those are hose, not panties. there is a difference... i hope you learn by the time you...
it should work, but the spacing of the mesh leaves something to be desired. it would have been better if the hose was stretched across a, say a finger guard (the thing with concentric circles) so it can be removed from the fan and cleaned.
right now i am using something similar to a window screen, but out of aluminum. it's been multi-layered and off set to reduce the size of the opening. it works too.
i'd recommend several layers of hosiery if you want to use it. and definitely adhere to my finger guard idea.
it's not very funny, it works.