Cleaning Panasonic Whisper & Other Bathroom Exhaust Fans 

Like you, I was surprise that Panasonic does not provide cleaning instructions beyond just vacuuming the grill. Delighted to hear this video was useful. I thank you for watching and taking the time to share.

How unfortunate the contractor saw that as a good idea. Glad you were able to clean it up and make it quieter. Thank you for sharing your story.

Good to hear the video was useful with the project. Thanks for watching.

Barry thank you for hanging in there and getting all the info. We strive not to waste viewers time with unwanted stories and details, but sometime it still gets long.

The q-tips are a good idea, although I like being able to rinse the toothbrush and not having it shed. Still, q-tips are a good alternative to ruining a new toothbrush. Thank you for sharing.

Bruce, thank you for taking the time to watch and provide the kind feedback, it is much appreciated.

I do have an electrical question, a while back I came across a receptacle and I expected incoming and load wires but what I found was two incoming. They were both from the same circuit. I just added another receptacle, one for each incoming. Any idea why it was wired that way back in 1968?

@@cfldriven That’s interesting. Were the yokes broken off to separate bottom and top halves of the receptacle? And, the lines (2 hots and 2 neutrals) were from two different breakers? Your solution is the route I would have taken in that situation. Ya can’t have too many receptacles!

@@barotraumabruce4245 No the yokes were not broken off, I thought I had 240V but it metered 120V and when I turned off the circuit they both de-energized. In a way it was good as I didn't have to pigtail for the 2nd receptacle. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TO8C-ZA3YOI.html Thank you for answering back so quickly.

@@cfldriven That is definitely…screwy! In my career I’d seen some funny things though. The time my sister-in-law complained she was being shocked between the kitchen sink and her range. Static electricity, right? Nope. 120-volts between the range body to the sink. The “neutral” tied to the chassis was coming off the breaker! Another time I was cleaning up the panel in an old apartment complex. I reached up and cut a green wire and my diagonal cutters immediately welded themselves to the metal panel. I tried to knock them loose with no luck. I round outside to the bank of meters and mains to disconnect everything. Nope. All the while you could hear this thing humming in the conduit and the insulation had started on fire. Now, I’ve pulled all the mains and meters and am just removing the cover as the wire burned off the line side of the meter socket! Really? During WW2, I was told, that one leg would run unfused from the line side of the meter to the water heater which would allow the power company to control power usage by being able to turn that leg off. I found out the hard way.

Thank you for watching and taking the time to provide the wonderful feedback.

Good to hear the video was helpful. We try to make these video detailed enough so people can decide if it something they can tackle. Thanks for watching.

Thank you for sharing the procedure for the Broan. Had two in prior home and procedure was similar, although these older units involved removing some screws. Nice to hear the newer units are easier to work on.

It is a dirty job but someone got to do it. 😀 Nice to hear the video was helpful. Thank you for the feedback and for watching.

Jim, depending on the manufactures the clips can be a pain to deal with. Happy to hear you found the video useful, thanks for watching.

John, thanks for the feedback and best of luck with the project.

Good to hear, thank you for watching.

Mark thank you for taking the time to watch and comment.

Edith, congrats on taking the time to learn how to do it yourself. thanks for watching.

Diane, good news is you are at least cleaning your fans and going forward they will be even cleaner. Thanks for watching and writing.

Just to add some more context... My breaker is connected to all lights in the bathroom including the vent. After disconnecting the power code is it safe to turn the breakers back on to use the lights while cleaning? Thanks!

@@tvxqshokora0611 Technically you could, but it is best to leave the circuit off until you are finished. Perhaps a flashlight or a work light plugged into a different circuit would be a better solution. Stay safe.

The Panasonic fans are pricey, but I do like there design and low sound level. Good luck with the replacement.

Rob R. congrats on a job well done. You may want to set a reminder to clean it again in a year or two. Thanks for the feedback and for watching.

Sometimes you have to state the obvious. Thanks for watching.

Amber, you would be amazed at what you can achieve by trying. You'll need step ladder, flashlight, screw driver. Take pictures with phone as you disconnect wires so you have an easy reference when putting it back together. If you need someone to do it for you I would ask around for a local handy person.

It is one of those many household chores that are easy to overlook. Thanks for watching.

Susan, wonderful to hear this video was helpful. Thanks for watching and writing in.

Thanks for commenting and watching.

Thank you for taking the time to comment.

Kevin, glad to hear the video was useful.

You're welcome, thanks for watching.

Thank you for watching and taking the time to provide feedback.

@cfldriven I was able to clean my fan, now it sounds brand new again.

@@BEATZABANGIN I'm always amazed at how quiet the fan can be when clean. Congrats on getting the job done.

Good question, for me, didn't want to poke a brush in there and have the connection apart (I did not install it) and then have to crawl on my belly in the attic to fix. I guess the short answer is fear. Thanks for watching.

Congrats on a successful project. Thank you for watching.

Alex, thanks for taking the time to watch and write.

Allan, no beeps from the two that I have.

Thanks for the feedback. There was one in the original bathroom, but in the remodeling the fan location changed.

My old Broan only required dropping two screws to remove the exhaust fan, the problem was the alignment was so poor that re-installing without the fan striking the unit was difficult. At least with the Panasonic everything comes together in perfect alignment. You're right in that the manufacture's cleaning instructions and what it takes to really clean it are very different. Also the electrical connections are much easier to make on the Panasonic. Thanks for sharing your experience and tip.

@@cfldriven Yes, I agree with all of the other great benefits of these fans. Not only are the screws lined up properly, but they're easy to access (on the modern fans. On an older Panasonic that I have, a couple of the screws are super-deep in there and tough too find with the long bit). I'm also quite pleased with how energy efficient and quiet they are. I love the way they install in two steps. But wow. This cleaning process could have been drop-dead easy. So I'm not sure who dropped the ball there. The little shroud bump should be removable!

You are right, why make it so difficult to clean? GRRR.....

Most house vacs don't have the reach, but more importantly this is caked on dirt, dust, skin, etc that really needs to be brushed, and washed off. While the manufacturer only recommends vacuuming, except for removing cobwebs it won't do much to actually clean the grill and the squirrel cage fan.

Robert, thank you for watching despite the length. It is always a challenge of not providing enough detail and running to long.

Place of origin has nothing to do with the design, that is decided by the folks at brand hq. As to the design this is far better than most of the other brands out there. To your point, the instructions only say to vacuum the exterior which does nothing for the build up on the fan, so yes they didn't make it easy to do that. If you find a brand that does a better job let us know.

Thanks for the feedback.