Disassemble and Clean a Dyson Cool Pedestal Fan

The Dyson Cool pedestal fan is a beautiful fan. However, over time the fan gets clogged with dust and debris and unfortunately there isn't an easy way to clean it. To perform a deep cleaning on the fan and restore the volume of air output, you need to dissemble it.

You will need a T8 and T10 torx screwdrivers/bits. Tiny screwdriver, micro bottle brush, and compressed air are useful in cleaning off the dust.

Grab the bladeless loop and twist counter-clockwise from the base about 1" and lift off.

I'm not sure what to call this ring. You remove the single screw (T8) holding it in place and then gently pry it off the fan assembly.

The air diverter is held in place with 3 screws (T8). Once they are removed it just lifts off.

The output of the fan is directed by this stationary fan. It doesn't move when the fan is running and is held on by 4 (T10) screws. It lifts off. There is some foam under the stationary fan which may or may not come off when you remove the fan. In any case, make sure it is removed.

Remove the base of the fan assembly -- not the bottom of the Dyson itself. Turn the fan over and tilt it to one side to show 2 of the 4 (T10) screws holding on the base. Unscrew them and tilt the fan the other way and remove the other 2 screws. The foam is for noise dampening and not filtering.

The motor has two connectors joined in a snap case. Lift out the case and pry the two tabs holding the case together. Separate the connectors by lifting the tab that holds them together and pulling them apart. The wires are routed through holders in the plastic.

The white plastic fan assembly is made of two parts and they both lift out once the wires have been disconnected. On the bottom of the bottom assembly are two large tabs that are keyed to the bottom holder so pay attention to their orientation because you will need to align them when you re-assemble it.

As you can see, the actual fan is completely covered in dust and debris. What you can't see from the photos is the huge amount of dust and debris that is contained in the twisting fan blades themselves. A truly huge amount of junk.

I used a tiny screwdriver, a micro bottle brush, and compressed air to remove and clean out the junk and restore it too original. This was the cause of most of the air blockage.

Clean the fan housing both inside and out. I originally tried to use compressed air before I dissembled everything and was minimally successful because, as you can see, the dirt and dust was caked on. I used a stiff brush and washed the housing in the sink. I cleaned several parts in the sink and made sure they were dry before re-assembly. Anything that isn't electronic should be safe to wash.

One of the reasons I took the fan apart was because the outside of the fan was sticky and, while I tried a lot of different things to clean it, I wasn't able to get in clean so I figured if the outside was separate it would be easier to clean and wash. It was and because of how bad the fan was clogged I'm happy I made the decision to take everything apart. I never was able to get the outside completely unsticky but it's better than it was.

Reverse the steps to reassemble the fan. You may have difficulty feeding the wires back. There wasn't any slack at all and that was the most difficult part for me.

When you start reassembling the fan, put the bottom lid of the base in. I forgot that and had to dissemble some stuff to get it back in place.

Your Dyson fan should now be blowing more air than previously. Sadly, while the Dyson is a marvel of engineering, they have not made it easy at all to clean it or prevent it from getting dirty. What they really need is a removable filter around the intake holes to trap the dirt instead of letting it into the fan assembly and allowing it to stick to everything and eventually block the air ways.

I hope you find this useful. There are a bunch of screws and a lot of parts but the process is pretty straightforward.