How to Clean Ceiling Fans Without Dust Raining Down

That Cleaning Girl · House Cleaning

In Texas, ceiling fans run nearly all year, and they collect dust like nothing else in the house. Turn on a dusty fan and you'll see little gray clumps drift across the room. If you've read How to Keep Dust Down in a North Texas Home, you know fans are one of the biggest dust sources overhead. Here's how to clean them without making a mess.

Why fans get so dusty

Fan blades slice through the air all day. As they move, dust and lint in the air stick to the leading edge of each blade. A little static helps hold it on. In kitchens, cooking grease mixes in and turns the dust sticky. After a few weeks, you have a fuzzy layer that's thick enough to see from across the room.

Dirty fans don't just look bad. Every time you turn one on, some of that dust gets tossed back into the air and onto your furniture, bed and floor.

Turn it off and set up

Turn the fan off and let it stop completely. If you're cleaning the light kit too, turn off the light and let the bulbs cool.

• Use a sturdy step stool or ladder, not a chair or the bed.
• Lay an old sheet or towel on the floor or furniture underneath.
• Grab an old pillowcase, a microfiber cloth, a spray bottle with mild all-purpose cleaner and a vacuum with a brush attachment.

Safety first. If you have to stretch or lean to reach, move the ladder. Most fan-cleaning injuries come from overreaching.

The pillowcase trick

This is the easiest way to clean fan blades with almost no mess:

• Slide an old pillowcase over one blade, all the way to the base.
• Press gently on the top and bottom of the blade through the fabric.
• Slowly pull the pillowcase back toward you.
• The dust stays inside the pillowcase instead of falling.
• Repeat on each blade.

When you're done, take the pillowcase outside, shake it out and toss it in the wash.

Wipe the blades clean

The pillowcase gets the loose dust. If there's still a film, especially on kitchen fans, follow up with a microfiber cloth lightly sprayed with all-purpose cleaner. Spray the cloth, not the blade, so nothing drips. Wipe the top, bottom and edges of each blade.

For wood or wood-look blades, a mild cleaner and a dry buff is enough. For greasy kitchen fans, a degreasing cleaner on the cloth helps cut through the stickiness.

Support each blade with one hand while you wipe with the other. Pushing too hard can bend the blade brackets and make the fan wobble.

The motor housing and light kit

Wipe the motor housing and the downrod with a dry or slightly damp cloth. Use a vacuum brush attachment or a soft brush to clear dust from the vents on the motor, which helps it run cooler.

For the light kit, remove glass shades carefully and wash them in warm, soapy water in the sink. Rinse, dry completely and put them back. Wipe bulbs with a dry cloth once they're cool. Dust on bulbs and shades dims the light more than you'd expect.

High ceilings, porches and outdoor fans

Many homes in our area have vaulted living rooms with fans well out of reach. An extendable fan duster with a curved head can clean both sides of a blade at once from the floor. It won't get as thorough a result as a hands-on wipe, but used regularly it keeps buildup from forming.

If a fan is truly out of reach and coated in heavy dust, that's a job for proper equipment. Don't stack furniture to get there.

Outdoor patio and porch fans collect pollen, cobwebs and outdoor grime. Clean them the same way, but expect a little more effort. An all-purpose cleaner on a cloth handles most of it. Wipe the blades and housing, and knock down cobwebs around the mount. Do it every few weeks in spring when pollen is heavy.

Clean the room after the fan

Ceiling fans are always the first job in a room, never the last. Some dust will fall no matter how careful you are. Once the fan is done, dust the furniture below and then vacuum. Clean the fan last and you'll have to do the whole room twice.

How often to clean fans

In most rooms, every couple of weeks keeps fans looking good. Bedroom fans that run all night and kitchen fans that catch grease may need it weekly. Homes across Waxahachie, Mansfield and the south DFW area run fans hard from spring through fall, so it's worth staying ahead of. If you'd rather not climb the ladder, our house cleaning services include dusting fans you can reach from a step stool.