The Genius Trick That Helps Keep Your Ceiling Fan Dust-Free

One area of every room in your home you're probably neglecting to clean is the ceiling fan. While fans can help keep rooms cool, they're also one of the places that collects the most dust. You never want a fan to run with a thick cloud of debris attached to the blades or it'll cause everyone to sneeze, especially those with a dust mite allergy. However, using a mixture of fabric softener and water can help prevent grime from collecting on the blades' surfaces in the future. Although this is a temporary solution, you won't have to clean your ceiling fan as often.

Typically, fans should be cleaned weekly depending on how much dust they get covered in. If you have pets or live with multiple people, dust can accumulate faster. In addition, different rooms can also have different levels of debris, so you might have to clean some fans more than others. Yet, if you use the fabric softener cleaning trick, you won't need to clean them as often. When you use the fabric softener solution for the first time, check your fans every couple of weeks to see how much dust has collected. This will tell you how often you need to wipe them down.

A dust-repellent spray on your fans' blades will help prolong their cleanliness. Minimizing the amount of dust in the air will also prevent build-up on your fans and blinds. While you could purchase a dust-repellent product like Pledge's Clean It Dust and Allergen Surface Cleaner Spray, you can also make your own mixture. To do this, you'll need fabric softener, water, a bowl, and a spray bottle. Mix one part fabric softener with four parts water. For example, if you have a 30-ounce spray bottle, you'll want to measure 6 ounces of fabric softener and 24 ounces of water for the solution. Combine your liquids in a bowl, then pour the mixture into a spray bottle.

Before you spray the solution, wipe down the fan's blades with a clean, damp microfiber towel, and use a trash bag or a pillowcase to capture the dust. Alternatively, you could let it fall onto the floor, but you would have to vacuum or sweep it up after. Once you wipe down the blades, grab a dry microfiber towel, spray it with the fabric softener solution, and wipe down both sides of each blade.