Can I delete the css entries I've made, but don't need, without breaking the code?

[businessmuse]

I'm working with Dreamweaver CC fluid-grid. I've had good success working in this mode and have learned a lot of tricks to maintain the integrity of my files. However, when I modify a page by removing some of the html I've created, the CSS entries that were associated with the removed html remain. After a while, these dead entries make for a much larger CSS file than need be. So, I'm inclined to want to remove them. For example:

.menu_footer {

}

#services {

}

.footerMenu {

}

These represent vestigial CSS classes and id's that populate my css file, which grows by the day. I say vestigial because, in making changes to my pages, I removed the html that caused them to be created.

And, here's the problem: My experience has been that if I try to delete them from the css file, the page I'm working on breaks. When that hapens, I have to go to my back-up files to replace the broken file with one that was backed up earlier and is in tact. This obviously wastes a lot of time. So, if there's a safe way to remove those CSS entries without breaking the fluid-grid pages, I'd be most appreciative. Thanks

[Rick Gerard]

If your css no longer points to a div or other element delete it...

Unfortunately Dreamweaver will not give you a warning if you delete something you need so make sure that you don't remove something you'll need in another page.

[Rob Hecker2]

You say that when you delete them, the page breaks. This means one of two things: Either you are not deleting the complete rule (too much or two little), thus breaking the css set, or the rule is in fact being used somewhere. Perhaps another rule, further down the cascade, is based on the rule you are deleting.

By the way, your question should have gone in the general Dreamweaver forum, not the Server-side app forum.