A lot of you probably already do this, but it’s something that’s easy to forget.
Every time I do it I get so much ‘bang for the buck’ it’s like winning a lotto scratch off ticket.
Last night I took the grill off the box fan, washed it down, and cleaned the blades. Fan blades can capture a surprising amount of filth. To your eye it doesn’t look like that much, but the accumulated grime on the leading edge of the fan blade severely disrupts air flow.
Think of it like an airplane propeller, or a wing, and it’s easy to imagine the catastrophe that would occur if this kind of build-up were found on airplane. That’s what’s going on, in miniature, with a fan.
This is one of those cheap box fans, all made of plastic. Sometimes people just throw them out “because they’re so cheap,” but there’s no need to be wasteful.
After cleaning the fan last night, I estimate that the volume of air flow (in the correct direction, away from the fan and into the room) increased by almost three times. The rotational speed of the fan on the maximum setting doubled. That’s how much air resistance was weighing the motor down. '
It’s so satisfying to clean it off and see and feel the result. I know—I’m a dork. But try it and tell me you weren’t pleased with the results!
"Local fan sellers hate him!"
No, I'm with you. I clean my desk fan before summer each year just because the thought of the year's fifth whizzing around and getting chucked into my face disgusts me, but the air flow is an interesting thing too.
How fun! I've been planning on buying a handheld anemometer for mapping the air flow in my house to install air-return ducting, and now I'm very excited to test your hypothesis!