Inside: Help your family breathe better with these simple tips for air vent cleaning. It's easy to do and helps the air around you. Check out how to clean your air vents like a pro!

When my husband and I were homeowners for the first time I really didn't give any consideration to air vent cleaning. I was too busy trying to stay on top of the smaller, everyday cleaning tasks. It wasn't until I noticed our dining room air vent wasn't putting out much air did I really think about it. When I took the register off I noticed there was a big mouse trap stuck in the hole where the air came out.

It gave me a huge scare, luckily there was no mouse on the trap! I removed the mouse trap and realized there was dog hair, dirt, and debris down in the air vents. I realized I had been neglecting a simple, but important household cleaning task.

Since then I have been cleaning the air vents on a regular basis. I try to clean them out at least twice a year. It doesn't take a lot of time and it will improve the air quality in your home. It also helps control dust in your home. If you want to improve air quality and dust less check out these simple tips for air vent cleaning.

To start you will need a rag or microfiber cleaning cloth (I love these microfiber cloths!) and a vacuum. Remove the vent from the air vent and wash it off with warm soapy water. I usually just fill up my sink with a soapy water and dip them in the water a few times.

Then rinse them under warm water. Use the microfiber cloth to dry the vent off. You will want to make sure you dry it 100 percent because if not a metal vent could rust.

Once you have dried off the vent then use the vacuum to vacuum out the air vents. Because we have dogs I often see tons of dog hair in our vents. Make sure you vacuum as far down as the vacuum will reach. I have found that most of the dirt gathers at the turn of the vent.

Once you have vacuumed out the vent use a wet microfiber cloth to wipe down the vent. Finally, put the registers back on the vents and you are done! It is easy and quick to do.

While you are cleaning your vents I highly recommend you change your furnace filter.

If you are like me and tend to forget when you change your filters I recommend Amazon. You can request that Amazon sends you a new filter every few months. Ours needs to be changed every 3 months, so every 3 months we get a new one in the mail and I know it's time to change it.

You can also get furnace filters delivered monthly from Second Nature. Your first filter is free and you can cancel at any time. Just head over here to sign up!

You only have to do this once or twice a year but it really makes a difference in your air quality. Plus, you can eliminate some of the dust in your home so you can dust less often. It's a win-win. This is a great task to do in the spring and fall to keep your home in top shape!

Want some other easy cleaning tips? Check out how to clean your dryer vent like a pro! It will save you money and help your clothes dry faster.