Your ceiling fan adds year-round comfort to your space. With such an important job, your ceiling fan collects dust on the blades as it runs. Unless you want dust flying around your room, you need to clean your ceiling fan blades regularly.  

Keeping your ceiling fan clean and dust-free is also important for the longevity of your fan and helps keep the air in your room clean.

We have the best tips for how to clean fan blades and fan bodies like a pro: 

Pro Tip: If you have allergies and are sensitive to dust, you may want to wear a mask during this process. 

Materials Needed

  • Large pillowcase
  • Extendable duster
  • Water or gentle cleanser
  • Microfiber cloth 
  • Homemade cleaner (one part vinegar to three parts water) 
  • Compressed air can  
  • Cotton cloth 
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Ladder
Optional
  • Homemade cleaner (one part vinegar to three parts water) 
  • Compressed air can  
Pro Tip: There may be a bit of dust that drops down, so use an old sheet to cover any exposed furniture underneath the fan as needed.

Steps

Make sure your fan is turned off and the light is not hot tot he touch.

1. Clean Your Fan Blades 

How to clean a ceiling fan without a ladder

If you have a flush mount ceiling fan you can clean your ceiling fan without a ladder, just make sure you have an extendable duster with a flexible head. They can extend a few feet high, which makes it easy to clean out-of-reach ceiling fans. Some extendable dusters come with a special attachment that can make dusting both sides of the ceiling fan blade at the same time a breeze. These can cost between $15 and $25. 

 

How to clean a ceiling fan with a pillowcase 

Use a large pillowcase, longer than the length of the blade, to capture the collection of dust. For added cleaning power, use a damp pillowcase or lightly spray the inside of the pillowcase with a gentle cleaning solution to remove accumulated grease or a thick layer of dust.

Place the open end of the pillowcase over the blade. Wipe the bottom and top of the blade off by gently sliding the pillowcase toward you. Use light pressure while doing this on the ceiling fan blades: too much pressure could cause the blades to break or go out of balance. Shake off the dust in the pillowcase outside before you wash it. 

 

2. Clean the Fan Body and Light Fixture 

While you're cleaning the blades, you might as well clean the ceiling fan’s other nooks and crannies, like the glass shades and motor housing. Use a microfiber cloth or the extendable duster to dust these parts. Or, utilize a can of compressed air to quickly blow off dust.  

If you’re just touching up the outside of the fan light glass, use a homemade glass cleaner (one part vinegar to three parts water in a spray bottle) and a microfiber cloth. Spray the cleaner onto the cloth instead of the glass. 

If your fan light glass needs a deep clean, remove the glass from the fan and soak it in warm, soapy water. Make sure it’s completely dry before you install the light glass back on the fan. 

 

3. Clean the Fan Accessories   

No matter how your control your ceiling fan - pull chain, remote or wall control, it’s important to disinfect your fan remote. Start by removing the batteries from the back of the remote. Dip a cotton cloth into rubbing alcohol (70% isopropyl alcohol) and wipe down the entire surface of the controller. Let the controller dry, then put the batteries back in. 

 

Other Maintenance

Keeping your ceiling fan clean and dust-free is also important for the longevity of your fan and helps keep the air in your room clean. Here are some other things to consider when cleaning your fan.

Use the times when you clean your ceiling fans as an opportunity to change the ceiling fan direction with the changing seasons.

If you have one of our Hunter Original fans, you’ll also need to do some minor ceiling fan maintenance and occasionally give it an oil bath

Make sure your have your fan registered. Hunter offers a Limited Lifetime Warranty on all fans

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