Thread: Is it safe to cover a floor heating vent and if so with what?

We have a 2 story house with all the bedrooms upstairs. The smaller bedrooms get too hot when the heater is on, but the master which is the only room with a vaulted ceiling will still be freezing. Is it safe to cover the heating vent with something to keep the small rooms cooler. Someone suggested foil but I didn't know if that would be safe.

no problem ... it is only hot air ... any heat that is not able to come out of that vent will be distributed to the other vents ... dont worry ...

That is why a lot of vents have louvre adjustments to lessen heat distribution in one area so that other areas might more benefit.

We always covered the heating vent underneath our christmas tree with foil so pine needles couldn't get in. Just make sure nothing is on top of the foil; it conducts heat really well.

Is there a switch next to the vent? The vents in my old house had switches that opened and closed them, so we could just close a vent if the room was empty/too hot.

Many vents have a metal flap you can adjust for heat. Foil is fine. A strip of metal under the grate to partially or totally block the heat is better. Better yet purchase a vent with an adjustable closer flap.

As far as your bedroom...where is it in the heating cycle? The last room on the chain? Is there a return in there? (Returns are ment to suck the air from the room to recycle it through the furnace rather then warming cold air from outside same as in the summer where it takes the cooler air to recool rather then the hot air outside The advantage in your bedroom would be that the air would be replaced....see video) Something that may work for you is a heat assist fan in the duct. that will pull more heat through the duct to your room. Another option is to open a passive duct from one of the hot rooms if it borders on yours. Also a ceiling fan as it will funnel the hot air from the ceiling down.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7750636096127977001#

you can cover the vents if you want... with anything... they don't get that hot. but you may want to cover the cold air returns instead. if you leave the doors closed and the cold air returns covered then it will limit how much warm air will be able to blow into the room.

it would be like blowing into a straw with your finger over the end. can't do it... move your finger (like opening a door or opening the cold air return) and blow til you turn blue in the face.

good luck

I have tried many things to cover vents with and I find large magnets work best. You can usually find full sheets of magnets at craft or home improvemet stores. I just get a sheet, cut it down to size and stick it to the vent. It seals out most of the air flow without creating a fire hazard. Also its not bulky like a pillow or a blanket that most people place over vents to stop air. Hope this helps. The only drawback is that it only works if your heat registers (vents) are metal. But it can also go on basement vents on ceilings or on walls.