Introduction

Tower fans provide cool breezes without the loud whir of standard box fans. Tower fans come with more options, too: quiet settings, remote controls and timers, to name a few.

Even with their sleek looks, tower fans get just as grimy as box fans. It's important to clean them periodically to keep dust and dirt from reducing air flow and blowing allergens and dust everywhere.

This project can be tackled two ways, depending on how dirty your fan is. A basic microfiber cloth wipe-down and vacuum or air duster on the vents works for most fans, especially if cracking yours open voids the warranty (check your user manual). For more in-depth cleaning, removing a few screws can get you access to the housing, but it's kind of dicey prying open the plastic — I thought I broke mine at one point!

If that doesn't scare you off, here's how I cleaned mine. (And yes, I did get it back together.)

Tools Required

Ally Childress for Family Handyman

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