Your home’s ductwork is more important than you may realize and must be treated with the proper respect it’s due. For instance, air tightness can help provide a strong seal for your ducts that minimize serious problems. Here’s what you need to know about this situation.
Why Air Tightness Matters
Duct air tightness is a critically important thing that many people don’t fully understand. Unfortunately, poor understanding of this process can result in sloppy work and other problems that might impact your home’s overall safety and structural integrity. Thankfully, proper air tightness can:
- Minimize Drafts: Drafts through your air ducts can cool your home down unnecessarily and cause a higher HVAC bill, particularly in winter. For example, imagine leaky ducts in your bedroom: they’ll likely cause a colder room that may be hard to sleep in at the end of the day.
- Improve Efficiency: When your ducts leak air, their efficiency is greatly reduced, and you’ll spend even more on your HVAC protection. This step is particularly important if you haven’t touched on your ducts in ages and need help keeping your system operating smoothly and effectively.
- Reduce Mold Risk: Mold is a serious risk that can develop in ducts and spread rapidly through your home. When this happens, there’s a good chance that your loved ones might suffer breathing troubles and other problems. Airtight ducts typically have far less mold than leaky ones.
- Manage Air Pollution Risks: Beyond mold, air ducts may also have dust, debris, dirt, and other items spread throughout their length. If your ducts leak, these contaminants are more likely to affect you; furthermore, they’re more likely to get into your ducts in the first place and spread more rapidly.
Thankfully, you can typically improve your air tightness in a variety of ways, such as calling a professional for help. By properly sealing up your air ducts, you can keep your system running smoothly and avoid serious issues that could otherwise impact you.
Ways to Improve Your Duct Sealing
If you’re afraid that your ducts aren’t airtight, then it’s important to get help right away. While there are some DIY steps that may help you here, it’s almost always better to get expert help. Here are a few steps that you can take yourself (or reach out to an expert to manage if you’re not comfortable):
- Seal Seams With Foil Tape: Duct seams are where most of your air leakage occurs. That’s because they tend to fall apart the easiest and often become disjointed or improperly aligned. Thankfully, sealing them with foil tape can minimize this danger and ensure you get the support you deserve.
- Apply Duct Mastic to the Joints: Mastic tape can help seal off potential leaks in and around the joint areas. Beyond your seams, the duct joints are where you’ll lose the most air tightness. As a result, it’s critical for you to work with a professional who can help you with this process.
- Carefully Insulate the Duct: When you carefully insulate your ducts properly, you help to reduce airflow and keep them as airtight as possible. As with the previous two steps, we strongly recommend working with an expert who better understands the complexities of this in-depth process.
- Use Aeroseal Sealing Teams: If you’re struggling to handle this process yourself, it’s best to contact an aeroseal duct sealing services They’ll help identify where your issues lie, provide excellent duct sealing support, and ensure that your ducts run smoothly and effectively for your home.
Note that you may also need to install new ductwork if yours is frayed or too damaged to repair. That might be frustrating, but doing so can minimize efficiency problems and keep your air flowing. It also helps provide the support your ducts need to run smoothly and efficiently and without any serious air loss.
Get Help For This Process
No matter what steps you take, it’s important to carefully choose a team that can work the best for you. While it’s possible to DIY this process, it’s almost always better to work with experts. Doing so can minimize potential risks and keep your ducts as airtight as possible for your home or your business.