A person checking an air duct with the words, "how to fix clogged air ducts."

Table of contents

  • What Causes Blocked HVAC Ducts?
  • How To Cheque For Blockages In Your Air Ducts
  • What Causes a Blocked Air Duct?
  • How Do Y'all Unclog Air Ducts?
  • What Do I Do If I Doubtable I Take An Air Duct Leak?

When your HVAC ducts are clogged, it can cause a lot of issues not just for you as a homeowner, but too for your HVAC system. If y'all are under the impression that you do have a duct blockage, information technology will be vital for you to call your local HVAC experts. In the meantime, please review the post-obit troubleshooting options and so that you can go along yourself informed.

What Causes Blocked HVAC Ducts?

HVAC ductwork is critical for the functionality of your home'due south HVAC unit of measurement. If you accept blocked HVAC ductwork then at that place will be a difference in temperature throughout your home. Some rooms may exist libation than others, and if the trouble is significant enough, it's essential for yous to contact your local HVAC professionals so that you tin can get to the bottom of the problem.

How To Bank check For Blockages In Your Air Ducts

A Technician gets deep into the air ducts to clean years of dust and debris

Air duct blockages share symptoms with other issues that can occur with your HVAC unit of measurement, which is why it is of import to distinguish them with proper troubleshooting. Here are some questions that you can ask yourself:

  •  Are in that location hot and cold pockets in your household?
  • Are you experiencing niggling to no airflow coming out of your dwelling house'south vents?
  • Are your energy bills gradually rising without any explicable reason?

If the respond to each of those questions is in the affirmative, and then y'all can see whether or not the reason is due to clogged air ducts. To troubleshoot the issue, plow on your air conditioner or heater. At this point, you tin can go through your home and bank check each vent for airflow. Y'all tin can make annotation of the rooms in the home where the airflow is weak.

Next, inspect the furnace or air conditioner filter. This is because you want to ensure that your filter isn't muddy or clogged. A clogged air filter will disrupt non but your airflow but could seriously impair your air conditioner's ability to function. Clogged filters can exist a culprit for hot and cold patches in your home. Air filters should exist changed out every thirty to ninety days in order to brand sure that your airflow is optimal. Updating your air filter will also assist if yous have pets in the business firm and you lot want to reduce pet dander.

If your air filter is not the problem, then you lot can inspect the ductwork from outside the home. Your attic and your basement may too take open ductwork, and these areas will need to exist inspected for holes or for loose fittings.

The dampers can as well be inspected at this point. Dampers are mutual in multi-zone HVAC systems.

The dampers in your household open and close to command airflow to specific parts of the home. If for some reason the damper isn't working correctly and so information technology can create a blockage in airflow. This will preclude air from reaching its destination. Equally always, if you cannot troubleshoot the air duct situation yourself, and so your best bet is to call our HVAC professionals at Cotes Mechanical.

What Causes a Blocked Air Duct?

Air Ducts channel air around a house

Let's briefly discuss what causes a blocked air duct. The following problems volition crusade air duct blockages:

  • Dirt and grime build upwards in the air duct.
  • Dead animals.
  • Damaged ductwork.
  • Leaking ducts.
  • Concrete obstructions in the ductwork.
  • Closed zone dampers.

Each of these different sources of air ducts problems will require a slightly different solution. To review your available options, delight be certain to contact your local certified HVAC professional team.

How Do You Unclog Air Ducts?

Your local HVAC professional may have slightly different methods, but the accepted methodology is to remove the screws from air duct covers and return air grill plates. Adjacent, encompass up the supply vents with paper towels. Later that, the thermostat volition be ready to the "fan on" position.So, the duct tin can be loosened in the ducts and removed. The supply registers should exist cleaned as well as the return registers. Once the unabridged arrangement is properly cleaned, airflow should resume dorsum to normal.

What Exercise I Do If I Doubtable I Have An Air Duct Leak?

If you accept troubleshot all of your available air duct options, then now is the time to start contacting your local air-conditioning and heating authority. Our company provides cleaning, maintenance, and repair piece of work for air ducts. Cote's Mechanical is a company of HVAC professionals led by a husband and wife team. Cote and Kristi Wyatt are passionate nigh HVAC solutions for their community. They founded the company in 2001 and it quickly grew into a well-established company withover forty employees. Y'all can always reach a friendly fellow member of our staff with a well-placed telephone call to our team. We provide costless estimates on new installs and gratuitous service calls with all repairs.