Bathroom vent fans often get very noisy when they age.  The first idea that comes to mind when this happens is to replace the fan.  Replacement fans are not extremely expensive on eBay or Amazon, but depending on where you get the fan and if you have to pay someone to replace it, it could add up to more than you would like to spend.

The first thing you need to determine is what the problem with it is.  You might think that the metal parts inside the fan are wearing out and that you have no choice but to replace it.  However, many of these fans have a metal axle which rotates a cylindrical plastic fan.  Frequently, the first thing to wear out is the plastic hole through which the axle inserts.  As it wears, the hole becomes larger, allowing the axle/fan to wiggle around.  This is a common cause of the noise generated and it gets progressively louder as the hole becomes larger over time.

So I have found that you can place Gorilla Glue on the axle where it meets the fan in order to fill in the extra space caused by the plastic wearing.

When you apply Gorilla Glue, you spray it with water to activate it.  The white Gorilla Glue dries in about 2 hours.  The glue expands as it dries, filling in any adjacent dead space.  That prevents the axle/fan from wiggling and creating the noise.

Procedure:

• Turn off power to vent fan at wall switch
• Remove vent cover
• Unplug vent fan
• Loosen (do not remove screws) holding vent fan base
• Slide vent fan/base so the screw heads can slip out of the slot and remove the vent fan
• Move the fan up and down checking for play/movement.
• Apply a bead of Gorilla Glue around the area of play/movement keeping it uniform all the way around the axle.
• Spray the Gorilla Glue with a mist of water and let it dry for 2 hours.
• Reinstall fan.

Precautions:

• Don’t get any glue on the part of the axle that needs to move as the motor turns it.  If you do that, the fan won’t be able to turn and you will probably burn out the motor.
• Try to spread the glue evenly 360 degrees.  If the amount of glue is lopsided, it will unbalance the fan and create a wobble/noise.

So, instead of a $100 dollar repair, you can often fix it with a couple of cents of Gorilla Glue.

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