The cardinal rule of owning a drone and being into drone videography is to treat the equipment with care and respect. There are two reasons for this: one, drones are not cheap so you do not want to shell out repair money for another one if your current drone breaks down; and two, the resale value of your drone will drop significantly if a part has already been replaced (this usually happens when you want to move to the next-level drone).
Every drone is slightly different and each would have very specific rules on how to clean them and make sure everything is good to go. However, these general rules apply to all drones and accessories regardless of brand, features, quality, size, etc.
Check off your pre-flight list
Before you start to fly your drone, go through the basic pre-flight checklist. Are you in the clear to operate your drone? Are there any buildings, people, cars, animals, or trees in the area where you’re supposed to fly the drone?
Check each component of the drone if they are working properly and they are clean and in good condition. Check also the toggle switches on your controller, making sure that everything is programmed exactly the way you want it. You do not want to be surprised by your control switches the moment you fly your drone in the air.
Fly only with a fully-charged battery
If you somehow forgot to charge your battery, forget about flying that day, too, unless you have a spare one that’s fully charged.
Flying with only half the power of a battery is a waste of time because the drones will suck in that power as soon as you’re hot enough to try some maneuvers for your drone. Also, take out the batteries from the drone when you are done flying. This will prevent the batteries from being discharged.
Clean off any debris from the props
As a newbie in the world of drone flying, you’ll often crash and land awkwardly. A quality drone will be able to withstand some wear and tear but the build-up of dirt and grime can cause the drone and its propellers to work harder and lock up in midair.
Here’s what you can do: take the props out after flying the drone and using canned air, clean out any dust or debris that might have gotten into the motor housing. If you let that dirt and grime build up, you will only have a harder time cleaning it later.