Air circulation w/out a ceiling fan

[packrat]

This is probably a dumb question but is there a good and not super expensive way to get air to circulate in a room w/out using ceiling fans? When it starts getting warm here, we turn all the ceiling fans on in the house and they run non stop until fall. Even w/the air on it can be miserable in the house w/out the air moving. But..the ceiling fans are driving me nuts. First off, they're noisy. They collect dust like nothing I've ever seen before and I can absolutely NOT clean them nicely. Our bedrooms are really small, which in itself isn't a problem, but to make more space I'd like to put bunk beds in the kids rooms-and there's no way I can do that w/the ceiling fans. The blades would rotate about 4 inches from someones head.

Is there something else we can use? We need something in three bedrooms, the living room and large-soon to be almost twice the size-kitchen.

 

[mary poppins]

Other than fans on floor, tower fans or window air conditioning units, I have no advice for you regarding air circulation without ceiling fan. When it gets really hot, we use both air conditioning and ceiling fans.

But..the ceiling fans are driving me nuts. First off, they're noisy. They collect dust like nothing I've ever seen before and I can absolutely NOT clean them nicely.

To clean fan blades we use something like this:

http://www.tools2parts.com/Libman-116-p/3244-1578.htm?gdftrk=gdfV21593_a_7c1384_a_7c4726_a_7c3244_d_1578

There's also another design like this http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=203177358&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_sku=203177358&ci_kw={keyword}&kwd={keyword}&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googleads-_-pla-_-203177358&ci_gpa=pla

Oops, that didn't quote properly so I came back to bold instead.

 

[Gypsy]

Well, I have a few suggestions. Get a couple new, higher quality, low noise ceiling fans and replace the noisy ones. I have a great one in my living room, you can't even hear it. That's an easy fix. It's not all ceiling fans that are noisy, just some of them. Read reviews online and that helps.

For the dust, get a good air filtration system. Some of these can be added to your air conditioning and will cut back not only dust but allergies, etc.

Also see about getting better windows all throughout your house. Old windows are some of the worst offenders for bad indoor climate control. They are like a sieve. If you can get new energy efficient windows (and the proper insulation/installation for them) then that will help you too.

For the room with the bunk beds just get a tower fan from Costco, they are like 40 bucks and it comes with a small and a large one. I had mine for 4 years, continuous use before it gave up the ghost. I will be getting another in a couple weeks.

 

[chemgirl]

Probably not what you want to hear, but my suggestion is to replace some of the fans with Hunter fans. They are affordable and SILENT!

 

[jstarfireb]

I keep hearing good things about these "whole room air circulators" but haven't tried them out:
http://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-HT-908-Whole-Circulator-Floor/dp/B001R1Q0OG
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=17095900

They're supposed to keep the whole room cool without having to blow air directly on you like a regular table/tower fan.

 

[packrat]

Thanks guys!
Those Hunter fans are nice looking..a lot nicer than the cheapy $48 ones we have now. We have the ones that have the three or four light bulb globes that come down. Ugh, hate them! It's not even the whirring of the blades on these-that is something I'd consider white noise and I like that, it's the squeak click click click squeak noises from the light kits that hang down. London's is the absolute worst.

We have all new efficient windows..but we also have them open a lot during the spring/fall when it's nice outside so we will always have dust up the ying yang..those are also farming times, when all the dust is getting stirred up in the air from the fields. It's not as bad as when I lived in the country but good heavens it's irritating. I had an air filter thing but my brother took it a while back b/c he couldn't find his..time to get a new one I guess!

We actually have one of those Honeywell ones, out in the back garage for when JD's out there in the heat. That and that Vornado one I think would be good ideas actually..they can be positioned to create a breeze on you at night if you're warm during those months, and then packed away during the cooler months..unless they create enough white noise themselves, then I could just get rid of the big box fans, the ceiling fans and use the little ones. And we'd be able to do bunk beds in at least London's room and have more than 1 foot walkway in the room-problem solved! I'll look up those tower fans too.

I'll look for some of those funky fan cleaner things in the meantime!

I knew you guys would come up w/something! Thanks!

 

[iLander]

Hi Packrat!

On fans, you have to consider the physics of it; those light kits are heavy, shifting all the weight to the bottom and making it easier for them to get off balance. Once it's off center, it squeaks like a mo fo.

Consider one of these, with the flat domed light; http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-Fans-Fans/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbvo0Z1z11ao3/R-202759695/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051#.UBIIJc0Yc_0

The weight is a little more toward the ceiling. I'm not advocating this particular fan, just this type of dome light.

Also, you can use a shorter pole between the fan and the ceiling. They can be as short as 6 inches, available in the fan department. Or just get a flush mount, they will usually say on the box how close they can get to the ceiling.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/Search?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&keyword=flush%20mount%20fan&Ns=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL

The verado circulator is pretty noisy, IMHO. But some people really like them. (we need a shrug icon)

 

[kindred]

I second the Hunter fan suggestion. Also, an attic fan might help cool the house down quite a bit.

 

[Gypsy]

If you need them for light, I'd get these if your style is traditional.

52 inch: http://www.lightingdirect.com/hunter-low-profile-iv-plus-transitional-three-light-52-low-profile-ceiling-fan-from-the-core-collection/p1668595?source=gg-gba-pla_1668595____26124521609&s_kwcid=PTC!pla!!!51102379769!g!!26124521609&gclid=CJjnyqmCubECFcYBRQodiiYAUg

42 inch: http://www.lightingdirect.com/hunter-low-profile-plus-traditional-classic-three-light-low-profile-42-ceiling-fan-with-integrated-light-fixture-from-the-core/p1668587?source=gg-gba-pla_1668587____26124521609&s_kwcid=PTC!pla!!!51102379769!g!!26124521609&gclid=CPS95_2BubECFUkbQgod7mYAig $113

They are low profile so will be closer to the ceiling which might help with the bunk bed room if you do the 42 inch fan.

 

[TC1987]

I have a Lasko blower that I used last summer. Looks kind of "industrial" and I was really skeptical of those HD or Lowes ads that showed one on a nice kitchen floor, hah. But they are quieter than your average box fan and they move a lot of air. Go look at the displays so you can see/hear one run. I don't know the model number of mine, and it's currently boxed up in storage. But it looks like these:
http://www.laskoproducts.com/blower-fans/

I had a high velocity floor fan and it was lots more noise. The blower is quieter, because it moves much more air at low RPMs than a propeller fan does on high. What I use the blower for, is in really hot weather (no AC in this old house), I set it in front of the door and use it to propel the cool air down the center hall. Convection currents take over after that, and it kind of gets a whole-house circulation going, due to having a front and a back stairway.

I also used that blower in a large BR and it wasn't too much noise for me. Depending on your house layout, it might be possible to open the BR windows and put the blower down the hall someplace and have it suck cool air into the BRs by blowing air away from the BRs.

 

[rainydaze]

Unfortunately these are expensive (to me anyway) but they might fit the bill for you otherwise...
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=17151428

I have the Vornado and it is noisy in a typical fan way. It's in a small space (tiny loft) so I don't know how well it circulates over a room.

 

[packrat]

We don't necessarily need them for light really..we could just put up regular light fixtures again, which is what we had when we bought the house. We've got a couple box fans that we use, one in our room that just stays there-we turn it on for white noise at night. And one in London's room that goes back and forth from there and Trapper's room, depending on where I go when JD starts snoring and I can't sleep.

The Dyson fans are what prompted me to start this thread..they're expensive and tho they'd be a breeze to clean, I can't justify that much for each of 5 rooms.

Those smaller ones, like the Lasko and the Vornado might just work..our bedrooms are super small, so one in each room would move the air around, plus provide white noise at night. We keep the house at 77 during the warmer months, and it's fine..but sometimes if I'm really busy during the day running around cleaning and whatever, I still get hot and like the breeze from the fans. Even when I'm not doing anything really, like sitting here now, the fans make a nice breeze that feels good.

It's not really the noise of the fan, the whirring sounds, that bother me, I like that noise-it's the squeaks and clicks that drive me batty. London's makes this strange noise that's made me shut if off until JD can look at it and make sure it's not going to blow up or the light kit come flying off. The one in the dining part of the kitchen here is the absolute quietest, no clicking or reeeet reeet reeeet noises, but for the bedrooms that isn't enough white noise for me.

 

[rainydaze]

Well then, I think the Vornado's could work... definitely a white noise-maker!

 

[EricaR]

Can you pull off the lights? Maybe that would make them usable.

 

[tuffyluvr]

We bought a Vornado air circulator fan, and it helps. It's super powerful and not too loud. It cost about 3x as much as the other fans, but it circulates air so much better, that it's well worth the extra $$$... And it's still a comparatively cheap solution. Ours was only $60-$70