Your ceiling fan can help keep you cool in the summer, but it’s often ignored or forgotten. A few minutes is really all it takes to keep your ceiling fan in good shape, though.
There are two main tasks that you need to complete to get your ceiling fan ready for summer—cleaning it and changing the direction that the blades spin.
Cleaning Your Ceiling Fan
Yuck! If you haven’t cleaned your ceiling fan, there’s probably a layer of thick dust on it right about now. This is pretty nasty looking, but it doesn’t have to be an arduous task.
To clean your ceiling fan, you’ll need a sturdy stepladder to reach the blades. It can be tempting to just pull up a chair, but chairs aren’t as sturdy, and you could end up falling and injuring your self. Stick to the stepladder.
If you have a vacuum with a long hose, vacuum as much dust from the motor as you can. Place the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner blades over the vents in the ceiling fan to remove some of the dust buildup on the inside.
Cleaning the blades is a snap! Just throw an old pillow case over each blade and wipe the dust off into the pillowcase. The dust and gunk won;t fall onto the floor, where you’ll have to clean it later. You can also put a coat of wax on your ceiling fan blades to help prevent buildup in the future.
Change the Direction of Ceiling Fan Blades
After you have your ceiling fan blades all clean and shiny, it’s time to change the direction of the blades. Maybe.
First, figure out which way the blades of your ceiling fan are spinning. In the winter, they should be spinning clockwise, which helps distribute the warm air from your heaters. In the summer, though, the blades of your ceiling fan should be spinning counter-clockwise.
Blades spinning counter-clockwise push air downward and creates a breeze. While it doesn’t actually affect the temperature of the room, it does help make you feel cooler. And when you feel cooler, you can turn that thermostat up and pay less to cool your home.
