You duct work is kind of like the circulatory system for your house. It allows air to travel throughout the house from the HVAC system. Without your air ducts, all heating and cooling would have to be done room by room. This is highly inefficient, but luckily modern duct work is pretty resilient. One thing that can cause issues is rust in your air ducts. While rust itself is not going to cause any health issues for your family, it can cause damage to your duct work. A large amount of rust could also indicate a mold issue. This is because where there is rust there is, or at least was, water. This can cause mold to form in the insulation around your duct work. For now, though, let’s see what you can do to keep your duct work from rusting.
Insulation Is Key
Condensation is going to be the number one source of water exposure for your duct work if you live in a humid area. This can be a big issue, especially in the summer. The reason for this is simple. When cold, smooth material is exposed to warm, humid air, condensation forms. This is the fog on your windshield and the sweat on your glass. This can lead to the outside of your duct work rusting. It can also lead to water getting into the insulation if it has been damaged. To prevent this make sure all of your duct work is properly insulated and inspect it at least once a year. This will also save you money on heating and cooling since less energy is being lost to poorly insulated duct work.
Seal Out External Sources
The most common causes of water getting into your duct work are going to be the bathroom and kitchen. These are the two room in the house most likely to have water on the floor. When water gets down into the duct work it immediately starts to corrode it. While this may take several years to cause anything substantial, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It is better to address this before it becomes a problem and requires major repairs. To keep water out of these ducts you can do something as simple as putting down towels, but a much more effective way, if you don’t need to remove your vents often, is to lay down a small bead of silicone sealant along the bottom of the vent. If done right you will never see it, but it will keep water from going under the vent and keep most, if not all, of the water from getting in.
