The bathroom fan does a job that nobody thinks about until the mirror fogs and stays fogged, the paint on the ceiling starts to look wrong, or the room smells damp in the morning. On a house where someone is at home all day and night, the bathroom gets more use than it used to, and the fan gets more use with it. A fan that is still running but no longer moving air is the most common problem, and it is the easiest to miss, because the switch still works and the sound still comes on.

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Test whether the fan is moving air

Turn the fan on and hold a single square of tissue near the grille. If the fan is working, the tissue should be pulled gently against the grille and held there. If the tissue hangs straight down or drifts away, the fan is not moving enough air, and something is in the way. Do this test at the same time each month so the result is comparable from one month to the next.

Write the result on a card, or in the household notebook, with the initials of the person who did the test. A short line is enough: tissue held, or tissue did not hold. Over a few months, that short record is what tells you whether something is slowly changing.

The monthly cleaning

Switch the fan off and let the cover cool if it has been running. Wipe the cover with a damp cloth, then use a brush attachment on the vacuum to lift lint and dust from the grille and the slots. Do not spray cleaner into the fan housing. Dust that has built up on the cover is the first thing that cuts the airflow, and it takes about the same time to clean as the tissue test takes to run.

Every few months, with the power switched off at the wall, look at the fan blades through the grille if you can see them, and wipe away any dust you can reach safely. If you cannot reach the blades without taking the cover off or working on the wiring, that task belongs to the electrician or the handyman, not to the household.

Name the owner of each task

Three tasks, three owners. The person who runs the tissue test and writes the result is the first owner, and that person should be the same household member each month if possible. The person who does the cleaning is the second owner, and it can be a hired helper if the house and the helper's role allow it, since cleaning a fan cover is ordinary household work. The third owner is the licensed electrician or handyman you call when the test fails after cleaning, when the motor sounds wrong, or when the ceiling around the fan shows stain or moisture.

Writing the three names down is the part that matters. When a family member says they will check the fan, the question to ask is who will write the result down and who will make the call if it fails.

What to ask before you hire the trade

If the test keeps failing after cleaning, ask the electrician or handyman three things before any work begins. Ask whether the fan is sized for the room, because an undersized fan will run every day and still leave the room damp. Ask whether the duct can run straight out of the house, since a long run with bends loses airflow. Ask what the quote includes: the fan, the duct, the exterior cap, any ceiling repair, and a test of the airflow at the end. Compare the quotes by what they include, not only by the total.

Write down the answers and the name of the person who gave them. The next person who has to make a call will be grateful for the note, and the note is also how you know whether the fix was done the way it was described.