How To Dust Your Ceiling Fan Without Making A Mess

There are so many places in your home where dust can be hiding—your ceiling fan being one of them. Not only is it difficult to see all the dust accumulating on your ceiling fan blades, but it’s also hard to clean a fan that’s multiple feet above you. Below, we asked Sara San Angelo, a professional home cleaner and founder of Confessions of a Cleaning Lady in Charleston, South Carolina, for her best tips on how to clean a ceiling fan.

Meet The Expert

Sara San Angelo is a professional home cleaner and founder of Confessions of a Cleaning Lady in Charleston, South Carolina,

Considerations Before Getting Started

Before cleaning your ceiling fan, you should consider how high your fan is and what method you will use to clean it—you can use a ladder or a duster on an extension pole. “You should also consider if it is safe for you to clean your ceiling fan if you are planning on using a ladder,” explains San Angelo. “Is your ladder sturdy?  Is it tall enough?  Are you comfortable on a ladder?”

Additionally, you need to consider if you are just dusting the fan or deep cleaning it. This would require the ladder method, a microfiber cloth, and a cleaning solution. Deep cleaning would involve physically wiping the blades with a cleaning solution (maybe a bleach solution for whitening) and a microfiber cloth, according to San Angelo. “Magic Erasers also work wonders on grungy fan blades to make them white again,” she explains.

How Often To Clean Ceiling Fans

The frequency with which you clean your ceiling fans really depends on how dirty they are. According to San Angelo, you should clean your ceiling fans as soon as you see signs of dust on the blades. The blades should be dusted about once per week. If there is more build-up on the blades, you might want to deep clean your ceiling fan about once per month.

What You Need

If you are using the ladder method:

• Ladder

• Duster or microfiber cloth

If you are using the extension pole method:

• Duster with an extension pole

If you are deep cleaning:

• Ladder

• Microfiber cloth

• Cleaning solution

• Magic Eraser (optional)

How To Clean a Ceiling Fan

If you are using the ladder method:

1. Position ladder under ceiling fan. Make sure ladder is secure and sturdy.

2. Grab your microfiber cloth and climb ladder.

3. Wipe each blade with microfiber cloth. Do the tops and bottoms of blade and around motor.

If you are using the extension pole method:

1. Extend pole to reach fan blades.

2. Wipe each fan blade with duster.

If you are deep cleaning:

1. Position ladder under ceiling fan. Make sure ladder is secure and sturdy.

2. Spray cleaning solution directly onto cloth.

3. Climb ladder.

4. Wipe each blade with microfiber cloth. Do the tops and bottoms of blade and around motor. Do the same if you are using a Magic Eraser. 

Tips for Cleaning Ceiling Fans

There are some safety precautions you should take when cleaning your ceiling fan—especially if it’s suspended from a high ceiling. San Angelo suggests to always make sure that your fan is fully turned off before cleaning it. “Also, always use a secure ladder, and never use a swivel chair to climb on top of and try to clean your ceiling fan,” she warns.