Ceiling fans are remarkably long-lived home appliances. With proper maintenance, a ceiling fan could function as expected for decades — but the truth is that most fans don’t receive the care and attention they need to last that long.
Many ceiling fan experts recommend that homeowners replace a ceiling fan after just a decade because the fan is likely beginning to show distressing signs of maltreatment and disrepair.
If you want your new ceiling fan to stand the test of time, here are a few regular maintenance tips to help you keep it running fine.
Tips to Maintain the Ceiling Fans of Your Room
Regular Cleaning
Dirt and grime are the enemies of every home appliance, and ceiling fans are no different.
Dust can filter into a ceiling fan’s delicate inner workings and cause damage; worse, because ceiling fans are located so high up, they tend to accumulate a larger amount of dust over a short period.
You need to engage with regular cleanings to remove this dust and ensure efficient operation into the future.
Once per month — or at least once per quarter — you should use a microfiber cloth to remove dust from your fan’s blades and motor housing.
If your fan is located in a high-traffic area, some dust may adhere to the fan, requiring you to use a damp cloth or disinfecting wipe to achieve cleanliness.
Even if you need a step stool or ladder to reach your fan, the regular cleaning should take no more than a few minutes at most, so it should be easy for every homeowner to fit into other cleaning activities.
Annual Deep Cleaning
Once per year, you should devote more time to ridding your ceiling fan of any dirt and grime that has made its way deep into its workings.
After removing surface-level dust with a microfiber cloth, you can use a cotton swab saturated with vinegar (or a more pleasant-smelling cleaning solution) to wipe around the motor case, paying especially close attention to grooves where the fan pulls air into its motor.
You might remove components of the light kit, like the shades around light bulbs, to wash them in the sink and clean more effectively around bulbs. Finally, you should disinfect any fan pulls to prevent bacteria or oils from causing harm.
Because many homeowners primarily use their ceiling fans during the warmer seasons, it might be wise to schedule your annual deep cleaning for the springtime, before temperatures start to rise.
Then, you won’t need to worry about months of dirt and grime clogging your fan while it is keeping you cool during the summer months.
Screw Tightening
Ceiling fans are made to move, but constant movement tends to impact the hardware holding an appliance together. The circular rotation of a ceiling fan can wiggle screws loose, and loose screws can cause all manner of problems in fan operation.
A loose screw may cause a fan to become imbalanced and wobble menacingly while running at higher speeds. Loose screws can also cause fans to make distracting noises.
Worst of all, some loose screws may put you at risk, as they could weaken the fan’s anchor to the ceiling. While you are deep cleaning, you should take a screwdriver to any screws you can see to keep everything appropriately tight.
Lubrication
Many ceiling fans require oil to lubricate the moving parts and ensure quiet, smooth operation. You should consult your fan’s manual to determine whether and how often you will need to refill an oil reservoir in the motor.
You may not need to disassemble the fan to add oil; you merely need to drip a light oil (like 10, 15 or 20 weight oil, which you can find at a home improvement store) into a hole at the top of the motor casing.
Then again, if your fan does not require oil but is emitting a terrible screeching noise that is not the result of a loose screw, you might want to administer some lubrication, like WD-40, where the blades attach to the motor.
This task only needs to be performed when you notice friction between the blades and the motor.
Your ceiling fan deserves a long, healthy life. Fortunately, ceiling fan maintenance requires mere minutes of your time, so you can continue enjoying the benefits of your fan without much effort.
