Best Way to Clean soot or mold from bathroom vent?

When I moved into my apartment 20 years ago, I inherited a bathroom vent without a fan. Unbeknownst to me at the time, city housing laws require working fans in bathroom vents (when the light is turned on). Well, mine was never fixed, and we taped a piece of aluminum foil around it to block any unwanted visitors from crawling through.

With much trepidation, I just removed that aluminum foil, as I saw what appears to be soot or mold creeping out of it. The vent holes are loaded with thick dirt (and possibly molds). What's the best way to clean it? Get a powerful hand held vacuum and a filtered mask? Any ideas?

Reply to
heathersmith
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You don't know what is in there. Probably not soot, though. Mask.Good Mask. You could make a bleach solution 1:10 in a spray bottle and spray an area of the black stuff; if it becomes a lot less black it was mold. Can you disassemble the vent for cleaning? O/W brush, mechanical cleaning or take out throw away and replace with new. Latter may be best.

This is an apartment? Sounds like landlord gets to do this. And soon.

Reply to
bluetsilk

Tell the landlord. That's what you pay rent for.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

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