How can I protect my kids' toes from this evil grating in the floor?

Question

The cold air return in this house is in the floor, in the most-trafficked part of the house. It has a heavy grating over it.

My kids' toes are small enough to fit in the gaps, which is very painful when it happens. In the summer I cover the grating with a rug, but in the winter we have to keep it clear.

This is a rental, so relocating the cold air return isn't an option.

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If the kids are running around barefoot in the Winter, have you considered that perhaps you have the heat set too high and are wasting a lot of energy anyways? :-) — Brian Knoblauch, Jan 21 '11 at 14:41
@Brian I keep the house at 62 degF. The adults wear warm clothes, but kids like to strip off clothes spontaneously. Young people and their weird fashions... — Jay Bazuzi, Jan 21 '11 at 20:01

shirlock homes · Accepted Answer · 2011-01-21T11:05:28.910

16

If the grate is easily removable, simply lift it up and wrap it in a thin, loose fiber fabric like a muslin, cheese cloth or nice smooth burlap. (not the rough course kind). Even a piece of regular fiberglass screen would do the same thing. This will look nice, let plenty of air through, keep excessive amounts of dirt out of duct work and help protect little piggies. Check out the fabric dept at Wally World, bet you can find what you need for a couple of bucks.

edited Jan 21 '11 at 11:05

answered Jan 21 '11 at 10:54

shirlock homes

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I would go with some type of screen, as a piece of cloth will work similar to the filter on the furnace and become dirty. Screen should catch less dirt, and is probably easier to clean. – Tester101 Jan 21 '11 at 13:02
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Of course, using the rough burlap might encourage them to wear their slippers. :) – Niall C. Jan 21 '11 at 15:13
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I bet the cloth would get dirty from being walked on long before it would get dirty from filtering dirt out of the air. – tnorthcutt Jan 25 '11 at 13:08

score 12 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 21 '11 at 06:30

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The problem of that grating is it has cells big enough to accomodate a kid toe. Just replace it with one with smaller cells or find a wire mesh with smaller cells and put it over the grating - something made of 3 millimeters steel wire will do, but you'll have to cut it to size and carefully process the wire endings along the perimeter.

answered Jan 21 '11 at 06:30

sharptooth

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Maybe could cover it with like a window screen? – rogerdpack Feb 17 '23 at 21:21

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 04 '15 at 23:31

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One thought because my 10yo daughter plays outside in the street a lot is the more your kids run around barefoot, the tougher their feet will be and the grating may not bother them as much when they step on it.

answered Nov 04 '15 at 23:31

Dawn Smith

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How can I protect my kids' toes from this evil grating in the floor?

3 Answers3