Have you noticed how dirty your washroom exhaust grills get from time to time? Cleaning those grills and the exhaust fans is something that most homeowners can do themselves.

In newer installations, the exhaust grill is easily removed by squeezing together two spring clips. Just pull the grill down a bit, and it will hang there by itself. Gently squeeze the clips together at the top and you should easily be able to remove the grill. The grill can be vacuumed if necessary, and then washed in the bathroom sink or in the tub. Wipe it dry with a paper towel, and that part is done.

Some grills are actually screwed into place, and if so, then the grill is also likely to be painted as well. Carefully cut around the edges before you remove it and clean as described above.

As soon as the grill has been removed, you should see the fan. If you haven’t cleaned this out for a while then you will notice that it is quite dusty. In most cases you should be able to uplug the fan and remove the complete assembly by removing one or two screws.

 
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Once you have the fan out, you can vacuum and wipe the blades of the fan with a damp cloth. A soft brush or paint brush can be used to remove all the visible dust from the motor.

Just put everything back together, plug in the fan and test its operation before you re-install the grill and that’s it. The whole job shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes per washroom.

In most cases you won’t be able to clean the exhaust duct (the part of the system that goes from the fan to the outside grill), but just cleaning the fan and grill periodically is not only good housekeeping, but it will make the fan last for many more years than it would have if you never cleaned it.

Some homes create alot more dust than others, but on average, you should do this small maintenance item once every six months.

Remember too, that cleaning of this complete system, including the grill, the fan, the duct and the outside grill is also something that can be done in conjunction with a whole-house air duct cleaning for a very minimal fee.