How to clean a computer fan 

This is the third computer fan video I've watched, and the third Russian narrator. Russia must have some sort of required course in computer fan repair.

I just restored a completely stuck 12 year old PC fan that I had lying around for some reason before trying it on a real one. It's incredible how well it works now. Very nice guide.

I feel a big headache for cleaning this CPU fan before I see this video from your. Now, I can clean it very easily and the fan running more smooth and quiet. Many thanks for posting this video! Very helpful!!!

This video was a revelation to me. I'm responsible for maintaining the computers in our office, and for years, when a computer developed a noisy fan, I would order a new fan and replace it. I never thought they could be dismantled and cleaned. I just figured they were disposable parts. I'm very happy to discover this, because it saves me the expense of a new fan, and the time. I would have to dismantle the computer to find out what kind of fan it is (and more often than not, they seem to put the label on the side you can't see it, until you take the fan completely out). Then, I'd have to order the fan, and I'd usually reassemble the computer in the meantime while I'm waiting for the replacement fan, so I don't lose parts. Then, when the replacement fan arrived, I'd have to install it which means of course taking everything apart again. So, being able to do it all in one operation of dismantle, clean, and reassemble is a big time saver as well as money saver. Thank you very much!

I've watched over 20 fan noise fix videos. This is the first comprehensive fan video thanks so much 😊

One of the best howto videos I've seen. Good balance of talking and showing - diction is clear and comments are to the point. You "de-risked" my upcoming PC fan repair!

"Do it gently or it may shoot out and you may never find it" made me laugh :D Mainly because it's so true. Thanks for the video... my fan keeps making quite loud buzzing noise and going to clean it today - so this was really helpful.

Thanks Chris this really helped me out. I was having rattling and speeding up/slowing down of my fan for a month and it was super annoying. Followed your video and all is well now thank you so much!

2022 and your video is still helping people out! Greatly appreciate your posting this video online - Excellent instructions! Thank you very much! Dropping another like on your video!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS. My computer has been SO loud for so long, in fact it was so loud I couldn't even use my speakers because the fan would drown out the sound... I was seriously losing my mind and it's so much quieter now!! The inside of the fan was just totally caked in dust.

finally, someone who's got intuition curiosity and the proper knowhow posted something that is truly useful in RU-vid. you've done great!

Thanks for the video. I had a very noisy power supply fan and I cleaned it just as you instructed. It was so quiet afterwards, I had to check to see if it was even running.

I have learned more in this video than in the PC repair course. 👏👏👏

Thank you for your video. You just saved me buying a new fan which I can't afford right now. And also saved me from burning out my CPU. It was overheating way to quickly and the fan got slower and slower. Normally I'd just replace it and forget about it. Thanks to this I saved some money and my PC. Thank you 😁

Thank you very much! Great tutorial and it really saved me. I have a 200mm blue led chassis fan that pretty much stopped spinning and started squeaking from the dust accumilation. First thoughts were "great, time to spend ages trying to get a discontinued product sold with my case. Thanks to you, I have a like-new fan again. Thanks again!

WOW, what a great tutorial, exactly what I was looking for... I wont be throwing away "noisy" fans anymore!!! THANKS!!!!!! Note: I had to dremel the top cap from my Cooler Master fan... did this very gently using the dremel press-drill tool and small drywall cutting bit, nice round clean opening to the circle clip... Thanks again!

Very nice video! Didn't know there was a rubber cap thing under the sticker. And didn't know about the washer either. You helped me fix my neighbors fan. I thank you and so do they!

One of my fans made a horrible vibrating noise, and your video *FIXED IT!!!*

My dear lord, my Fan stopped comepletely and my PC would just shut off completely. Thank you.

Thanks, it saved me a cost of buying two fans for my son.

Nice video. Thanks for your thorough approach to disassembly, cleaning and reassembly.

Thanks for the upload. My kid's oil diffuser was buzzing for the first few mins after turning on. It was caked with dust and gunk. Good as new now.

Great description! The fan now runs completely silently! Thanks for the video!

I bet to clean the fan you could also use dish liquid soap and an old toothbrush, just making sure you dry off the metal shaft before setting it out to dry. I just pulled my rear case fan from my PC, pulled the plug and put a couple of drops of Wahl's Clipper oil on the bearing and shaft and walla, problem solved. Your method is very thorough. Thanks for the vid.

Thank you so fucking much! My PC went from a plane turbine to actually what a PC sounds like!

Best of the many videos on this topic. Nicely done. Thank you.

I've seen some cleaning fans videos, yours is the best, thanks man.

This was a pretty handy video. I hadn't realized that little circle in the center under the label was actually a plug (like, "plug a hole," not, "plug for power.") Mine on my fan definitely did NOT pop right out. It must have been glued in because it just came apart in pieces. After a few minutes of digging in there with a screwdriver it occurred to me that I could just put a (somewhat) large hex driver bit in my screwdriver and use it to press the pin out of the washer. That worked just fine and left the washer still captive in the plastic so it can't get lost. (There was also a tiny metal plate in the 'plug'. I have no idea what it was supposed to be for.)

Excellent video, the only thing I would add to this video is a sample of the sound that the fan makes when it is making a loud noise and needs cleaning. Once again, EXCELLENT video, looking forward to trying this.

I believe it is a bit of overkill.I usually blow out what dust from the blades with compressed air(hold the blades to keep them from spinning),then use a damp rag to get rid of the rest.Then take off the label and rubber plug out.Put in a couple of drops of light machine oil(I use sewing machine oil).By the way,make sure the bearings aren't worn.Put it back together and power it up with a 12v supply to make sure the bearings have been lubricated,or use the computer to power it up.I have recovered everything from record players,tape decks(back in the day) up to computer fans,etc.A good tutorial,anyway.

Thanks so MUCH!!!!!!!! In less then 5 minutes my fan was like NEW!!!! Thanks again.

Great video, great music, great explanation. Just awesome.

I was always switching fans,but i'll try to clean them next time,thanks for the tut.

Thanks, this is very good as I wanted to clean up my SMPS FAN - making a lot of noise / has collected a lot of dust. This video is very professional - unlike many others who only show cleaning up the outside body without cleaning the insides.

very informative and well done. My personal problem is I have nothing to grease it with so I didn't end up cleaning the old grease off and instead just cleaned around everything else.

excellent, thanks ..will clean my old one up real soon as I have a spot for it.

Great video! One thing to add would be a dust filter on the intake fan. Turn the pc in and use two smoking incense sticks to determine which us the intake fan and which are outake fans. Also keep your pc off the floor will reduce dust intake.

Awesome video, super clear, easy to follow. Nice OCD cleaning!

It's scary to repair GPU fan without the proper guidance. Thankfully you provided an excellent one without the BS of "blow some air on the fan to make it work" etc. Thank you for very informative, detailed and helpful video!

Thanks, Chris! Great video. I used automotive grease and it worked great.

Thanks for the video. It helped me it makes almost no sound now B)

Thanks, this helped me save money on a PC build when I realized my new case had no rear fan.

This is freakin' awesome brother, thanks so much. One fan in my NZXT case was making a looooot of noise, this solved it!

nice and very detailed. now i know how to clean this little thing

Thank you very very much for this information, i have one in a battery charger that makes a loud buzzing sound that irritate me very much, it needed cleaning and oiling badly, your instructions WILL help me tremendously, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.

Very informative and thorough job. Excellent. Thank you.

Looks like a lot of work but the results are rewarding. Plus, I can now spray the blades to the color of my choosing so thank you for that.

You should clean more thoroughly the bushing (bearing) before applying the grease. I use to take a piece of tissue, twist it to "thin rope" insert into the bushing hole, moving back and forth to clean the bushing inside.any how, a very helpull vudeo!

Excellent video! Very clear voice, too.

AWESOME!! This video helped me a LOT! Thanx Chris!

Hey Thanks Mate!! Actually managed to take apart Antec 3 Tricool fit in my Antec 900 cabinet. Good job :)

Great video, thank you! BTW the music is reminiscent of the STALKER games!

I used a dental pick to get the nylon washer out that holds the fan shaft in place. This is a great tutorial. Fans spin even faster IMO after lubing them as there typically is not enough lube put in at the factory. I bet most people would just throw a noisy or stopped fan out. Too bad....

Just what I was looking for. Thanks

such a simple and great video!

My fan was different. I had to pop out the fan blades by applying pressure. I had to glue it back together after I was done cleaning and oiling. It's drying as we speak. Let's hope it all went alright. Still, this video was still useful for me, and the music choice was PERFECT. Makes you wanna clean fans all day. Thank you!

This was actually really useful!

amazing tutorial man, keep up the good work!

Excellent instructional Video

This was very helpful, thank you.

Thank you for posting this video! Very very helpful!!!

Very good instruction video.

The best fan cleaning video I've ever seen!

Thanks for this vid, it helps me a lot, now i don't need to buy a new fan

thank you man .. it was a great help and solved an annoying problem

Hey - you are gonna save me a ton of money! I have been replacing my expensive $15 fans for years now but after watching how easy this is, I'll be cleaning them myself for now on. Thanks again.

seven years later this was useful to me :D

excellent video ,clear and detailed

Thank you, this was extremely helpful.

Great information. I cleaned my CPU suppy . Thanks for great work

Well done! I use " Gum " type dental brush ( it is like a miniature gun barrell brush) for the axel bushing and a syringe to rinse it with alcohol. I also clean the coils with a soft bristle paint brush. Cheers!

Thank you very much sir. you are a great teacher. good luck

Really great video, rally thorough explanation and good shots of what you were doing. I have a question, instead of the alcohol, do you know if I could you use graphite powder?

Excellent upload, thanks for your help and greetings from Mexico! :)

Not sure if I got it better but it was an exciting voyage to open up my PSU's vent. I didn't know it was even an option. I was already thinking of replacing it but cleaning it made more sense. Didn't have to cut anything.

Thank you! literally 1 fan makes 90% the noise of my pc

Thank you. Very interesting instruction video. Cheers

i wish i knew about this video before i threw out my 15$ 3 speed transparent antec fan i just fixed 3 old 80mm fans they look brand new now thank you! :D

easy,and practice,thank you very much member "Electrofun".

Thoroughly Explained. Tks

this is really helpful,thanks for sharing

Thank you, very helpful

Thanks for the video. It is well explained!

That's very good...Thanks for the detailed information with practical..!!!!!!!!!

Very nice video I would also add a couple of drops of 3-IN-ONE oil or sewing machine oil to the shaft. Old timer with two desktops, one seven years old and the other eight running win 7 and win10 in my home, one for myself and the other for my wife. Have used 3-IN-ONE oil for many years on our PCs in addition to the things you recommend for cleaning. Thanks again for the video

Came for the fan advice, stayed for the jams. TUNE

keep up the great work!!

Really good tutorial, congrats!

*Great video! Everything is simple and understandable! I like computer hardware too ;-)*

Thanks. This really helped me out.

Hey Brother Thanks a lot for the pain you took to upload those helpful videos thanks a lot....may god bless you....

Thanks for your video. A great help for me.

thanks for narrating steps clearly! maybe you could use more light next time! good job!

I just went into some cleaning yesterday. My pc is liquid cooled, so I have 2 140mm fans on a 280mm radiator (mounted on the top), 2 120mm fans on the front and a 120mm fan on another 120mm radiator on the back. The 120mm on the back is a Cooler Master, wich had the back sealed in plastic. I drilled a hole to reach the shaft, lubed the bearings and sealed again with isolating tape. The two 140mm were even more complicated: they had a new technology wich encloses the whole bearings/shaft mechanism in one brass drum, completely sealed, I had to drill coaxially the drum on the back to reach the inner chamber and bearings, and lubricate the system. When doing so, use a fixed-drill and blow compressed hair while drilling: you don't want any shavings to go inside the chamber and in the bearings.

Very helpfull video, thank you bro

VERY GOOD JOB

So any way great video I was pretty sure what to do but always looking for pointers, my fan is clean and back at running 1500 rpms nice and cool 👍👍👍

2020 and still helping!

Perfect. Everything in place.

Thanks for the instruction...I will be trying this out soon. Fan is running very slow.