Why is my bathroom exhaust fan making a strange noise?
Bathroom ventilation fans can suddenly start producing strange, on-and-off noises that persist for hours. This leaves homeowners unsure of what is wrong or how to diagnose the underlying mechanical issue.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1venting out the wall above the condenser
- 2leaving the window cracked
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Can anyone tell me what’s wrong and what this noise could be please? It’s been doing this on and off for about 2hours..🙏🏼😭”source ↗
“Remodeling a small bathroom and wanted to add a ventilation fan. After demo, I realized my only options are venting above a window (and through the header above) or directly above the AC condenser.”source ↗
“Would above the condenser lead to issues? Not sure what the best move is here”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4Why does my ceiling fan keep clicking?
- 6AC making loud noise again after repair
- 5Why does my HVAC condensate pump sound like a jet engine?
- 3How to clear heavy bathroom steam without an exhaust fan
- 2Why does my shower make a humming noise?
- 2Loud howling and whistling noise from vents after replacing blower motor