Your air ducts are hidden away in your attic, so you might never think about them. However, they are responsible for carrying all of the air that you breathe, so they are one of the most important parts of your home. Learn how you can spot problems in your ducts that could compromise your health and comfort.
Hot or Cold Spots in Your House
If you have a room that is always hot or cold, the duct leading up to that room may be punctured or blocked. When your air conditioner is on, reach up to feel how strong the air flow coming out of the vent is.
If the air flow feels weak, it's probably a duct problem. Depending on your attic layout and your mobility, you may be able to visually inspect the duct.
If you can, bring a piece of string or tissue paper with you and run it along the duct to see if it blows around. This will help you spot leaks that might be too small to spot by eye.
If you try to repair a duct on your own, look for mastic not duct tape. Despite its name, duct tape does not work on ducts because it quickly dries up and falls off.
Air Vents Are Lukewarm or Barely Cool
If you're running your air conditioner or furnace, you should expect to feel about a 20 degree difference between the air coming out of your vents and the room temperature. If you barely feel a difference and there are no leaks, it's probably an insulation problem.
Most ducts are made of thin metal. The hot or cold air in your un-airconditioned attic heats up or freezes your ducts, and this reverses the work your HVAC system just did to heat or cool your air.
If you're not due for a full duct replacement, special insulation is sold that you can wrap around your ducts.
Weak Air Flow Not Caused by a Leak
Many homes that don't have their original HVAC system or have been remodeled have vents that have weak air flow even though there are no leaks in the ducts leading up to them. Unfortunately, this almost always means that the current HVAC system isn't powerful enough to handle the home's new heating and cooling needs.
If you think you might have a problem in your ducts or want to schedule a duct inspection just to be safe, contact a local HVAC repair contractor today.
For HVAC repair, contact a company such as United Heating & Air Conditioning.
Share26 January 2016
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