Keeping your ceiling fans clean is not just a matter of keeping your home looking good. It's also a matter of health and of protecting your fans from damage. One of the reasons why domestic cleaning agencies make sure that ceiling fans are cleaned is because they know this. Since fans are rarely used, many people reduce expenses by keeping their cleaning out of the purview of the domestic cleaning agencies. This makes sense, but even if rarely used they need to be cleaned once in a while.
Dirty fans means dust with germs and pollen waiting to be blown all over the room when the fan is turned on. Also, the dust on the blades could affect the balance of the fan making it noisy, putting more strain on the motor and damaging the ball bearings. Cleaning fans is not complicated and requires no special materials or skills.
To do a weekly cleaning, all you need to do is first of all make sure the fan is off. Using a ceiling cleaning brush / duster with a long handle, clean all the blades thoroughly. Place a plastic sheet below the fan to keep falling dust and grime from falling on the carpet. Carefully gather up the sheet so that no dust falls out and your weekly cleaning is done.
Once in a while, say once to twice a year (perhaps more frequently) it depends on how much the fan is used) you will want to give the fan a more thorough cleaning. To do this you will need a ladder to get to the fan. Once again spread the plastic below the fan. If the fan has a light fixture attached, carefully remove the bulbs from the fixtures (be careful not to burn yourself on hot bulbs). Then, if possible, remove the light fixture. Wipe the blades clean with a dry cloth. Spray some domestic cleaner on a piece of clean cloth and wipe the blades again. Repeat this until the blades are clean. Be careful not to spray the cleaner directly on the fan. If any liquid should go into the motor housing, it could cause serious damage.
Next remove the motor casing and clean off all the dust from the surrounding areas. Clean the light fittings in warm soapy water, and after drying, polish them if needed. Make sure everything is dry before fitting the light back on the fan.
Waxing the blades with car wax will prevent dust from sticking to the fan blades and make future cleaning easier.