My ceiling fan has long been a pain point for me. The level of mess from dust and filth was nearing an all time high. And every time I walked into the room that is ALL I saw, even if the rest of it was clean. I let this bother me for WEEKS because I didn’t want to clean up the mess from dusting the ceiling fan. In the past, every time I went to dust my ceiling fans bits of gunk fell to the floor. And I’d have to vacuum. It was a never ending cleaning cycle of doom. I could not dust my ceiling fan without making a mess.
And then I had a light bulb moment. I could use a pillowcase!
Using a pillowcase to dust your ceiling fan keeps 95% of the dust inside of the pillowcase and OFF OF your floors.
My method
- Get an old pillowcase. The inside of this pillowcase is never going to be the same. Choose one that isn’t in your rotation for sleeping.
- Wrinkle the pillowcase in your hands as if you were putting on pantyhose. Men if you are unsure what this means, find a lady and ask them.
- Slide the entire pillowcase over the blade of your fan.
- Now, your pillowcase is essentially hanging from your blade. With hands flat and near the center of the fan, hold both the underside of the blade and the upper portion of the blade. Pull the pillowcase gently off of the blade.
- Rinse, lather, and repeat for all blades.
- Take the pillowcase outside. Turn it inside out so the dust side is now showing. Beat it like a rug to get most of the dust off.
- Wash the pillowcase. Store with your other cleaning supplies for next time!
This really works! And I am so excited not to be stressed out anymore about dusting my ceiling fan.
What household chore do you avoid? Let me know in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
O…M…Geeeee!! I can’t believe I never thought of this! It’s BRILLIANT!! I’m totally doing this. WOOT!! Seriously a genius idea!! –Lisa
The Dose of Reality recently posted..Walking The Walk
I am equally excited Lisa! And it totally works! This may or may not be my first and last brilliant idea of 2013!
Brilliant, friend. Definitely trying this!
christie elkins recently posted..bless this mess.
Yay!
This is a brilliant idea! Especially since we have a fan right over our bed. That makes cleaning it SUCH a hassle. Thanks for the tip!
Jessica @ Living La Vida Holoka recently posted..Baking Season
You are welcome Jessica! I can’t promise that it will be mess free, but at least most of the mess will be CONTAINED!
I will have Henry do this since I am too short. The fan in the kids’ room is sooooo dirty! Good tip. I generally avoid doing the bathroom, of course, beyond the wipe-down and a mopping. I hate doing a deep clean!
Nancy recently posted..Balabusta Cred.
I used a step ladder to get mine. Otherwise I’m too short too! I don’t clean bathrooms because I don’t “miss” when I aim.
Oh dude. This is BRILLIANT!!
The damn ceiling fans (OMG we have 5) has been a sore point between my husband and I for months. MONTHS. Our main fan in the living room is black. I need to try this!
Alison recently posted..Do More Of What Makes You Happy
It will change your life. FOR SURE!
That is brilliant.
And I have to tell you – not sure we’ve ever dusted our ceiling fans in the living room. Or changed the lightbulbs. 20 foot ceiling here!
The funny thing is that this isn’t very big compared to my old house that I grew up in. Highest ceilings ever. My dad’s claim to fame is that he moved to Blairstown without EVERY changing the lightbulbs or using the ceiling fans. He had a gigantic contraption (robot arms?) to do it for him, but he was just such a grinch about not ever using those lights!! We relied on natural light. A lot.
Tamara recently posted..Honey, I Broke The Baby & My Mind.
1. I love that you called your dad a light bulb grinch. 2. I have no idea how you would dust ceiling fans that high. Although, they are so far from the ground maybe we just wouldn’t notice it?
Thank you so much for posting this! I have been looking up at my ceiling fan thinking about how dirty it is and dreading the day I will finally clean it. But now, I know how to do it without making more of a mess!
Tiffany recently posted..Holiday Roundup: Soups
You are welcome Tiffany! This has been a major pain point for me, so I KNEW it was for others too!
You are a freaking genius!!! And you should see my ceiling fans….I am ashamed to say that I had a caterpillar sized piece of dust fly off the other day….they are THAT bad! I am totally going to do this TODAY! Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
Jen recently posted..Ski, Snow, & Savings!
Yes! Jen, it has changed my entire cleaning life. I’m no longer ashamed of my grooty ceiling fans! We had caterpillar sized pieces too!
NJ! What an awesome idea! I SO wish I’d seen this BEFORE the Holiday…LOL I bought what was supposed to be THE best ceiling fan duster with this scientifically proven magnetic dust thingy that would grab all the dust and not let any of it drop on the floor. Well it didn’t…it just all feel directly into my face! LOL Next time I will be grabbing a pillow case Thank You Very Much! 🙂 Great Idea thanks for posting and sharing!
Tiffany recently posted..#WordlessWednesday {Headstart Tuesday} OH! Christmas…
I wish I would have thought of this years ago. I don’t think I had cleaned them in the FIVE years we’ve lived here.
This is truly brilliant! There is a ceiling fan in every room where I live right now. I know what I’m doing tonight…
Ilene recently posted..Modern Family: Jersey Edition
I hope it worked out for you! My pillowcase was wicked dirty!
NJ, this looks like a genius idea! I’m still a bit unclear as to how exactly it works, though. Would you mind coming to my house and demonstrating? I’ll provide dinner. 😉
Rabia @TheLiebers recently posted..Ask Away Friday with Mommy A to Z
Rabia, I’d love to! Will work for food! Seriously though, someday we will meet, and it will be EPIC!
I’ll have to give this a try, thanks for the suggestion. Dropping by from SITS Girls.
Denise Bertacchi recently posted..Headphone Giveaway: SOL Republic JAX
I’ll have to give this a try, thanks for the suggestion. Dropping by from SITS Girls.
Denise Bertacchi recently posted..Headphone Giveaway: SOL Republic JAX
You are welcome Denise! I hope it works out as well for you as it did for me!
Interesting, I’ve never tried that! Just yesterday I was cleaning my ceiling fan with a bucket of water and a rag! They don’t get done often at my house, either!
Rachel G recently posted..Wedding Traditions We Skipped
Try it, you’ll be dazzled!
This is seriously such a good idea! My fans are so gross right now because I just don’t want to get that junk all over my bed! I’m going to try this immediately 🙂
Adrianne recently posted..DIY Braided Neon Necklace
Don’t feel too bad Adrianne! Mine were gross for FIVE years before I figured out a good way to clean them !
We have a ceiling fan in a room with a high ceiling. Basically the room is two floors high. I guess I need my husband to get on a ladder for this. Great idea though. I think the last time he cleaned it he climbed on a high beam in that room and tried to reach over. What were we thinking when we had that thing put in?!!
Michelle recently posted..Crazy Stressful Holidays, Ladies Only Blog Share Style!
Phew! Two stories… I think you’d need a wicked tall ladder, or to just let it go! I can believe he was Spidermanning around your house trying to clean it!
NJ I freakin’ love this!!! I’m gonna snag a pillowcase from Goodwill just for this. I always have a hard time using those ring duster things, because they make the most AWFUL mess. This, I love.
Amanda Sue recently posted..10 Ways to Keep the Holidays Simple
Yesss! Snag a fun one if you can! I snatched one from the linen closet but might try to find a really fun vintage cartoon one, if I can! This method really keeps most of the dust inside, which rocks! Who wants to clean after just cleaning? Not this girl!
How clever! I’ve been using those expensive dusters with the handle and been getting dust and fluff falling onto me and the couch. I’m definitely trying this!
Julia recently posted..Recipe: Chocolate Raspberry Ornaments
Give it a try Julia! I think you’ll be surprised how amazing it really is!
Ah brilliant! I actually don’t like ceiling fans for this reason. They are total dust collectors! I think you could even package this up and sell them as a brilliant new cleaning invention. Like the Snuggie, which was just a robe worn backwards but everyone bought one! And you could make a super cool infomercial!
Stevie recently posted..Ask Away Friday with Heather of The Frill of Life
Stevie, you are not the first to mention that I should sell this! I don’t know though, people could totally just use an old pillow case. I had the snuggie’s bigger sister, the slanket!
Love this idea! Thanks for linking up with the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board!
Tammy Doiel @creativekkids.com recently posted..Wordless Wednesday: A Redo!
Thanks Tammy! What a fun link up!
Thanks for the tips. This really helped me use my ceiling fan in a better way. I couldn’t figure out what exactly to use it for until reading your blog! Thanks!
Kevin Nguyen recently posted..7 Things You Need to Know about Ceiling Fans before Buying One