Everything I read was to use 3m novec degreaser. Is there an alternative I can use. I found BW-100 but it says it’s contact cleaner not degreaser. The Novec is unavailable so I need an alternative.
My experience using the 3M Novec is that it does not truly clean the fan, it only adds a new permanent white film on top of the dirt. This film builds up causing the fan to become unbalanced, which makes it noisier and noisier over time, until the fan shakes itself apart and throws one of its blades into the machine at high speed.
Instead, get some nylon cleaning brushes like these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N8SX03W
Poke them in through the grate behind the fan on the back of the machine to knock off the accumulated debris, and vacuum out what you can from behind. The fan doesn’t have to be squeaky clean to do its job, just not so dirty that air flow is blocked.
Alternatively, stop using the internal fan at all. An inline fan does the job better and MUCH quieter.
Just one owner’s advice.
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Yeah that’s the problem is the vibration on starting and stopping the fan. I’m trying to clean it to sell it. I always used a cloud line fan. Now I unhooked it to put it for sale, but would like to get rid of that vibration. I always kept the buildup clean but never ran the internal fan so didn’t even know the noise existed until starting it with the internal fan. I will try the brushes but it’s pretty stuck with almost like thick black residue.
Perhaps you could make it clear to a prospective buyer that they should only use an external fan?
That wouldn’t turn me away, given my experience.
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I would agree that the 3M Novec is not worth the investment. Use brushes and q tips and move on.
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Yeah that’s a great idea.
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