Often when cleaning people overlook their ceiling fan. A lot of people just keep their fan running 24/7 so they never notice the build-up of dust and grime. When you finally notice how dirty your ceiling fan has become this can be somewhat alarming. You may ask yourself “where did all this dust come from?” or “Am I breathing all this in through the air?”
What is the black dust on my ceiling fan?
The black dust that builds up on your ceiling fan is from dirt particles floating in your room. The dirt in the hair gets attached to dust, hair, skin, and other biological materials.
This is very common and is not directly harmful to your health. But it is important to clean your ceiling fan blades regularly and try to keep dust in your room to a minimum by dusting and wiping down surfaces.
How do you stop dust build-up on a ceiling fan?
There is a solution to keep your fan cleaning to only once a year. Anti-static spray can be purchased on Amazon and will limit the amount of dust and air particles that collect on your ceiling fan. The brand Sprayway is a good option.
Just remember that just because the dust isn’t collecting on your ceiling fan doesn’t mean it is gone. It’s still floating around in your air and can be harmful.
This is something that will always happen and is actually a good thing. These particles that stick to the fan blades would otherwise be floating through your air. Just make sure to limit the amount of dust in your room and clean your ceiling fan blades regularly.
Why does dust stick to ceiling fan blades?
Ceiling fans create friction by spinning through the air. This friction is similar to you dragging your feet in socks across and carpet. This friction created by the blades spinning creates static electricity. The static electricity acts as a magnet for dust and air particles to latch onto.
How do I get black dust off of my ceiling fan?
One good method for removing black dust from a ceiling fan is using a pillowcase. The reason this works well is a lot of dust tends to fall while cleaning. Because of a ceiling fan placement in a home, this usually means it will fall on a bed or a dinner table. The pillowcase catches the debris that would have fallen.
Clean each blade with the pillowcase. You should have no issues removing the dust. If there is any leftover dirt clean it with a leftover rag.
If you don’t have a pillowcase that you can use for this I recommend laying towels underneath the ceiling fan and using an old rag to clean each blade.
How do I get thick dust off of my ceiling fan?
Getting the loose dust off the ceiling fan should be easy using an old rag or pillowcase. I recommend removing as much as possible this way first.
Then use a damp rag to clean the rest of the ceiling fan blades. If there is still dirt try using a light amount of multi-surface cleaner to remove the rest.
Can a dusty ceiling fan make you sick?
Ceiling fans can circulate air particles that can trigger people’s allergies. This includes pollen, hair, skin, and other biological particles. This can be controlled by cleaning your can and rooms regularly.
If you do inhale these air particles it can cause common allergic reactions such as sneezing, stuffy nose, breathing difficulty, and itchy throat.
Unless there is mold or soot on your ceiling fan you should have any serious health problems.
What can cause black dust on ceiling fans?
There are many reasons you may have black dust on your ceiling fan. Most of them are harmless and can be solved by wiping done the ceiling fan blades.
Thermal precipitation:
It’s a grime build-up where there is generally air moving and a temperature difference at the same time. We also see this around air ducts in forced air or air-conditioned rooms. This has kind of a greasy texture to it.
Animals:
Having pets that shed hair can be a big reason for dust buildup. This dust will likely be different in color than usual because it’s not human hair and skin particles. For example, dogs shed a lot of hair and this can require you to clean your ceiling fan more frequently than homeowners without dogs.
Soot:
This is the worst one. It is created by burning and can be from a candle or fireplace. This is very harmful and should be cleaned as frequently as possible. It can also travel through your air conditioning unit and be blown back out of the vents. So if you believe you have a soot problem check your air filter to see how bad it is.
If your ceiling fan isn’t blowing air down this can also be an issue.
Is black dust normal?
No, black dust is not normal and should be checked to make sure it’s not harmful. There are reasons you may have black dust and it is not harmful such as pets, rooms with heavy dust, and very dirty rooms.
Whatever the reason maybe it is important to clean your ceiling fan regularly and find out what’s causing the issue.
