Your ductwork is one of the most important parts of your heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. If your air ducts are leaking, more damage may ensue. This can also negatively affect your home’s energy consumption and efficiency. Fortunately, there are easy ways to check the condition of your air ducts. Here Entergis Testing and Sealing discusses signs your air ducts are leaking and simple ways to check for leaks.
Clear Signs of Leakage in the Air Ducts
A spike in utility bills. If there’s a sudden increase in your utility bills, this may be because your HVAC system is compromised. When your air ducts have leakage, the conditioned air can be going somewhere other than your air conditioned rooms. This overworks your HVAC system, resulting in higher utility bills.
More dust accumulation. Observe your home’s dust accumulation. Leaks in the air ducts can pull dust into your house. Along with more required cleaning, dust buildup can trigger allergy attacks.
An uneven temperature inside your home. If you’re experiencing uneven, changing temperatures inside your house, your air ducts may have leakage. Your home should be a standard unified temperature unless there’s an opening that’s letting in outside air and sunlight.
Simple Ways to Check for Leakage
- It’s best to check your air ducts for visible tears and damage. You can mark the tears with a grease marker in order to more easily locate them to fix later. An air duct contractor can aid you in repairing your air ducts
- To more easily find non-visible tears, turn on your HVAC system to maximum, then check for blowing air in your ducts.
- You may also check your duct joints, as these spots are where leaks most commonly occur. Hover your hands over the air ducts’ joints to check for airflow.
- Duct tape on your air ducts isn’t a permanent fix. Previous tears covered in duct tape can be the cause of leakage. Make sure to permanently fix the tears instead of covering them with more tape.
We can help you with your air duct issues at Entergis Testing and Sealing, LLC. Call us at (225) 445-2362 or fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment.