If your bathroom mirror gets foggy after taking a shower, then your exhaust fan isn’t doing its job. Your bathroom exhaust fan removes heat, moisture, odours and humidity from the air, stopping your bathroom from becoming a breeding ground for mould and mildew. But people forget that your bathroom exhaust fan is like any other appliance in your home. It needs to be cleaned to run efficiently.
Martec bathroom exhaust fans are designed so they can be quickly and efficiently cleaned. So we are going to discuss the best way to maintain your exhaust fan.
What Does a Bathroom Exhaust Fan Do?
Your bathroom exhaust fan plays a pivotal role in keeping your bathroom clean and free of mould and mildew. It does this my extracting humidity, moisture, heat and odours from the air and expelling it outside the home. Without an exhaust fan, you could suffer from a build-up of moisture which can not only damage your walls, but also trigger the growth of mildew. Further, you could suffer from wood warping, and rotting drywall and furnishings. So it is important to maintain your exhaust fan
When to Use Your Exhaust Fans
You should run your bathroom exhaust fan whenever you have a bath, shower or when you think the air needs freshening up. You should run the fan for at least 20 minutes after your shower/bath or until the steamy air is completely gone.
Why Maintain Your Exhaust Fan?
As you’ve realised by now, your bathroom exhaust fan is critical for protecting against mould and mildew. If your exhaust fan is under-performing, the moist air tends to accumulate within the bathroom and gradually seeps into the walls and cabinetry. They can also expel foul odours rather than remove them from the air.
The good news, though is that bathroom fans need very minimal maintenance once every six months. Maintaining a bathroom exhaust fan is easy, requiring little technical knowledge. Bathroom fan maintenance consists of cleaning the vent and checking functionality. If you have issues beyond easy cleaning, then it is important to hire a professional.
Cleaning Your Bathroom Exhaust Fan
Before you begin to clean, you will need to take some precautions. First, ensure you have turned the power off to the fan. Whenever you are working on anything electrical, you want to ensure the power is off. But this is especially so with bathroom fans. If the fan accidentally starts when you are cleaning, you can get hurt and damage the blades.
If you haven’t cleaned your bathroom exhaust fan in a while, or you have never cleaned it, then it is likely coated in a thick layer of dust. In this case, you might want to put something over the floor to prevent dust getting everywhere.
When it comes to cleaning the blades, you have some options. If your vacuum has a brush attachment, then you can use this to very, very gently suck up the dust.
If you do not have a brush attachment, or your vacuum cleaner cannot reach your bathroom fan, then you can use a cloth or sponge, water and a cleaning solution. Use the cloth to very gently wipe the blades, to avoid damaging them.
After washing the blades it is best to go over them once or twice with a dry cloth to ensure you have removed any extra dust particles or moisture on the blades.
If there isn’t a lot of dust on your blades, then you can simply use a duster to give them a quick clean.
You will also want to clean the cover. You can wipe it with a wet cloth, like you did with the blades, then wipe it dry. Once everything is clean, just close the cover, turn the power on, and the fan will work well again.
There are plenty of benefits to keeping your bathroom exhaust fan clean. Martec bathroom exhaust fans have an easy access panel to so you can quickly and easily clean your fan, saving money on expensive repairs. Make sure you clean your fan at least once every 6 months to ensure it remains in perfect working order.
Looking to replace an old exhaust fan? Building a new home or renovating your bathroom and want something new and modern? Explore the bathroom exhaust fan range today at Martec. We have a wide range of 3-in-1 bathroom heating units that allow conveniently combine the function of a fan, light and heater in one.
Want to know more? Contact the team at Martec, today, for advice on the right exhaust fan for you!