The weight of excess dust can actually make your fan squeak! That’s why cleaning it is one of the first steps to maintaining your ceiling fan. Use gentle pressure when cleaning the fan blades and avoid putting too much weight on them.
Loose light bulbs can cause squeaking sounds when the screw thread contact wobbles inside the base. This is also a great time to change lightbulbs that have burnt out.
The screws connecting the fan to the ceiling mount can start to wiggle loose over time, which can make the fan squeak. Occasionally screws can break. If there is a missing or damaged screw in your ceiling fan, replace it.
You can attempt to troubleshoot the complex problem yourself, or you could call in a certified electrician.
You can purchase an inexpensive balancing kit from your local hardware store for about $20. Rebalancing the fan blades can eliminate squeaking if the cause was from wobbling and uneven blades. Look up tutorials online to see a balancing kit test in action.
Call several electricians to get an estimate for how much it’ll cost for them to come do an inspection, and compare that with the cost to replace the fan to help make a decision about how you want to proceed. When hiring an electrician, ask about what kind of warranties or guarantees they offer. If the squeaking sounds come back several weeks after you paid to have it fixed, will they come back for free to address the problem?
