How do I Clean the Bath Vent??

[10Smiles]

Hello again... This seems silly, but I cannot figure out how to clean the screen on the bathroom vent. It is on our 2005 Classic. This is the small (four or so inches in diameter) fan vent. We use it a lot and it is getting clogged with lint.

I tried to remove the screen, but the fan switch came with it and (as far as I can tell) I cannot get the switch out of the screen. I attempted to vacuum the screen in place, but the lint is quite compacted in the screen. Maybe I'll try a tooth brush to loosen the lint.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
David

[dznf0g]

Toothbrush would work. I use a computer (tiny) keyboard vacuum I got as a gift years ago.

[idroba]

Compressed air from an air hose nozzle might also work. However, you should be able to take the switch out and clean it that way. It was assembled somehow, has to come apart too.

[Lily&Me]

Aaaah, a toothbrush! That's a great idea!

We haven't been able to figure out how to clean ours, either, and vacuuming does nothing,


Maggie

[Sbb]

When you all figure it out let me know, Mine has a rather large bee condo! Not looking forward to that job. Sbb

[10Smiles]

Originally Posted by idroba

However, you should be able to take the switch out and clean it that way. It was assembled somehow, has to come apart too.

Yes, the switch pops out of the front (bottom) of the screen. the wires then go through the switch hole. The wires are very short, so you cannot pull the screen very far from the vent assembly. To disassemble it, you would have to disconnect (cut?) the switch wires, then the whole shebang could be removed. More trouble than I am willing to deal with.

Thanks for the replies, I will try the toothbruch plan.

[10Smiles]

Well, I got it cleaned. I attempted the toothbrush plan with some window cleaner. Did not work well. So I took the two screws out that hold the screen/switch assembly on and got the screen to be hanging down vertically. More scrubbing with the toothbrush. Not much more progress toward a clean screen. As I was goofing with it, I pulled a bit hard on it and one of the wires pulled out of the switch(the wire is very short, leaving little room to work!). Well, now I could remove the other wire from the motor and get the screen/switch assembly free from the fan assembly. As mentioned before, the switch pops out of the screen.

Now I could take the screen to the sink and give it a good scrubbing. Great, that's done!

Now, how do I get the switch to work again... The wire just pulled out, so I found a wire of the same gauge and stripped the end to the same length as the one that pulled out. Now I pushed the wire into the switch (it sort of snapped in). Then I crimped a male/female spade connector to the wire so now I can just disconnect the connector for cleaning next time.

Whew, that was more work than it should have been!

[Larry C]

I just take my shop vac, and suck the crud off of the screen. That little fan pulls everything up and into the screen, the shop vac works great. If you have one of those little brush attachments for the shop vac, it works even better....
Good luck!

[MtnCamper07]

Shop Vac also makes attachments (fit on your existing hose but with smaller diameter openings on the ends), creating slightly more suction and being more gentle that the standard attachments. These attachments are typically recommended when cleaning your computer keyboard or other delicate items and should work well when cleaning your vent fan. See if that works for you....

[PriscillaQoD]

In the Airstream manual it says that you have to take the fan/screen assembly off from the roof, not from inside. Haven't tried it yet, but I've tried all of the above from the inside, with no luck.

[Lily&Me]

We used the wand and small brush tip attachment for our super-duper, dog-hair-sucking stick house vac last week, and it worked great,

The brush bit loosemed the solidified lint on the vent screen, and it all came right off. The brush seemed to be the key, and the high level of suction, as we have tried a wand in the past with no success..


Maggie

[dznf0g]

I just removed mine yesterday for cleaning.

1) Remove the screws on each end of the push/pull handle. This will allow the plastic center section to come out.

2) remove the ring on the switch and push the switch through the opening in the screen frame.

3) remove the two screws holding the screen assembly in the fan.

4) Remove the screen and clean it in the sink with a brush. Vacuum up in the fan assembly.

Assembly is in the reverse of these steps.