How to Clean Your Air Vents

Clean air vents can give your home a professional house cleaning look.  Vents are one thing in the home that are easily missed and forgotten about in regular cleanings. But, taking the time to clean them thoroughly can be a huge benefit to your cleaning routine, whether you clean your own home or specialize in cleaning services.

When to Clean Your Vents

How do you know when to clean your air vents? If vents have been left on their own for too long, then the slates begin picking up dust particles floating through the air. After a while, the layers of particles begin thickening. It creates an unsightly blanket of thick dust that needs to be cleaned.

If any of the vents in your home have these traits, it’s time to get out your cleaning supplies and wipe them down!

Cleaning the Vents

How do you even begin cleaning the vents in your home? It depends on the type of buildup that’s collected on your vents. If there is a layer of heavy, loose dust, then cleaning the vents will be relatively simple. If the dust is grimy, it will take a little more effort to clean, but the effort will be well worth it.

For heavy, loose dust you will need:

• dusting tool (such as a feather duster or a clean rag)

For grimy dust that is stuck onto the vent you will need:

• clean rags
• a 1 ½” scraper (it looks like a drywall knife)
• a degreasing cleaner

If your vents are out of reach, you might need a step ladder to clean them.

Once you’ve gathered your supplies, clean the vents as necessary. If your vents are full of heavy, loose dust, simply take your dusting tool and use it to carefully pull off the dust from the vent slates. Vacuum up any dust that falls to the floor.

If the dust on the vent is grimy and stuck onto the slates, you’ll need a little more effort to clean them. First, use your degreasing cleaner to soak the vent. This will help make it easier to rub off the dust. Once the vent has soaked just enough to loosen the dust, take one of the rags, and unfold it so that you can wrap just one layer of the rag around your scrapper. Take your layered scraper and use it to begin wiping down the individual vent blades. Begin at the top and work your way down to the bottom; use however much pressure you need to get the dust up. When one section of the rag gets too dirty, simply adjust the rag so that a clean part of the rag is being used to clean the vents. Using your rags around a scrapper in this manner prevents the thin slates of the vent from cutting your fingers. Continue cleaning each slate of the vent until you’ve finished.

These two methods are perfect for cleaning any of the air vents in your home! Wiping down all of the vents in your home may be a little time consuming, but the results will impact your home in a worthwhile way.