What Not To Do When Cleaning Your Air Circulator

It’s Best To Read The Instructions First.

 

Introduction

 

As the warm weather starts to kick in, you’re going to be using your Vornado Air Circulator much more often to get the cool air flowing inside your home.

Earlier this year, we put together an instructional video and article for how to clean your Vornado Air Circulator.

However, there are three things in life that are absolute certainties: death, taxes and people feeling confident that they know what they’re doing without reading the instructions.

So to that end, we thought we’d take a different approach and cut to the chase: here are a few absolute no-no’s when it comes to cleaning your Vornado Air Circulator.

 

What Not To Do

 

Keeping the unit plugged in and turned on

Let’s start with the obvious - please turn the power off and unplug the cord from the wall socket.

The cleaning process involves taking the Air Circulator apart and wiping it down inside, so doing this while power is running through the unit is incredibly dangerous. You could get an electric shock, or somehow power the unit on - nobody wants to get that up close and personal with its powerful vortex action.

 

Removing the wrong screws

Our instructional video details exactly which screws to remove from the Air Circulator and from where.

It’s important to only remove these screws so that you’re not taking the unit apart more than you need to, or potentially exposing components and wires that are best left tucked away to avoid damage. It also ensures that you’re only accessing the unit where and when it’s safe to do so.

 

Losing or damaging parts

As you take the unit apart as per the instructions, don’t place the components in any areas where they could get lost or damaged.

The quickest way for this to happen is to leave the relevant screws lying around where they can easily be lost: put these parts in a secure area like a small bowl, a sealable sandwich bag, or a  container with a lid left in a safe place. You’ll thank us later when you’re not on your knees looking under the couch or fridge for the one that got away.

While the front grill of the unit is much harder to lose, it should still be placed somewhere where it’s not going to get scratched or damaged, or become a tripping hazard.

Please keep all components away from small children or pets while you’re cleaning the Air Circulator, just to be extra safe.

 

Adding water

A Vornado Air Circulator is an electrical appliance, and combining electricity and water is a big no-no (even when the unit is unplugged).

We recommend using a soft, dry cloth to wipe down the necessary parts - the blades, the inside of the unit and the exterior – but, if you must, you can slightly dampen the cloth with water for tougher marks. Just make sure the cloth is not dripping wet, and to not get water into the motor or other electrical components.

 

Using harsh chemicals

Do not use any harsh chemicals to clean your Vornado Air Circulator.

You’ll only need to be wiping away some built up dust so a dry or slightly damp cloth is all you’ll need. Harsh chemicals and solvents can erode the coating of the components, leaving the Air Circulator looking damaged. Spraying chemicals on or into the device also increases the risk of these getting into the motor or electrical components of the unit, causing irreparable damage and safety issues while operating.

 

Using rough, abrasive cloths

Similarly to harsh chemicals, rough or abrasive cloths can damage the coating of the Air Circulator. You don’t need anything more than a soft cloth to remove dust from the inside and outside of the unit, so don’t use anything harsher and run the risk of scratching your Air Circulator.

 

Opening the motor case

When cleaning your Vornado Air Circulator, arguably one of the most important things to avoid is opening the motor case.

This is where the electricity flows into and power is generated from, so it is incredibly dangerous to be messing around in this area. There is no need to clean or maintain the motor at any point in time, so there’s no need to ever try to access it.

It’s not just injury to yourself that this could cause. Messing around within the motor case can damage the motor itself, leaving the unit either inoperable or at least extremely unsafe to operate. This also breaches the warranty conditions, so be mindful that any damages would not be covered for repairs or replacements.

 

Conclusion

 

We hope that the above sheds some more light on what not to do (and why) when cleaning your Vornado Air Circulator. Always refer to the cleaning instructions if you’re not sure just to be safe - it only takes a few minutes and can save you a big headache later on.

Now that your Air Circulator is shiny and clean again (and scratch free), you can get back to enjoying the year round comfort it provides, courtesy of Vornado.