Someone asked me – Is it safe to delete empty folders, which made me search for some good empty folder deleting freeware. While you would make no real space savings as they occupy 0 bytes, if it is just good housekeeping you are looking for, it may be a good idea.
in cleaning or removing them. Doing so may not save disk space, but will definitely allow us to reduce the unwanted clutter and can also be considered as a good housekeeping habit, in a way. Empty Folder Cleaner, as the name suggests, helps you find and delete such empty folders from your Windows PC.
Remove empty folders & directories in Windows
There are several free software available to delete empty folders. Here are some I came across:
1] Find Empty Files and Folder
Find Empty Files and Folder scans your entire drive, analyze the folders in it, and display all the empty directories if found. Once the list is ready, hit the Delete button and watch the files go into extinction. Folders that can’t be deleted from this tool might include hidden files or be connected to a program that relies on them. So, it’s better not to delete them. It also allows you to delete 0-byte files.
2] Remove Empty Directories
It shows the empty directories before deleting them, supports multiple delete modes (including Delete to recycle bin), allows white and blacklisting of directories by using filter lists, and can detect directories with empty files as empty. It allows you to ignore certain directories and offers various other options. It also identifies Protected folders.
Remove Empty Directories lets you find and delete empty folders and directories right from the context menu itself. This is quite convenient in my opinion. You have to open its Settings and click the Integrate button to integrate the program’s entry into the Explorer context menu. Get it here.
3] Empty Folder Cleaner
The free tool from 4-Dots lets you delete empty folders permanently, delete them to the recycle bin, or store as a backup, compressed in a zip file. Moreover, if required each deletion can be undone.
4] Empty Folder Nuker
This one is a portable app that finds and deletes all empty folders (with empty sub-folders) starting from a base folder of your choice. It allows you to delete the files to the Recycle Bin where available. A plus here is that it allows Shell integration, thereby letting you right-click on any folder in Windows Explorer and find empty folders within it.
5] FMS Empty Folder Remover
Here is another freeware tool which is a useful application that will enable you to easily get rid of unwanted directories. This lightweight tool scans a source folder and instantly identifies the empty directories within. Go here to get it.
6] Fast Empty Folder Finder
It finds empty folders quickly, shows you a preview of its contents, and gives you the option to delete those folders to the Recycle Bin or directly. Download it here.
As a matter of abundant precaution, for the first time, I’d suggest you empty your Recycle Bin, create a system restore point and then, if the software, allows you to, opt to delete the empty folders to the Recycle Bin, rather than just directly deleting them.
Which files & folders are deleted by free Folder Cleaner software?
Empty Folder Cleaner software deletes empty folders and folders that have empty sub-folders. Likewise, folders that have files of zero file size are also deleted. It also deletes folders, which include specified junk files like thumbs.db, desktop.ini, etc. Such folders hold or contain nothing and are therefore of no value. Empty Folder Cleaner software cleans such files and folders.
Read: Is it safe to delete Empty Folders or zero-byte files in Windows 11/10?
