I’m so glad that the Ten Ninety Seven paper is going to continue! Lauren Swonke did such a great job starting and managing the newspaper – a wonderful asset to our community! We wish Lauren and her family all the best in their next season in life. Congratulations and all the best to Hannah Sherman as she takes the helm and keeps going with the paper. Without a monthly paper since July, no doubt there were many readers who have been sitting on pins and needles just waiting to read another article about something in the attic (ha!) … so I’m going to continue the series of articles I started at the beginning of the year discussing different important aspects of the attic in your home. Let’s talk about ductwork in your attic…
The ductwork system in your attic is of the utmost importance to the comfort, air quality, and efficiency in your home! The majority of readers will have a split HVAC system in your home. A split system will return air from inside the home through the air return, condition the air, and back to the home interior from the plenum, through the ductwork and out the air registers. The air is connected through a system of chases, plenums, and ductwork.
Keeping your duct system cleaned and sealed is critical to a healthy home. If the ductwork system is dirty or damp, it will create an unhealthy environment inside the home. Dampness in the duct will create mold that is then circulated into the entire home. Some people experience respiratory and allergy issues that could be eradicated if the duct system in the home is cleaned. If the ductwork system is clean and dry, the home interior can be healthy. The HVAC system needs to be properly maintained to remove humidity from inside the home and ducts and the system must be kept clean with filters. I highly recommend an annual maintenance contract with a qualified and trusted HVAC company to keep your air conditioning system operating correctly and efficiently.
Broken connections and unsealed systems in the air return / chase, at the plenum, and in ductwork can cause the evaporator coil to get dirty, which can cause other problems and premature deterioration of the equipment, not to mention be inefficient in healing, cooling, and conditioning the air. Duct and plenum connections can deteriorate in a hot attic and may need to be repaired. Ducts can be broken by service technicians and others moving around in the attic. I see broken and disconnected ducts in an attic all the time. More common are plenums that have come apart and/or air leaks around the plenum where the flexible or hard pipe duct is connected to a port on the plenum.
Older homes have unsealed air return chases that can become dirty with all kinds of debris and need to be cleaned. An easy way to clean them is with a shop-vac. One of my favorite finds in a home I inspected had a large air return with a folding chair inside it (and a dead mouse under the folding chair). I wondered if this was a “time out” place for the kids! Imagine the odor from the dead mouse being sucked into the system. Older grey flexible ductwork is prone to deterioration and should be replaced. Rodents damage insulation on hard duct pipe that needs to be repaired. Newer ductwork can be installed that is more efficient. Ductwork should be properly suspended and installed without sharp bends or obstructions for good air flow.
Keep your HVAC chase, plenum, and ductwork sealed, filtered, and cleaned and you’ll have a healthier and more efficient home! Stay cool, warm, and breathing easy my friends!
