When the fun ends however, most fidget spinners are put in a pants pocket or tossed in a bag, where they collect pocket fuzz and small debris. When dust particles and dirt get trapped in the center/main bearing of your spinner, you’ll start to notice slower spin times and reduced spin speed because of the added friction caused by the debris.
CLEANING YOUR FIDGET SPINNER
Before you start the process of cleaning your spinner, you’ll want to get the following items:
- Dish Soap (Dawn is good)
- Isopropyl Alcohol aka Rubbing Alcohol (90-99%)
- Clean Towel (microfiber is best as it’s lint-free)
- Can of Compressed Air or Hairdryer
STEP 1: Remove the bearing caps from the center bearing. The caps of most bearings are press-fitted into the center bearing and should simply pry off (you may need to help them in some cases with something flat and rigid, such as a credit card or flat screwdriver).
STEP 2: Run the center bearing of the spinner under warm/hot water. This will help wash away any larger debris that might be caught in your center bearing. [If your center bearing was previously oiled or lubricated, try using hotter (NOT boiling) water to help loosen up the oily residue]
STEP 3: Put a small amount of dish soap in your hand with a little water. Rub the soap and water together to make suds.
STEP 4: Gently rub the soap suds into the center bearing. With suds in the bearing, spin the spinner back and forth for about 1 minute, alternating spin directions and speed. This will help work the suds into the bearing and break down any oil or lubricants that might be in the bearing.
STEP 5: Rinse thoroughly under hot water. Spin the spinner back and forth for 15-30 seconds while under the water, alternating spin directions and speed. This will help wash away all of the soap suds from STEP 4.
STEP 6: [Optional but recommended] Pour a small amount of isopropyl alcohol on the center bearing. Spin the spinner back and forth a few times to work the alcohol through the bearing.
STEP 7: Pat the spinner dry with a lint-free microfiber cloth, avoiding the actual bearing itself (you don’t want to risk any debris getting back into the bearing).
STEP 8: Dry the center bearing with either the can of compressed air or the hairdryer. The blowdryer is best as it uses dry air. Compressed air does contain some moisture from the propellant used. [WARNING: The propellant used in compressed air cans is extremely dangerous. Keep compressed air cans away from children.]
HOW DO I MAKE MY FIDGET SPINNER QUIETER?
Wondering about silencing a fidget spinner? Fast, long-spinning fidget spinners can be noisy sometimes. And as you may have noticed from our cleaning instructions above, we didn’t recommend putting oil or lubricants into the bearing after cleaning.
Adding oil or lubricants to a spinners center bearing will help quiet your spinner, but it will also slowyour spinner down. So you’ll have to decide…faster (possibly) noisier spinner….or quieter and slower spinner. If you find yourself needing a quieter spinner try adding a small drop of a thin, lightweight oil. Oil your spinner properly by following this ‘How to Oil a Fidget Spinner’ guide.
Quieting Your Fidget Spinner – here are a two oils that work well:
BLUE JUICE VALVE OIL |
  |
HOPPE’S NO. 9 LUBRICATING OIL |
  |
HOW DO I MAKE MY FIDGET SPINNER FASTER?
For those of you looking to make your spinner spin faster and longer (like me), be careful. There is a ton of information telling people to oil their bearings. I recently saw one video telling people to dunk their bearings in canola oil! AVOID OIL if you want your spinner to spin faster. From what we’ve seen and the oil-based lubricants we’ve tested, oil does wonders for quieting a spinner but completely kills the speed and length of the spin.
So what does work? We’ve found that a good clean bearing, free from dirt and grime, leads to the fastest and longest spins. So if your spinner came lubricated, use the steps above to clean off the lube from your fidget spinner. This should make your spinner faster and increase the spin length.