How To Remove Rust From Baseboard Heater Covers

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Baseboard heaters tin can be an eyesore, especially if they haven't been replaced for decades.
I installed Baseboarders baseboard heater covers to give my dated 1984 ranch a modern upgrade.
The replacement baseboard heater covers are bully for beginner DIYers who want to relieve some money and fourth dimension.
Read more about how Insider Reviews tests abode products.

Baseboarders Basic Serial encompass is piece of cake to slide on over an existing baseboard heater.

You'll demand to buy both a right and left cease cap for your heater.

The end caps provide a clean, finished look for Baseboarders covers.

Six months ago, I left my cramped Brooklyn flat to motility to New York'due south bucolic Dutchess County where historic homes and farms dot its rolling hills. After a surprisingly brief search, I was lucky to close on my own country home: a 1984 ranch.

This ranch is dated and, to my partner's horror, there is plenty I want to remodel. In the concurrently, I've found means to give our dwelling house a more modern, fresh await without exhausting our funds.

I of our kickoff DIY home projects: the baseboard heaters. The originals were intact with their yellowing paint and dust caked into tiny crevices.

The original baseboard heater covers were well past their prime number.

I thought I had only ii options: Paint the baseboards or supercede them with spotless new pieces, removing everything but the heating elements. Neither option was ideal. Both are labor intensive for reluctant, inexperienced DIYers. Plus, there's cypher to appreciate almost the aesthetics of traditional baseboard heaters.

And then I found Baseboarders. The installation process is simple — these baseboard heater covers slip correct over existing hot water baseboards. (If yous're looking to use these with electric baseboards, be sure to mind the manufacturer's warnings.)

Our review of Baseboarders baseboard heater covers

The panels are fabricated from depression-gloss powder-coated galvanized steel. I opted for the Basic Series, which I stumbled upon on The Abode Depot website. The design consists of clean directly lines and small holes along the elevation half that allow heat to pass through. Covers are sold in 3-, 4-, v-, and vi-foot lengths.

At that place are also the Premium, Elliptus, and Commercial series baseboard covers. The Home Depot and Lowe's offer but the Basic and Premium covers in white, but if you purchase direct from Baseboarders, you can choose from white, blackness, bronze, or greyness and gratuitous custom cuts. (However, you volition pay more for shipping and take a longer wait for delivery.)

How we installed the baseboard cover in the bathroom

I ordered a v-foot long cover and two end caps for $135 with gratis shipping from The Home Depot. Since our existing bath baseboard is a lilliputian under 5 feet, my partner cut a modest portion of the finish using a hacksaw. You tin can also use shears.

The Baseboarders cover complements the clean, bright bath makeover.

One person can hands install these themselves. The procedure was simple, and Baseboarders has an easy-to-follow instructional video. We removed the existing front cover and the end caps. Then we clicked the new comprehend over the existing back console and secured the end caps. All in all, this took 20 minutes.

How we installed the larger baseboard covers in the kitchen

Our kitchen baseboards are significantly longer, running along 2 walls in an "L" shape. For this project, I ordered ii half dozen-foot panels, a 5-foot panel, a coupler to cover the gap where two panels run across, an within corner cover, and two end caps. Full cost: $440.

This time around, my partner used a jigsaw to trim the panels. Having observed this, I recommend the shears method, which a beginner tin can safely and easily attain without the need for power tools. The kitchen took us 45 minutes from beginning to terminate.

The coupler piece hides the gap between ii side-by-side covers.

How much money and time we saved

Y'all'll definitely need more than tools (drill, reciprocating saw, patching materials), skill, and fourth dimension to remove and install traditional covers. Baseboarders provides a cost comparison, showing a savings of approximately $2.67 per linear square pes.

If you're DIYing a 2,000-foursquare-pes abode, Baseboarders covers likely amount to a few hundred dollars in savings and 5 fewer hours for install time, depending on your skill level. Hiring someone to install new covers will cost significantly more.

The bottom line

Aside from appreciating their energy efficiency, I was pretty frustrated past our baseboard heaters. The aesthetic downsides and their proclivity for collecting grit and clay seemed like something I'd take to but live with. But a simple DIY project using Baseboarders has given my abode a make clean, updated look.

Lisa Sabatini

Senior Editor, Dwelling and Pets

Lisa Sabatini is the senior editor of abode and pets for Insider Reviews. She works with reporters to narrow down the best products from new and emerging brands to tried-and-true favorites — with a focus on all-encompassing research, reporting, and rigorous testing. As a new homeowner, Lisa has covered elementary but impactful DIY upgrades and clever, affordable products. She also brings extensive cognition of animal behavior and wellness to her function equally pets editor and has previously edited books on dog training for immature readers. For the last ii years, Lisa oversaw Insider Reviews parenting coverage of kids furniture, playpens, swing sets, infant monitors, and more. With a 15-year editorial career that took her from the Wall Street Journal to Scary Mommy, she has also covered all matter of business organisation and parenting news. Lisa currently resides in Dutchess County, New York. She graduated from New York University with a bachelor'due south degree in journalism. Larn more well-nigh how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here. Larn more most how nosotros examination domicile products. Larn more virtually how we test pet products.