There’s no doubt that droopy ceiling fans are pretty hideous looking, especially if it’s one of those high-end ceiling fans adorned with all kinds of aesthetic designs and whatnot. If you see your ceiling fan starting to droop, fixing it becomes a priority but what makes them droopy, to begin with?
There are a lot of potential culprits behind a droopy ceiling fan. The blades may be sealed poorly in their sheaths, the glue might be failing, loose screws, or humidity has caused the material to sag, and gravity takes care of the rest.
Regardless of the reason, it’s always a bad look. Also, all of the blades may not droop equally. When you turn the fan on, it might turn into a disaster and the fan spins without compensating for one messed-up blade or one blade that’s heavier than the others.
How to Fix a Droopy Fan Blade
Fixing a droopy ceiling fan the right way depends on what is causing the problem to begin with. In some cases, there may be nothing more to do outside of purchasing another ceiling fan and installing it.
Prep Work
The first thing that you have to do, for obvious reasons, is check the fan over and determine if fixing it is even a viable alternative. In some cases, there’s just not much you can do. For instance, if the fan blade has drooped down far enough, it may have bent the frame of the fan.
Check out each connection point and determine how the blades are attached to the ceiling fan and where the screws are. You can also determine if the rest of the fan has been damaged as a result of the drooping fan blades.
If you determine that you can easily replace the fan blades and that will solve the problem, then you need to get the right size by measuring them out or finding out the brand of your particular ceiling fan and writing the information down.
In some cases, it may be best to remove the fan entirely from the ceiling so you can work on it from the ground. Just be sure that you have cut off the power to the ceiling fan from your circuit breaker. You will have to separate some wiring over the top to completely remove the ceiling fan.
Take Your Fan to a Local Hardware Store
Hardware stores, both small and large, will usually have a selection of fans for you to choose from and even if they don’t have your brand, some of the blades might fit. It’s a little more difficult to find only the replacement blades in a small, local hardware store.
If you are looking for replacement blades, you should try Home Depot, Lowes, Ace Hardware, or order them online from either of the above retailers or from somewhere else, like Amazon, which probably has the highest range of available fan blades and sizes.
Taking your fan with you will help you pick out the right size fan blades and match them up. It makes things a lot simpler, even though you will have to disassemble and remove the fan from the ceiling.
If you are worried about new blades drooping in the future, find a lighter and more durable set of blades, or consider shortening them up a little bit. The longer the fan blade, the more weight that pulls down on the brackets from the very tip of the blade.
You should also carefully consider the fact that a set of brand-new fan blades may be more expensive than purchasing a new ceiling fan. If that’s the case and you have already removed the ceiling fan before disassembling the blades, you may as well go in for a new fan.
Of course, a better option would be to pay more for a premium fan. Better-made ceiling fans are far less likely to droop on you in the future. The materials in the blades are usually of a higher quality and designed so they won’t bend and droop, even in a high humidity area.
Attaching the New Fan Blades
If all you need to do is attach the new fan blades to their respective brackets, then it’s a pretty simple job. Simply slide each blade back into a fan bracket and tighten the screws down. Be sure to check over the brackets as well, to double-check that they are not warped from the weight of the previous blades.
You can also use epoxy in addition to the screws to ensure that there is no next time when it comes to droopy blades. Once your fan blades are secure, reinstall the ceiling fan in the same way that you took it down, ensuring that the power is turned off so you can work safely.
What to Do if the Brackets are Warped?
If the brackets are warped, there is nothing that you can do. If you find that the brackets are warped, there is a possibility that you can replace them as well, depending on how the brackets are attached to the main body of the ceiling fan.
However, there’s no sense in it. Replacing both the brackets and the fan blades is probably going to cost you a deal more than purchasing a brand-new fan. Smaller fans that can run on a high setting will still push plenty of air while being less prone to warping and drooping.
If you have the money, you may consider buying a ceiling fan that has wooden blades and not the cheap, composite material that comes in cheaper fans. The Springer Collection is one good example. The blades are made from walnut and are far superior to standard fan blades.
Final Thoughts
Over time, your ceiling fan blades may start to droop, depending on the surrounding environment, the material of the blades, and the material of the brackets. If this happens to you, there’s a chance you can fix it by replacing the blades.
For the most part, however, it’s going to be for the best to replace the entire fan.
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