Not all homes have high & low air registers, so be sure that your home has these before proceeding. The air registers are there to help aid in your home’s airflow. In the summertime, you want the ceiling air registers to be open & the floor ones to be closed because cold air sinks and will efficiently cool your home. Whereas in the wintertime, you’ll want the opposite, floor registers to be open and ceiling registers to be closed because warm air rises & will keep your house nice and warm during the cold months.  It is essential to keep registers clean for healthy airflow. This is how to optimize your air registers to save money.

This is a Health Task!

Prevents dust, dander, and animal hair from spreading throughout your house.

This is an Energy Efficiency Task!

These tasks greatly help you optimize the airflow throughout your home while the seasons change. This task will help with the energy bill and provide ultimate comfort levels for you and your family.

Tasks can be done by: Homeowner, Handyman, or Heating & Cooling Company

Optimize Your Air Registers | Task Steps

Step 1 – Getting Prepared

• You’re going to want first to figure out which registers are already open or already closed.
• Go around and look inside the vents to see if you can look through the grille slots because that will indicate that the vent is open. If you still aren’t able to tell if they are open or closed, turn on the air to see if the registers start blowing the air out or not. ( if the vents blow out air, then the registers are open )
• You may need to get a step ladder to reach the ceiling registers, so be safe before doing the Task.
  • Tool List: Stepladder

Step 2 – Choosing the Correct Direction

• After you’ve figured out which air registers were blowing air in or out, it’s time to correct them for the summertime.
• You’ll want the ceiling registers to be open in the summertime & the floor registers to be closed.
• You can adjust the registers with some type of knob or sliding device on the side of the unit. If you can’t locate any kind of control for the grilles inside the registers, we recommend looking in an owner’s manual or calling a professional.
• If you have located where you can control the grilles, but it seems stubbornly stuck or sticky, you can use plyers to maneuver it in the right direction or get some lubricant to loosen up the mechanism.
  • Tool List: Stepladder, Pliers (if needed)

Step 3 – Cleaning Up & Testing

• Grab a flashlight and take a good look inside the registers. Look for how much dirt and grime has gathered inside.
• If you decide you want to clean them, remove the vent plate using whichever method suits your system. In most cases, it’s using a screwdriver, so be sure to keep all the screws in a safe spot. You can then soak the vent plate in hot, soapy water while you clean inside.
• Next, take a bristle brush and clean inside the ducts or loosen the dust from the duct’s sides.
• Then, take a vacuum hose to the inside of the ducts. This will pick up any loose dust and dirt that you knocked off with the brush.
• Use a damp microfiber cloth and reach down into the duct as far as possible, wiping the interior clean.  You may need to rinse the cloth repeatedly because you might find a lot of dust and dirt the first time you do this.
• Before putting the register back, check to see that it’s set to the right direction and that it’s fully dry. Grab those screws that you set aside and place the plate back on.
• Lastly, go ahead and test to see if the registers are working correctly.
  • Tool List: Step ladder, flashlight, screwdriver, vacuum cleaner, bucket – medium, brush – bristle,
  • Supply List: dish soap, cleaning cloth – damp/wet 

Hopefully, this has helped you figure out how to optimize your air registers to save money!

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