A Little Bit of Spring Cleaning - Air Return Register Grill

Stacy Davis
by Stacy Davis
5 Materials
$2
1 Hour
Easy

Ahhh, springtime! I finally feel fresh and energized again. I have had some items that I have needed to take care of for some time now. My air return register grill has been bugging me for some time. No matter how often I vacuumed it, it still looked dirty. Cleaning was simple and very satisfying. The hardest part was getting a break in the rain so that I could wash it and let it dry outside.

First, the top edge has bothered me for a long time. See by my finger? Looks like dirt, right. No, the paint on the walls must have been sprayed on and that is overspray.

I used a cotton pad and rubbing alcohol to remove the dried in paint. Whenever I have white trim that needs cleaning, I usually use this method. Not very often, just when it is stubborn grime. Test a small area first to make sure you won’t remove the trim paint. I also use this to clean light switches and stair handrails, especially when we’ve had the flu.

That paint is history!

Here is a shot that shows some still on and some that was cleaned away.

This picture shows the stubborn dirt in the grooves. This is even after vacuuming with a brush attachment.

I used a grease cutting dish soap and water.

First, I tried a dish wand from the Dollar Tree. It worked so-so.

Then, tried a little green scrubbie. It work well but it was slow and when I scrubbed, the grate hurt my fingers.

So finally, I ended up wrapping the dish wand with a thin cloth and this was the fastest way to get in the grooves.

I gave it a good rinse and left to dry thoroughly in the sun.

It is super clean. Shadows might appear on those top rows but in real life it is squeaky clean and no repainting necessary! Yay!! I can not tell you what a difference it makes to wash this grate! Do it, you’ll be happy you did every time you pass by it.

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  • Edric Edric on Apr 17, 2019

    how do you get cooking grease off your kitchen cupboards?

  • Mary Mary on Apr 24, 2019

    There is over “spray” from my kitchen cabinets on the kick plate for central vacuum. It looks gross. I’m going to try but what the chances it will work on hard plastic?

  • Scotty Scotty on Apr 26, 2019

    How do you repair wood scratches

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  • Sherry Sherry on May 22, 2019

    I've use the Swiffer duster and

    found it gets in without dust flying everywhere. No muss, no fuss.

  • Debbie Ventimiglia Debbie Ventimiglia on Jun 01, 2019

    I will definitely try this cleaning fix on my vent grates I have in my kitchen, right above my stove. But I can't remove the grates because the cabinets were installed over a quarter of the vent grates. (I live in an apartment.) These grates get especially grimy from the air ducks in the wall that goes throughout the building. I'm going to try this solution on them. Thanks for sharing.

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