Coming into summer most fan have probably not had much use during the winter months. Without use ceiling fan can accumulate quite a lot of dust which is a hazard for anyone suffering from asthma or allergies. The best thing to do is to clean your ceiling fans before the summer heat sets in.

Fan can be made out of different materials such as the most common wood, metal, plastic or stainless steel. Cleaning methods of these materials are all different. Here are some tip and tricks.

Wooden blades: using a duster can be the easiest way of cleaning the fan but some dust cannot be reach using this method. A damp cloth can be used to wipe down the top of the blades and making sure to dry the blades after doing so. Moisture can affect some wooden blade so making sure it is dry is important.

Metal blades: much the same as wooden blades metal blades can get affected with moisture, rusting can form. Using a dry cloth may be a viable option for metal blades. Using the brush function on a vacuum cleaning can also help dealing with the dust particles that may present after cleaning a fan.

Plastic blades: Plastic blades can be cleaning using any of the above methods as water does not affect them at all.

Stainless steel: cleaning stainless steel can sometimes be a more difficult using the above methods can often leave streak marks on the blades making them seem dirtier. Using stainless steel wipes can help reduce the streaks and give you a nice silver finish to the already existing steel.

The most important thing about cleaning a fan is safety, we recommend using a ladder that has all 4 feet sturdy on the ground if getting up to clean the fan and have someone else who can assist by holding the ladder next to you as well. Always make sure that the power to the fan is off, and that no one can accidentally switch it on. If the fan is on a remote control it is safes to keep the remote in view and out of the reach of anyone, and to turn off the power to the fan at the isolator switch.

While up cleaning your fan it is also a good time to check if your fan is switched to summer mode and not winter, avoiding any confusion later in the warmer months. It is also recommended to regularly check for any rusting, especially the screws that hold up the blades which may need to be replaced if are extensively rusted.

Please note: never attempt to repair or fix a ceiling fan by yourself, and installation and/or repairs must be done by a qualified electrician. It is important to be careful not to damage the fan during cleaning as this can throw off its balance during operation.

Utlise your fan all year round

During winter heating cost soar and in summer the same can happen with cooling. Having a ceiling fan can really reduce these costs and even have a better effect on your household temperature. Almost any type of heating solution can possibly be ineffective to a point. This is because hot air rises and therefore essentially heating the high point and not the low points of the room where you could be sitting.

This is where a fan can become beneficial with the reversible winter mode. As the hot air rises, turning winter mode on allows the hot air to flow back down the walls and circulate the air to create a more even heat distribution, but with minimal noticeable breeze. This is a very effective way to distribute the hot air around the room resulting in a very warm atmosphere very quickly. Not to mention how much money you can be saving when running a fan to spread the hot air around, rather than heating the room for long periods of time until all the hot air reaches down.

To turn you fan into the reverse winter mode most fans have a switch on top of the motor that you will need to get on a ladder and switch, however some newer fans are able to be reversed from the directly from the remote control. When reversing a fan, especially in the case of switching from a remote control, make sure it has come to a complete stop before turning the switch otherwise you run the risk of burning out the motor when it becomes under strain.

Weather a large or small room a fan in winter mode can greatly help reduce heating costs by helping to heat up your room faster, which results in reduced power consumption.

LED Lights – there’s more than meets the eye

In recent years, there has been an increase in talks about LED lighting. However while the hype of these new lights grows, it can be beneficial to know about a little bit about LED lights, especially if you are planning on upgrading your home or workplace lighting.

LED stands for Light Emitting Diode and it is the newest type of light products that are available and are replacing the now older CFL (compact florescent lamps), other florescent lighting, and halogen lights. Light Emitting Diode (LED) are by far the safest, cleanest, efficient, longest lasting light. Unlike halogen or fluoro globes they do not rely on high temperatures or chemicals to produce light. Instead they are almost entirely electronic in the sense that they convert almost all of the electricity to light using electronics and a special type of material (which is solid and non-harmful).

What so special about LEDsthat make them better than other types of lights?

This is a very common question, the table below highlights some of the advantages and disadvantages of LED lights.