Vent fans draw steam out of your bathroom.
A fan draws air out of your bathroom and expels it outside, removing steam and foul odors from the bathroom. A basic bathroom vent fan is just that -- a fan -- but you can also purchase bathroom fans that contain lights and heaters, which you can use to heat the bathroom on those cold winter mornings where you don't want to get out of bed. You can replace your old fan with a lighted heater fan in just a few hours.
Instructions
1. Turn off the power to the vent fan at your main electrical box. Go into the bathroom and turn the switch for the fan on to see if it starts, then turn the switch off again. If the fan starts, return to your main box and kill the power to the correct circuit.
2. Remove the grille from the fan.
3. Remove the mounting screws that hold the fan's motor in place. Unplug the motor from its electrical connection inside the fan housing and slowly lower the motor.
4. Detach the wires for the fan's electrical connection from the wires leading from your home's main electrical box by untwisting the plastic connector caps.
5. Test the bare wires with a voltage tester to ensure that the power is off, then separate the wires in the fan housing from the electrical cable.
6. Go into the attic. Remove the duct from the outlet port on the vent housing.
7. Unscrew the screws that attach the housing to the ceiling joists, then lift the housing away from the ceiling. Loosen the cable connector screw and pull the electrical cable out of the fan housing.
8. Install the housing for the new fan, placing it over the hole in the ceiling and extending the mounting brackets out to the ceiling joists. Screw the brackets to the joists.
9. Attach the duct connector to the side of the housing, then connect it to the duct. Wrap duct tape around the joints to seal the duct. If the moist air were to leak inside your home, it could cause mold growth.
10. Return to the bathroom. Connect the wiring for the fan. This process can vary by manufacturer and fan model, so read the instructions provided with the fan, but generally you'll connect like-colored wires (black-to-black, white-to-white and green-to-green) by putting the like wires together and covering them with plastic connector caps.
11. Plug the fan and light fixture into their respective connectors, again following the manufacturer's instructions, and screw them to the fan housing.
12. Attach the grille to the fan, then install the light bulbs and place the lens cover over the bulbs.
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