Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

(Skip to [CLEANING INSIDE THE TOWER] for tips on cleaning this bad boy.) If you want a 1 year fan for $50, or are generally more flexible on time than money, this is an excellent fan. If you use it regularly and do not properly clean it (not just wiping down the outside like they say, the inside too)... within 1 year you will just be circulating dust. If you (like me) are low on $$ and technical skill, have overly sensitive sinuses, and want to properly take care of this fan, prepare to spend a lot of time meticulously trying not to break it because it is *not* built to be taken apart by the consumer and therefore cannot be properly cleaned without a painstaking process. When I need to replace it, I will be likely be replacing it with a fan that has a changeable filter. I've had this fan for 1 year, 3 months now and decided to go against the numerous "don't try to take this apart" warnings due to my allergies being unprecedentedly unbearable for the past year. I'd deep cleaned everything in the room except the inside of this fan (the instructions say only worry about wiping down the outside). A quick flashlight look inside told me it was time to either clean or toss this thing. You can try to clean it, and you can totally succeed, but it is not worth your time unless you enjoy tedious tasks and can afford risking the $50 to break the fan. I enjoy tedious tasks, but don't have the $$. So I took extra time and caution. CLEANING INSIDE THE TOWER Keep in mind it's a bunch of plastic clips holding everything together (once you get past all the screws - some phillips, some torx) and be very gentle/firm but not aggressive/forceful when separating the casing. Frustration breaks plastic very easily. Start with separating the top/controller component (I used a flathead screwdriver to gently pry them apart), but be careful because the top is connected to the body of the fan 1) with 2 internal screws toward the front you can only see once you pop the back off enough and 2) on a relatively short set of wires. Start with the back, where the clips separate more easily, then work your way to the front, which is a bit more precarious with the wiring. Once the top piece is off, then you can move to separating the front from the back pieces, which are held together with some alternating (as in it alternates where you need to apply pressure to release it) clips toward the top third of the fan and then a line of same-side clips for the rest. After I got it apart I had to meticulously clean each segment of blade because after 1) brush vacuuming the outside/wiping it down (the only guidance they provide on how to clean it), 2) vacuuming where I could inside, 3) wiping down between each blade with microfiber cloth, and 4) brush vacuuming again... photo 3 was the result. Still tons of dust on the underside of the curved edge of blades and the inside of the front-facing side of the fan was still very dusty. The latter is more of an "I'm too scared to separate the back AND front casing around the rotaring fan blades so I'm not seeing as much success" but like... this fan is just not user friendly to clean. Planned obsolescence back at work I guess, but with proper determination you CAN make it last!!