Re: PSA: Blow it out yer amps!
Pretty sure that's a different problem. 
The part that is similar - the wheel bearings - I'm pretty confident those would be fine.
Sometimes when you Google something and get a lot of answers that agree with each other - none of which offer any proof other than "Don't do this or a bad thing will happen", it's just a lot of folks repeating what they've heard. For reference, see the whole "underpowering damages speakers" nonsense.
My "conclusion", based on a couple decades of computer/IT experience as well as blowing more than a few amps out with canned air/compressed air, is that this is a non-issue unless you're intentionally being an idiot, and even then I suspect it's pretty hard to wreck the fan. It is quite easy to blow out whatever junk needs blowing without making the fan spin at 100,000 RPM, and if the fan sounds or feels different after doing so - which I have experienced - the change is due to blowing out some of the crud and exposing bearings that have been worn from many hours of use, not a few seconds of spinning due to compressed air once a year.
I couldn't care less if some of you feel like you're making a positive difference in the world, saving one fan at a time. Good for you. My larger point was the silliness of the combined recommendations of this thread - don't blow, don't suck, don't touch, etc. What's better - doing reasonable maintenance on your gear, or leaving it full of gunk because you're afraid to touch it?
