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ceiling fans
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ceiling fan tips > cleaning Ceiling Fans
The Advantages of Keeping Your Ceiling Fan Clean
The revival of ceiling fans during the 1980s was one of the
best fads to return to our culture. A ceiling fan finally
allowed us to gently cool an entire room in warm weather,
and it can also be used winter and summer to help the warm
air generated by your furnace and the cooled air from the
air conditioner circulate better. All of this use is bound
to take some toll on your fan, especially when it comes to
collecting dust. You may not pay real close attention to
your fan because of where it’s located, but if you take a
look, you’ll discover a build-up of dirt along the edges of
blades. When you can see this gunk built up on your fan,
you’ll know it’s time to get out a ladder and do some
serious cleaning.
Dirty blades are more than just unsightly. Maybe you’ve
noticed a little bit of wobble in your fan. That can be
caused by a build-up of dirt. If you want to keep your fan
working as it should, you need to keep it clean. Since it
usually involves bringing in a ladder, people tend to put it
off. However, it must be done periodically, especially
during months of heavy use. So get your ladder set up and
grab a bottle of cleaner and some paper towels, and let’s
get busy.
The first, most obvious step in cleaning a fan is to turn it
off. You don’t want to risk getting hit by the twirling fan
blades. In addition, if you try to stop the blades in order
to clean them while the fan’s running, you can do damage to
the motor or blades. Once the fan has stopped completely,
set up your ladder so that you’ll be able to reach the
blades easily.
Place your cleaning supplies on the ladder’s paint shelf,
and carefully climb up until you can reach the blades. As
long as the fan is off, you can safely turn the blades so
that you can reach them without doing any damage. You don’t
want to spray any cleaner that could get into the motor, so
spray it onto a paper towel instead. Starting on top of the
blade, gently wipe off any dust and dirt. You may need to
use more cleaner and work harder on the edges of the blade,
especially if it has been exposed to kitchen grease. After
the blade is clean, turn the fan so that you can work on the
next one, using a clean paper towel for each blade.
Your ceiling fan needs this kind of heavy-duty cleaning at
least every other month. In addition, you should dust it
every week with a long-handled duster. If the metal parts of
the fan need to be shined, you’ll want a different kind of
cleaner that is made especially for use on metal. Once
again, make sure that you keep the cleaning chemicals out of
the motor.
There are many different things you can use to clean your
ceiling fan. Swiffer dusters are a popular method. You can
also use Pledge or other wood furniture cleaners, cloths
made of microfiber, or static dusters. If you’re in the
market for a new vacuum cleaner, look for one that has
special attachments for cleaning ceiling fans. Many of the
upright models come with a telescopic duster which you can
also adapt for hand use. Specialty dusters are available
that come with a long handle which means you don’t need to
drag in a ladder for weekly maintenance.
There are three main reasons for cleaning your fan on a
regular basis. Keeping the fan clean will increase the
longevity of the fan by keeping the motor sound and reducing
noise. A clean fan just plain looks nicer, too. If you’ve
ever noticed someone’s grungy ceiling fan, you know what I
mean. A dirty fan will also throw dirt and dust into your
air where particles can get into the lungs of your family or
set off allergy attacks. A clean ceiling fan is a safe,
healthy fan.
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