I have one of those rectangle-port Laskos with the “wind trainer” fan inside. Over the years it’s got some gray dust on the blades, which can’t be any good for my sensitive (mold and pollen and animal dander and damn near everything else allergy) sinuses.
Ok, I have enough sense to unplug it before I unscrew the cover. Any suggestions on how to best clean one of those things without electrocuting myself?
(how to get dust out of trainer fans is my ongoing dilemma…there’s almost no way, it seems, to keep those things clean, and having dust power-blown up my nose always causes one problem or another during the winter)
If it’s unplugged, you should be safe. I doubt there are any large capacitors in the fan.
I think I would wipe off the surface dust and then clean the rest with a vacuum. I am in a similar boat and hadn’t considered cleaning the fan. Let us know how it goes!
I can’t tell if you have tried yet, but it’s a pain taking apart the Lasko blower fans (I’ve done this on 2 models). Especially taking them apart sufficiently where you can take out the rotating vanes to be able to clean them.
They have security screws designed to make it harder to take apart. And the various panels fit together in a reasonably intricate way with clips and snaps that makes it feel like you’re going to break something when you are disassembling them.
The best way I’ve found to clean them is blast them with my leaf blower - blow some high speed air into/through all the grills on the fan.
Reached out to Lasko via their chat/email…Not sure what each has but this was their response to me for the 4900 model I have.
"To maintain the optimum performance of the product, it is recommended that the air intake vents be vacuumed on a weekly or biweekly basis.
If it is not cleaned regularly, dust particles can collect on the side vents as well as the inside of the product. Use the hose attachment of your vacuum cleaner to vacuum those side vents. You can also try using a can of compressed air and/or an air compressor to blow into the front of the unit and use the vacuum on the sides. If you do not have an air compressor or a can of compressed air the vacuum cleaner should be enough."