How To Maintain Your Air Registers

Want to reduce your utility bills? Better yet, want to do this without sacrificing comfort in your home? There are a few simple things that you can do to ensure that your air conditioner is cheaper to run, yet still effective, with great airflow. Cleaning your air registers is a smart DIY project because it helps with odor and dust problems. Cleaning your air registers could ultimately increase your AC airflow and ensure that cleaner, better smelling air is flowing into your home.

The Importance of Clean Registers

Maintaining your registers is a simple but very important part of sustaining good airflow. Registers, especially those on the ground or on the lower part of a wall can get beat up over time. The individual vents can bend or break. The mechanism for opening and closing the vents (the switch) can get bent, making it harder to close the shutters inside. Wooden vents are the most vulnerable because they can swell and warp when they get wet. You also need to worry about rust and corrosion on metal vents. Basically, you need to start off by regularly inspecting your air registers to make sure they are in good working order.

A broken vent could be the simplest explanation for weakened airflow. For instance, the shutters inside your registers could get stuck in the closed position if the switch breaks or bends. So, even if the switch indicates that your vents are open, they could actually be closed, blocking all out-flowing air. You should closely inspect your registers with a flashlight. Look inside the individual vents to make sure the shutters work in line with the switch.

Removing the Registers to Clean Them Better

If your shutters are properly open, you could still have a problem with dust and dirt clogging the vents. If this is the case, you should probably remove the register completely from the wall so you can give it a thorough cleaning. If you try to clean the register while it is still attached to the wall, it will just push the dust further into your ducts, where it will eventually be blown back into the register's vents and shutters. The only way to thoroughly clean your air registers is to remove them from the wall.

With clean registers, you will have better airflow and cleaner air flowing into your home. This is something that you need to do more often if anyone in your home has severe dust allergies. Companies like Advanced Air Quality Services can help as well.

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