Many people don’t think about their air ducts when it comes to home improvement. The ductwork in your home that transfers cool and hot air depending on the season functions best when it’s functioning covertly. But if you live in an older property, there’s a big chance your ducts have become less efficient over the years.
Reading this, you may already be familiar with the concept of duct sealing. You might even know that it’s a service that Clean Living Environments offers for homes in the Lake Country, Milwaukee, and Madison areas. But what exactly does air duct sealing entail, and is it worth implementing in your Wisconsin home?
What Is Air Duct Sealing?
The average home’s duct system isn’t perfect. There are many old homes in Wisconsin with ducts that haven’t been remodeled in decades. After that much time, a system naturally goes through tears and punctures that leak out filtered air. You can’t see this for yourself, but you’ll notice when your energy bill spikes for seemingly no reason.
When one of our professionals performs aerosol air duct sealing, they can reach farther with less effort. In previous eras, you would have to replace your entire ductwork to ensure maximum efficiency. Thankfully, the technology has since evolved to allow duct sealing through a product called AeroSeal. It doesn’t cover the whole area but instead clings and covers only the leakage spots.
Unlike other alternatives, AeroSeal can seal ducts behind walls and flooring. It leaves no odor at any point, allowing you to go back to the days when your ducts weren’t in the forefront of your mind.
Signs of Faulty Air Ducts
A sudden and mysterious increase in your energy bill is only one way to tell that your home is suffering from leaky air ducts. You can also go from room to room and make a mental note of how comfortable each space is. Are there specific rooms that struggle to stay hot or keep cool? You also want to pay attention to any part of your house that feels particularly stuffy.
And for the parts of your ductwork that you can see, you should look out for ducts that are kinked, pinched, or twisted. If your ducts are located primarily in cramped spaces like your attic or garage, that automatically makes them more vulnerable to damage, and they should be addressed accordingly.
If anything mentioned above applies to your home, it’s urgent to seek AeroSeal treatment sooner rather than later. Energy Star, a program made by the Environmental Protection Agency, reports that leaky ducts can reduce your HVAC system’s power by up to 20%. And as that happens, you’ll be paying upwards of 30% to make up for it.
That might be enough to convince you, but the consequences of damaged air ducts extend farther than your wallet.
Deeper Problems
Ductwork riddled with leaks allows unfiltered air to get into your HVAC system. From there, your system will distribute throughout your space. That means you will inadvertently be spreading contaminants to every room in your household every time you try to beat the heat or stay cozy.
That spreads dust, but that’s not all. Leaks also collide cool, filtered air and warm ambient air, creating moisture and a breeding ground for mold. So the air running through your leaking system isn’t just dirty. It can be downright toxic.
People in your home that are more susceptible to allergies or other respiratory illnesses may experience irritation in the eyes, nose, and throat. Specific contaminants can cause asthmatic individuals to experience a surge in symptoms, and in the long-term, even the healthiest individual could develop illnesses like heart disease.
Sealing the leaks in your ductwork will indeed maintain the lifespan of your HVAC system. But it will also preserve the air quality in your home—and it can do more than that.
Benefits of Air Duct Sealing
When you get an AeroSeal treatment, you’re sealing your ductwork with a non-toxic material that’s safe for every member of the household. It’s a water-based formula that you might find in hairspray or paint, which means it’s not too different from what’s probably in your home already.
Once you take care of your leaks, your HVAC system will work far better than it had been before. Whether you’re cooling or heating your home, sealing your ducts will enable you to control your home climate better and for less money. That applies to not only temperature but also humidity and airflow.
It’s better for your comfort, and it’s better for the appliance itself. When the ducts are sealed, you’re not losing any excess energy. That means that your system won’t have any issue keeping and maintaining a set temperature. It will work without added strain, which eases tension on the inner mechanics and allows appliances to last longer without breaking down.
Overall, an AeroSeal treatment on your ducts will save you time, trouble, and money. And when you do it through Clean Living Environments, the process is easy.
Air Duct Sealing Through Clean Living Environments
When it comes to HVAC services, there are big businesses, and there are small providers. Then there are companies like Clean Living Environments, where we choose to do things a little differently. Unlike other contractors in our area, we make indoor air quality services our primary focus for families across Wisconsin.
We’re women-led and family-owned, and we aim to work with environmentally friendly materials that clean your home as they contribute to cleaning the environment. And we do all that with a safe procedure and an affordable price.
The spread of the pandemic has made controlling the quality of air in your homes far more critical. Clean Living Environments has tried to address that with the most cutting-edge technology, and AeroSeal is only one of the tools we use to make your home life healthier.
So if you’re aiming to improve your duct system without massive renovation, call Clean Living Environments today for an air duct sealing. We’ll secure the roots of your HVAC systems and allow you to go back to the rest of your day in comfort.