Is your ceiling fan making clicking noise? Lets find out!
We all know that ceiling fans are fantastic cooling solutions during hot summers. They cool the interior of your home in the most natural way – by blowing the air currents through the spinning motion.
But as time goes by, you may hear your ceiling fan making clicking noise, clanking, rattling, and all the sort. Is it the time to do a complete overhaul and replace the unit?
Maybe yes and maybe not – actually, it depends on the clicking and grinding intensity from the fan. It should help you decide whether to locate the source of these noises and correct them.
Don’t think that flattening the noise requires some technical intervention all the time. Just regular maintenance and cleaning should clear most of the prominent noise issues.
However, sometimes you try the basic fixes or do the cleaning and all those practices. Yet, nothing significant comes about in terms of reduced noise.
Ceiling Fan Making Grinding Noise.
In the case of the ceiling fan making grinding noise, the prime suspect usually is the motor. And this normally means that the motor’s bearings have probably dried up.
So with dry bearings, the fan doesn’t pick up speed in the right way. This makes the spinning action quite a hard task for the motor and so you can hear the squeaks and grinding.
If this happens, it’s super important that you correct it immediately. Otherwise, once the motor dries up completely, it will burn up.
What this means is that you need to disassemble the whole fan. Locate the bearings in the motor and apply a good oil to lubricate them.
If you’ve been going through this and probably gave up the fight, here’s some good news. I have researched and compiled some useful tips to go about the noise problem from your ceiling fan.
How to Fix a Clicking Ceiling Fan: 9 Simple Ways.
Could you be wondering about the possible ways how to quiet a ceiling fan? Here is a quick list that describes the different methods you can deploy to end the clicking in your ceiling fan.
Just right before that, I want to sound a timely reminder: please ALWAYS make sure that the fan is not moving an inch.
You must switch off the power source. Also turn off the fan from the panel and let the unit cool or stop.
1. Clean The Fan From Time To Time
The tip is coming first because cleaning and maintenance can prevent most of the noise issues. And the cleaning must be scheduled to happen on a regular basis.
The cleaning process is normally on the blades. As it is, blades blow and collect a lot of dust when rotating.
And when they get dirty, the spinning efficiency is reduced. That’s when you will start to hear some noise.
So you must clean the blades from time to time. You can choose to use any clean fiber cloth for this job.
When cleaning, you can do it from up on the ceiling. If you don’t have a reliable ladder to that, make sure to take the blades down and clean them from the floor.
You want to wipe the blades gently to avoid causing bends or twists to them.
2. Reposition The Blades
When the blades wobble due to misbalance, it is ordinary to hear the rubbing noises. Usually, these blades become uneven and bent as the unit spins continuously.
Because of this constant action of spinning, the blades may bend. To help eliminate the problem, take the fan down and work on straightening the uneven blades into the correct shape.
Work from a flat surface to ensure that all blades are level. This is an effective method to quiet ceiling fans in addition to the first one.
Sometimes the blades may be in their perfect shape, not bent but just unbalanced. Make sure you use a balancing kit to bring back the balance.
3. Check The Motor And Lubricate
It is possible that some noise still comes from the fan even after the first two treatments. Probably, the motor is causing all these.
Open the cover and observe the motor. See whether the bearing is dry as it is the main moving part inside the motor.
A dry bearing produces a grinding sound. With time, if left unattended, it could burn up the whole motor.
So you need to lubricate these parts as soon as possible. Apply oil to the bearing to make the spinning a tad of work.
To apply oil, make sure that you bring the parts down. Be careful to handle these parts without damaging any wires.
Return the fan to its position and test it out.
4. Fix The Loose Mounting Bracket
Another very important part to work on is the mounting bracket. The ceiling fan making clicking noise as a result of a loose bracket is a recipe for a bloody accident.
How do you discover this? Any hint of wobbling and you should be swift to find out if it’s the blades or the bracket.
Check the mount and the down rod. You may need to disassemble the fan to complete this task.
Tighten up the screws connecting the fan on its mount. Make sure it’s done well.
5. Screw The Motor Cover Tightly
You can also check the cover of the motor. It could be loosely placed. This is a normal occurrence because, after a few months of use, the motor cover is one of the parts that start loosening up.
The cover may also be loose if you disassembled the motor and blades in recent times. To find out about the cover, just put up a ladder and climb to inspect it.
Is it shaky? Then it is time to try screwing it back tightly.
6. Screw The Light Bulbs Properly
Nowadays, most ceiling fans come with integrated light bulbs. Thus, some ceiling fan noise also comes from these light bulbs.
That’s if the light bulbs are attached loosely. So you want to find out if their screws are well placed.
If not, take initiative to tighten these screws using a suitable screwdriver. You will definitely discover a difference after the repair.
7. What About Checking The Globe On The Light Kit?
If your ceiling is one of the few that have a globe to cover the light bulbs, this is a part to inspect and repair. A loosely fixed globe is a great source of squeaking noise when the fan is on the go.
Make sure you also tighten this globe well. In case it’s worn out, be sure to purchase a new one for replacement.
8. Time For A Professional To Put A Stop
Perhaps you have tried everything above and it’s not just working? Well. You cannot handle everything.
That’s why we have electrical professionals or electricians. Definitely, you will need one to help diagnose the deep-lying issue and inject a technical treatment.
If not… let’s see
9. Maybe You Just Need A Replacement
If you just bought a brand new designer ceiling fan and all these problems are right on, it can be heartbreaking. But I am being specific: for guys who’ve had their fans taking them through some years.
Although it’s an additional cost, what of the peace of mind you get? You want to study, sleep, talk without a hint of disruption.
This is the very last step you can take after all others have failed to yield to the expectations.
In Conclusion
With concerted effort and dedication, these methods mentioned above should bail you out. I am very sure about this.
Keep in mind to always clean and maintain your ceiling fan from time to time. And the ceiling fan making clicking noise is going to be non-existent around your space.
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