Buying The Best Floor Register Tip #3: Prepare for the worst

In this entry to our Buying the Best Floor Register Series I want to follow up on the first two tips about buying it once and making it last by asking you to “prepare for the worst” when you buy your floor register. This might sound grim but it’s not. Sometimes a customer will buy a register and they’ll already have a reservation or a worry about how long it will last or how well it will function. Usually these fears aren’t unfounded. A steel register in a high moisture room or an aluminum register in an area of foot traffic. The customers who bought these registers left the store already worrying about rust from the high moiture and dents from the high foot traffic, and eventually there fears were realized. Prepare for the worst so you don’t end up in their shoes.

Think about where you’ll place your registers and what dangers it will face and then ask yourself how well that register will do. If you think it won’t do well at all then it probably won’t. Get a different one, no matter how fond you were of you’re first choice. When your second choice is still going strong three presidential administrations later, you’ll be glad you did.

The two most common dangers to floor registers are rust and denting. Here’s how to deal with both:

• Rust - Rust can effect steel, aluminum or brass registers if they are exposed to high moisture areas. So choose plastic. Plastic registers do not rust and many of them look just as nice as our metal ones. This register is made of an ABS resin and is completely waterproof. You can even wash it in the dishwasher. It’s not just rustproof, it’s waterproof!
• Dents - Any register, whether it’s plastic, steel, brass or aluminum, is susceptible to denting if it’s hit hard enough or often enough. Any register, that is, except a cast iron floor register. Cast Iron floor registers don’t dent. These registers were built to take pounding and still look great. They are the preferred choice for bar and restaurant owners for precisely that reason. If you’re holding a pretty brass register but wincing at how it will look after your next party then put it back on the shelf (or take it out of your shopping cart) and click here to buy a cast iron floor register.

Preparing for the worst is smart shopping. It saves time and money and you won’t feel stupid for ignoring your own commone sense.

If you’re not sure whether or not the register you’ve picked is the right one then please give us a call at 1-800-272-7734 or just send your question to Ask Jim!

Posted on 01/25/10 // Posted in Floor Registers, Home Hardware Tips