Vent fans are wonderful things. Until they become clogged with dust, hair, and other stuff. Then cleaning them can be a messy challenge. There’s a better way.

Does this image look familiar in your RV? Found in many travel trailers, especially Airstreams (we have two in ours!), it’s the Ventline Vanair powered roof vent.

They’re really a simple piece of machinery and do a decent job of venting odors, humidity, etc. from your RV’s bathroom or shower. But cleaning the metal or plastic mesh screen? Ugh, that can be a pain. Here’s how:

  1. Clear the area under the vent fan of anything you don’t want dusty or dirty. Trust us. In fact, it’s probably a good idea to put away ***everything*** that is out in the bathroom. No matter how you try, stuff is going to fall down.
  2. Put on some safety glasses. Remember how we recommended you clear the counter area so stuff doesn’t fall on it? Yeah, well, it’s going to get into your eyes too. A simple dust mask might also be a good idea before proceeding.
  3. Remove the two screws that secure the pull-down handle.
  4. Remove the two screws that secure the screen.
  5. Remove the thumb nut securing the switch.
  6. Rinse the screen and dry it. Also, a good idea to wipe out the fan with a cleaning wipe.
  7. Reverse the process to install the screen and handle.

You may want to replace the vent fair at some point too. We noticed ours would stop working intermittently. They were easy to find (thanks, Amazon!) and takes about a half hour to install (okay, 20 minutes of that was scraping off the old sealant to get the original off). Don’t forget a tube of Dicor sealant to make everything water-tight when you’re doing the install.