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Is There a Better Way to Childproof my Floor Vents?

Toddler playing with colorful toy blocks.

If you have children, you know how easy it is for them to get into anything and everything. Whether it’s cupboards in the kitchen, or pens from the drawer, our little ones have a gift for creating messes. Your child may have even discovered the floor vents in your home. It may simply be a nuisance for you, like trying to fish your car keys or Legos out of the vent. But what about when it becomes a safety concern for the child? They could cut themselves on sharp edges or getting a leg stuck in the hole. Is there a better way to childproof your floor vents? Absolutely. Keep reading to find four ways to keep your kid and your keys safe.

Secure your registers

If your child likes to play peek-a-book with the inside of your floor vent it may be a good idea to secure the register. You can do this by screwing metal or nailing wooden register into the floor. Or you can try using double-sided tape or Velcro on the underside of your register to keep them down on the floor where they belong without putting holes in your register or floor.

Close it off

Obviously, we don’t mean closing off your floor vent completely. But there is a way to close it off and keep things from going down your vent while allowing air to continue to flow. Try using some window screen material and taping it down inside your floor vent to contain anything that is tossed inside. You could also try a dryer sheet or cheesecloth to close off the vent. This will make it much easier for you to collect toys from the vent and hopefully make it a little less appealing for your little one.

Cover it up

Hopefully the fascination with your floor vents is just a phase. Try to outlast your child by putting furniture over the vent that will still allow air to flow, but restricts their access to it. It may be a pain to move furniture, but it is a free way to childproof your floor vents until your child loses interest and moves on to another entertaining activity.

Use plastic

While this may not solve the issue of objects going down the floor vent you can easily avoid cuts and sharp edges by switching out metal registers for plastic ones. They are easy to find at your local hardware store and are a quick fix to avoid potential harm to your child.

The key with any of these solutions is to keep your child safe and keep the air in your home flowing, without compromising access to your vents (for adults, of course). Keeping your little one and their toys out of your floor vents can help you avoid airflow issues. And when it comes time to have your vents cleaned or you call Complete Heating and Air for any other services, you want to make sure their trained professionals have easy access to your entire HVAC system; floor vents included.