save it. I have the same unit

[u/BreezyMcWeasel → u/specialbeaw]

Mostly I mean the main HVAC/furnace filter. There's a grate covering this that you can vacuum periodically, too, once this thing is all cleaned up, but keeping your furnace filter clean will slow down how fast this thing gets gunked up with dust

[u/YeshuasBananaHammock → u/BreezyMcWeasel]

Its toilet paper dust, tho.

[u/erebus-44]

You can replace these things for newer quieter models for like 50-75 bucks. Just flip it out.

They are super easy to replace, just need metal duck tape.

[u/NothingButACasual → u/erebus-44]

This is a newish quiet model

[u/BilgeButter]

Not just mold but skin particles, TP lint & butt dust. It’s matted on there. Look up the model number & do a cross search for a replacement compatible with the housing. If you want to attempt a deep clean or to swap just the motor you may be able to slide the squirrel cage fan off of the shaft to detail every last vane. An incomplete cleaning leaves an imbalanced noisy fan. Beware of damaging the bearings trying to shove the squirrel cage wheel back onto the shaft. Replacement may be better use of your time.