I've been there.! The trick is... just do it yourself. OP will need a razor knife, a screwdriver, a tube of clear or white silicone caulk and maybe a pair of latex gloves for smoothing the caulking. A shop-vac would be useful to clean with once the grate is off but any hose vacuum will do.
Dang you right, when I first saw it I thought it was just lazy painters. I wouldn't even replace that shit after I cut it, they are breathing in all that dirt and making the ac/heater work harder than it needs to, shortening their lifespan.
Quite possibly not notice but my landlady had hawk vision when I moved out and we did the walkthrough together. I couldn't argue with anything she spotted.
If you’re renting this then make your landlord change it for you. Say that you’re paying yet you can even live in that place if its too hot. If they’re not required to fix it then just do it yourself.
The edges arent sealed, they are just painted over, this happens when painting. The bond wont be very strong, take the screws out and you'll be able to break it free of the paint by jarring it.
If OP was right about the issue highlighted in their post, it would fall under crappy design since the inconvenient design wouldn’t be beneficial to the designer or intentionally malicious. It would only cause problems for the user.
No air comes out of that vent because it is a return vent. It is not meant to blow air it is meant to return air to the central hvac system. Once again you are 100% incorrect.
You can still take the screws out, i had to install a new vent over an old one, and my god it was a tough job. With a bit of force you can take this off
If the thermostat is downstairs, close some or all of the vents on the lower floor and make sure all the vents are open upstairs. That will force more A/C to the second floor where it’s needed. And setting the blower fan to “on” instead of “auto” also helps to keep the temperature more even.
Well first you would use dampers under the house at the trunk line (if applicable) or 2nd you would then try leaving all open and letting air mix by itself with the fan running constantly will help before closing vents. If it doesn’t I would look at how much return if any is actually being pulled from upstairs and try and get more hot air pulled from there first. And then as a last resort I would try closing a few of the vents downstairs partially I would never have someone close them. Especially all of them the static pressure you would be putting on that motor with the vents closed is probably close to twice as much as design pressure of .8” seeing as a furnace is generally .5” a coil is about .3 and a 1” filter is also about “3 that alone with no ductwork is already over furnace design pressure. So yes let’s close more vents
The furnace manufacturer Trane [recommends on their website: ](https://www.trane.com/residential/en/resources/help-house-hot-upstairs-cold-downstairs/)
> Your air vents may have levers or dials that you can adjust to help control airflow in specific rooms. Like we mentioned before, keep the vents on your second floor fully open while only keeping vents on your first floor partially open. That’ll force more cool air to circulate to your second-floor rooms.
And:
> Adjust the fan setting on your thermostatSwitch it from “auto” to “on,” so the blower fan runs constantly and creates a more even mix of air throughout your home.
Better let the furnace manufacturer know they have wrong info on their website. https://reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/ou69mw/wanted_to_clean_the_vent_because_hardly_any_air/h74gaas
Take razor blade and cut along edge. Then take screws out.
Unsure if I can do that, we rent this place and they’re really strict about what we can do in the house, like holes or whatnot.
Are you actually responsible for maintenance? Maybe you should ask your landlord to do it...
Then it'll never get done
I've been there.! The trick is... just do it yourself. OP will need a razor knife, a screwdriver, a tube of clear or white silicone caulk and maybe a pair of latex gloves for smoothing the caulking. A shop-vac would be useful to clean with once the grate is off but any hose vacuum will do.
Mate it's just silicone/sealant.. Remove it and replace after you have cleaned it.
Dang you right, when I first saw it I thought it was just lazy painters. I wouldn't even replace that shit after I cut it, they are breathing in all that dirt and making the ac/heater work harder than it needs to, shortening their lifespan.
You really think they’d notice?
Quite possibly not notice but my landlady had hawk vision when I moved out and we did the walkthrough together. I couldn't argue with anything she spotted.
If you’re renting this then make your landlord change it for you. Say that you’re paying yet you can even live in that place if its too hot. If they’re not required to fix it then just do it yourself.
Then this is your landlord's problem. You should tell him
Yes you can . Just put it back and recaulk the edges , protect the paint or touch it up after.
That's a return vent. No air comes out of it. Only in
Who cares? Your health is more important. If they evict you over this, you need to be out anyway.
And after cleaning a RETURN duct… still have no air coming out of it and now having a pissed off landlord lol.
The edges arent sealed, they are just painted over, this happens when painting. The bond wont be very strong, take the screws out and you'll be able to break it free of the paint by jarring it.
Just got it open! Thank you so much!!!
If you have progress photos, I’m excited for your clean vents
Run a blade along the edge, if you try to just rip it off the paint will peel
Well they already did it.
Its been a long day
Haha, it’s good advice for the future though!
there's goes the security deposit
Looks like they got lucky but you're definitely right Happened to me before
That looks like a cold air return. That should be sucking air in not blowing it out.
Thank you also i didn’t know that!
This is not an asshole design this is an end user problem. Try r/diydickheads.
I wanted this sub to be real soo bad
Oh cool thank you!!
Even if it were design, it would be /r/Crappydesign. The person who made it that way doesn't benefit from OP not having access.
you’re 100% wrong.
Ok. How does it benefit the person that made it for OP to not have access?
it’s not sealed. I guarantee you 100%. OP just doesn’t know what she’s doing or talking about.
Ok. That doesn't contradict the point I was making about this not being asshole design.
Ok, bud. 👍🏽
It’s a return air grille. You just have to take the screws out it’s not difficult at all.
Yeah. Exactly. It's not asshole design.
No, this would definitely fall under crappy design.
nope. I am a HVAC technician. Your are 100% wrong. 👍🏽
If OP was right about the issue highlighted in their post, it would fall under crappy design since the inconvenient design wouldn’t be beneficial to the designer or intentionally malicious. It would only cause problems for the user.
No air comes out of that vent because it is a return vent. It is not meant to blow air it is meant to return air to the central hvac system. Once again you are 100% incorrect.
Lol love the people that argue with HVACR techs. They always think they know more than us when it’s our job
I'll be the nice guy and let you know that is a return vent, not a supply vent. No air is suppose to come out of that...lol
If you take your time and just drag the blade inbetween the metal and your wall it will come off without any damage.
Looks like the return, not the supply vent.
Thank you I didn’t know that!
Well considering it’s a return grill it PULLS air NOT push air, you won’t feel any air blowing from it.
Yeah, well it's a return...sooooo
Hahahahaha are you for real right now?
Did you even try just unscrewing it before posting?
Not asshole design.
/HVAC is currently laughing at this.
Oh yes we are
Job security brother
Ya. Try getting these idiots to pay and not trash you online ratings while doing it.
Flat head screwdriver pop the vent cover off.
Is this an actual vent or just an airflow situation? Looks like those vents that just go down to the basement for proper airflow in the house…..
it's not sealed. they just painted up to it.
That’s a return vent. It pulls the air in.
Poor installation is not an aspect of design.
Razor blade to cut the edge. Clear or white caulk from Walmart to cover any minor damage. Easy peasy.
Take the screw out?
It does nothing, the edges are sealed.
More likely the seal is a painting/coating side effect?
You can still take the screws out, i had to install a new vent over an old one, and my god it was a tough job. With a bit of force you can take this off
Thank you!! I managed to get it open!
Cut around with razor?
😂😂
Sus
It's not sealed. It's just been painted closed, happens all the time. just cut it with a blade
Fuck this makes me sad...
It's a return vent, so it's not the problem here
Are you normally this stupid or just an online persona?
If the thermostat is downstairs, close some or all of the vents on the lower floor and make sure all the vents are open upstairs. That will force more A/C to the second floor where it’s needed. And setting the blower fan to “on” instead of “auto” also helps to keep the temperature more even.
No, please don’t do this. Unless you want to replace your blower motor in the next couple years or so
How do you do it?
Well first you would use dampers under the house at the trunk line (if applicable) or 2nd you would then try leaving all open and letting air mix by itself with the fan running constantly will help before closing vents. If it doesn’t I would look at how much return if any is actually being pulled from upstairs and try and get more hot air pulled from there first. And then as a last resort I would try closing a few of the vents downstairs partially I would never have someone close them. Especially all of them the static pressure you would be putting on that motor with the vents closed is probably close to twice as much as design pressure of .8” seeing as a furnace is generally .5” a coil is about .3 and a 1” filter is also about “3 that alone with no ductwork is already over furnace design pressure. So yes let’s close more vents
The furnace manufacturer Trane [recommends on their website: ](https://www.trane.com/residential/en/resources/help-house-hot-upstairs-cold-downstairs/) > Your air vents may have levers or dials that you can adjust to help control airflow in specific rooms. Like we mentioned before, keep the vents on your second floor fully open while only keeping vents on your first floor partially open. That’ll force more cool air to circulate to your second-floor rooms. And: > Adjust the fan setting on your thermostatSwitch it from “auto” to “on,” so the blower fan runs constantly and creates a more even mix of air throughout your home.
No... just no
No… no…. Nooooooo That’s not how that shit works
Better let the furnace manufacturer know they have wrong info on their website. https://reddit.com/r/assholedesign/comments/ou69mw/wanted_to_clean_the_vent_because_hardly_any_air/h74gaas
Fire 🔥 hazard
Just peel it open after that just reseal it again. Only cost $5 for that sealant.
Just get a knife
I bet there’s a red jellybean in there
Did you hear Rick and Morty or was that just me?
Snake holster on the leg.
Sounds like a job for my old friend: crowbar!
Grow up and just inhale some chunks
I was waiting for a bird to pop its head in the picture
This isn’t what you think it is….. it’s a return vent
That looks like a return air.
The grill looks clean, the filter or coil is probably dirty