Replace a leaking duct
Leaking air ducts in your house can cost you a lot more when it comes to your monthly utility expenses. The reason to the up rises of the bills is because the leaking air ducts are unable to function efficiently to heat or to cool your home. In the long term, this situation could risk the health of all households as there will be dust building up through the duct and mold infestation when it\’s too damp. Carbon monoxide could be released from the air duct leakage as well and this can harm your health too. You can stop the leakage of your house air ducts by following these steps.
You will need:
- Metal cutters
- Sealing tape
- New duct work
- Duct compound
- Metal straps
Steps:
- First, check all of the ducts in your basement, attic and garage if available and see if these areas have ducts that may have kinks in them. These kinks are the reason why ducts are leaking. You could also check the heating and cooling joints meet, and then split. Make sure that there are no cracks at the tape. If you haven\’t cleaned your air duct for a long time, there will be dust or lint collected around these areas.
- One way to check whether the ducts are insulated is by watching if there is any build up of dirt around the seals. Then, turn the air flow off to your home as well as the air conditioner and the heater. You will find ducts that will start to droop. Installing metal straps to the duct will make them stronger. The metal strapping will bend easily around the duct and can be attached to the wood joists in the wall or ceiling. You can find these metal straps at your local home improvements.
- Next, to remove the old duct, use a metal cutter and cut through the leakage duct and pull it off. Place a new piece of duct in the open spot. Use a sealing tape and duct sealing compound to seal the two pieces of ducts together. Use a compound of thick paste to secure the tape when you have wrapped the sealing tape around the ducts. You could also apply this compound to the corners of the duct work to prevent any future leaking problems.
- To check whether your work is done, turn the air back onto your home. Use some water to apply to the areas that you have just repaired. You have fixed the leakage problem if there are no sign of bubbles.
A home’s air duct system is a very important part in keeping your house safe, and energy efficient at the same time. To avoid a leaking duct, testing should be done on the air duct to confirm that it is not leaking or broken. Air ducts leakage brings problems to our home as they can cause issues in temperature and costs us a lot of money as well. A leaking duct will prevent more air going through to your space for cooling and it takes a longer time to run to meet its temperature requirement. This is why it is best to replace your leaking duct.
Additional Reading:
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-replace-a-leaking-air-duct
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/irisheyes/142537908/
