How do i clean out my inline fan?

I have a 4 inch inline fan.
I would just put a air hose to it and blow all the dust out but my friend recently did that and i guess it blew the blade the wrong way and burned out the fan clutch.
Sooo any other ideas?

unless you want to take it down, remove the housing and manually clean it, I would suggest that. BUT, simply blow from the opposite side of the fan, more specifically, the back, that would be sucking the air, that way you only rotate it the correct way, or just hold the blade still while blowing.

How about a paint brush taped to a mop handle?

I like to use a 1" paint brush to clean up heat sinks and fans in the limited computer work I engage in still.

If you don't jam it in there you can use it while the fan is running and it really cleans blades nice.

good idea ill try and do it just the one way so my blade spins the right way. good lookin out brotha