Okay, I know this DIY floor air vent cover isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s okay. This project wouldn’t have even been my cup of tea if it wasn’t born out of necessity.
You see, we have cats. 10 of them. And sometimes, cats can be jerks. And sometimes when cats are feeling especially jerk-y, they pee on things. Or in this case, they pee down things. Because that’s what our cats did- they peed down our floor air vents.
Now, I know that is really, really gross. So gross that I considered not sharing it and our subsequent fix on the blog. But you know I always try to keep things real around here, and I know if I’m having this problem, then there’s gotta be other cat owners out there that are having this problem too. So if I can help out some fellow feline lovers out there solve this very gross problem, well, I’ll take the chance that I might lose a few readers along the way.
Anyways, this problem started happening when we first moved into the house we’re presently living in. We didn’t have this problem in our old house because it didn’t have floor air vents, so we were mortified when we discovered our cats had taken to piddling down our nice clean air vents in our brand new home.
We did everything cat owners are supposed to do in this kind of situation- make sure there were enough clean litter boxes available, use feline pheromone diffusers, etc., which helped somewhat, but we would still have the problem from time to time. I finally decided to strategically arrange furniture to cover as many air vents as I possibly could, but there was still some air vents exposed. We looked around for floor air vent covers we could buy to solve our problem, but the only ones we could find that would remotely work were plastic and would surely break into a million pieces if they got stepped on. There was no way I was going to put up with this and have our house smelling like we have too many cats, even though we have too many cats, so we had to come up with a solution.
We made these to fit over the standard 4 x 10 inch and 4 x 14 inch floor air vent registers. Registers come in all different sizes, so if you don’t have the same sizes as we do, you will have to do a little measuring and calculating to get a good fit. We made these to fit snugly in the back and front so they wouldn’t slide around too easily, but made the length of cover 3″ longer then the floor openings to keep any pee from going under the sides of the air vent, which are open to allow air flow.
Now, I can hear some of you screaming at your computer screens: “But people are going to trip all over these!” Let me ask you this: how many times do you actually step on the floor air vent registers in your house? Floor air vents are usually installed in out of the way places and/or next to a wall. People naturally give a foot or so of space between themselves and the walls when they are walking around inside. And as long as you don’t make these close in color to the floor you”ll be using them on, they will be very easy to see.
Materials:
- 10″ x 3/4′ Wood planks for the top of the air vent cover. They usually come in 6-8′ lengths, so you’ll need to do some math to figure out how many you’ll need depending on how many air vents you want to cover. We got these in Pine wood, but any kind of hard wood will work (softer wood might split if it does ever get stepped on, but I still think the chances of that happening are pretty slim).
- 1″ x 3/4″ Wood planks for the base of the air vent cover. These can be hard to find, so you might have to cut a bigger plank down to this size. When you can find them, they usually come in 4-6′ lengths, so you’ll need to do some math to figure out how many you’ll need depending on how many air vents you want to cover. We got these in Pine wood, but any kind of hard wood will work.
- 16 gauge 1 1/2″ finish nails
- Varathane wood stain in Weathered Gray (buy at Lowes)
- Valspar Chalky Paint in Kid Gloves (buy at Lowes)
- Valspar Sealing Wax (uncolored) (buy at Lowes)
Please note: I am sharing the type and measurements of the wood I bought so you’d know what I used for this project, but feel free to use other types/sizes of wood if you can’t find the same type/size wood at the hardware store or you have some scrap wood you’d like to use.
Tools:
- Cordless Saw
- Nail Gun
- Palm Sander
- Paint Brushes
- Cloth Rags
Directions:
Cut the top and sides of the wood to the dimensions to fit your floor air vent register. The measurements we used for the 4″ x 14″ air vent register are 17″ x 9″ for the top of the air vent cover (two pieces of 10″ x 3/4′ wood plank cut to fit) and 17″ x 3/4″ x 1″ for the sides of the air vent cover (two pieces of 3/4″ x 1″ wood plank cut to the 17″ length for the big air vents. The measurements we used for the 4″ x 10″ air vent register are 13″ x 9″ for the top of the air vent cover (two pieces of 10″ x 3/4′ wood plank cut to fit) and 13″ x 3/4″ x 1″ for the sides of the air vent cover (two pieces of 3/4″ x 1″ wood plank cut to the 13″ length for the big air vents.
Nail the two top pieces onto the two side pieces as shown above.
Now for the really fun parts! 🙂 Paint on some of the wood stain and wipe off the excess with a rag. Allow at least a couple of hours to dry before the next step.
Paint on the chalk paint and allow to dry for at least a few hours before the next step.
Distress with the palm sander. How little or how much you distress (or even if you even to it at all) is totally up to you! 🙂 Wipe off dust with a clean rag.
Paint on a coat of the sealing wax and wipe off any excess with a rag. There is much debate on whether you should wax before or after distressing; I always do it afterward because it protects the exposed wood as well as the chalk paint (and these are going to need all the protection they can get if my cats decide to pee on them; which they haven’t as of yet). 🙂
All our air vent covers done and ready to be put in the house!
I hope that this DIY floor air vent cover will be of help if you are having a similar problem with your cats as we were! So far our cats have been ignoring the newly covered vents, and it’s so nice to actually have them in use again, especially with the 100+ degree temperatures of our summers here right around the corner!
Thanks for stopping by, and let me know what you think or if you have any questions about this!
I read somewhere that there are certain scents that cats will avoid. I think citrus or mint. Could you put cotton squares soaked in scent attached to the underside of the vents? The scents would smell good to humans, but might keep the kitties from using the vents as a latrine! Good luck.
Hi Sherrie,
Thank you so much for this tip! I’ve read that cats don’t like the smell of both citrus and mint and also lemongrass. Your idea is sheer genius! Before we came up with the air vent covers, we did try putting peppermint oil mixed with water and spray it around the air vents. It would work for a while, then we’d forget to respray it and we’d have problems again. But if I were to try your idea and put essential oil on a cotton square and put it underneath the vent (or even attach it to the underneath of the vent cover), I’m sure it would last a long time! Thanks again!
We don’t have any animals but I can see where this would be a real issue with cats. You are very creative to come up with this and I am sure many people will appreciate it.
I hope so! 🙂 Thanks so much Pamela! 🙂
Hi Sherrie,
We discovered this morning that our cat urinated in two floor vents. Yikes! It was a crazy comedy of errors. First my husband sprayed air freshener in the vents (I mean I think he used the whole can!) and when the air came on I developed a killer of a headache. Air freshener does not work! Then while I was moaning with my terrible headache he poured about three tablespoons of Pine-Sol in the vent. Oh my goodness! Not only did the air freshener mess with my head, but the Pine-Sol nearly took the top off of it when mixed with cat urine. I had to go to my Mom’s house for the day! My sweet husband bought plastic vent covers (will do for now but your idea is a good one) but we still smelled urine (and it’s awfully humid here). Finally he ran to the kitchen and pulled out our bottle of “original Blue Dawn dish soap” and opened the vents and washed them out with the Dawn. Almost immediately my headache went away, and the air smells fresh as a daisy. Blue Dawn. Oh, it’s many uses!
Michelle,
I just commented (Debbie) and called you Sherrie! Sorry. You see, my head is still reeling from the day’s cat urine in vents experience! LOL!
LOL Debbie no worries! 🙂 Dawn soap is truly a miracle cleaner!
A friend of mine had something that would be absolutely perfect for your situation! She had rented an old house wtith floor vents and had them covered with what seemed to be thin flexible magnets or like a piece of magnetic vinyl that sticks to the metal portion and is made for such vents. It’s very much like those flexible refrigerator magnets that that have advertising or emergency numbers and used to come with the old phone books. I think these vent covers came from a home improvement store or perhaps can be purchased on line. Hope this helps…
Thanks for the tip Sandy! 🙂
I’ve had cats and dogs for years. If they are urinating down your vents see the vet. Having said that, I’d absolutely use this idea to cover vents for another reason.
Seriously, something’s not right in either the number of cats or something else. If you cover vents it’s likely they’ll go somewhere else. Yes they can be jerks but usually they have a solid reason that makes cat-sense to them.
Hi Gayle!
Thanks for your feedback! We did take the cats that were doing it to the vet and there were no medical problems to explain the behavior. We did change the cat litter brand and it did seem to help, but they still have “accidents” from time to time. Beyond them just being jerks (and when I say that, I am just joking- at least somewhat 🙂 ), I think it happened because of the number of cats.
You should open an etsy store and sell these. Lol. I have a kitty that pees in a lot of places and I have often been concerned about the floor vents and prayed he wouldn’t do it. He is now confined to one room while I’m at work and I happened to look in the vent this morning and I think I see some pee. I immediately googled it and found your post. I need to do something!
My cats have never done this but our house is old and sometimes the house smells stale. Our vents are over a little metal box in the floor that the duct connects to. I cleaned them out really well and put a small tin can with pinesol in it. When the heat kicks on a small amount is diffused in the air. Not much but just enough to give off that “freshly mopped” smell. I’m loving it. I’ll post later to explain any issues we run into or how long it lasts.
Thanks so much for this great idea Mary! I bet this would work using essential oils as well.
Wondering how long the pinesol later and also how did the work registers work with the heat on?
Hi there! I was actually looking for something to extend my air vents under my furniture and stumbled upon your page! This is brilliant! I’m going to tweak your idea a little so I can insulate it and make it a little thinner to fit, but thank you! The products online are so expensive but cheaply made and have terrible reviews! So glad I found your page!
You’re very welcome Tiffany! I’m happy this was of help 🙂
I just saw this after looking for diy vent air deflectors, and I just had to say THANK YOU for posting this! I thought I was the only one whose cats liked to piddle down the floor registers! We’ve had to strategically arrange our furniture as well, but this would’ve been a lifesaver for our register in the hallway.
This is a great idea! We’ve since moved from that house, but cats tend to find me, and I tend to take them in 🙂 so I’m saving your idea for future reference!
Thanks Maureen! I’m happy you found this tutorial useful. Cats tend to find us and we tend to take them in also 🙂
I’ve used the Air vent deflectors for a long time but still have the problem with one or more cats urinating over the vents. The flooring has been replaced, floor registers even the laundry room duct. Latest invention was using a small footstool over the vents and deflectors that worked for a few days. I have a check list of everything I’ve done to remedy the problem from vet visits, litter trays, disinfecting areas etc etc .
Michelle, did the Air Vent Cover actually work for you on permanent basis? At a loss what I can do next. Thanks
Hi Anna! I’m happy to report that yes, this has worked for us ever since 🙂 The worst that happened was our cats would pee on top or to the side of the air vent covers, but it was still enough to prevent it from going inside the air vent.
You are a genius AND a lifesaver! This is going to be my weekend project! Thank you for sharing.
You’re very welcome Kim! 🙂 I’m happy you found this post helpful!
I don’t have the kitty problem, but I did need some inspiration on how to make a vent extender so I could put a bed over a vent and keep from blocking the airflow. The plastic solutions look like the air would blow them off, so this is perfect! Thanks for the great directions.
We have these and while our cat does not urinate in them, he does sit on them and block the heat coming out of them. I’ve been trying to find something that looks good in an antique home that will stop his heat blocking ways – this may be a good solution!