I have a bathroom fan vent that doesn't completely come off, it stays attached but pops down (see attached images).
Should I clean these things using a ladder, or should I remove them and wash them somewhere else?
It does come off. You squeeze those wire clips together and the ends pop out of the slots they are in. Then you can take the entire cover off. After that there is usually just one screw holding the fan motor in place, take that out and unplug the fan so that you can remove it and clean it thoroughly with a vacuum cleaner.
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Bingo, except you'll want to clean the fan blades with a stiff brush. The lint accumulates like bat guano. You can use some water if you keep the motor reasonably dry. – isherwood Jan 9 '19 at 22:10
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1Often those fan blade assemblies are just a one-piece plastic unit that is pressed onto the motor shaft. I pulled mine off and put it in the dishwasher, cleaned it great. Pressed it back onto the shaft and put it back in, got another 5 years out of it (so far). I can hear the motor bearings going out after it has been running a while so I'll have to eventually break down and buy a replacement, but they are more expensive than I think they should be, even on Amazon. – JRaef Jan 10 '19 at 0:15
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In my experience there's a retainer that can be removed from the end of the shaft or the "squirrel cage" to allow it to slip off the shaft. It's not necessary to remove it, though. – isherwood Jan 10 '19 at 13:48
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Thank you, I was hesitant to remove it because I wasn't sure if I would break something. – tlehman Jan 12 '19 at 4:45
