Does My Ductwork Need Replacement or Just Cleaning

Are you wondering if you should replace your old ductwork or not. Are you concerned that the system is leaking air and wasting energy? I can tell you from experience that attics and crawl spaces are nasty places and there are things associated with ductwork that you simply do not want to know about. That includes but is not limited to everything from rodent fecal matter and urine, to squirrels, snail shells, raccoons, spiders, ants, sewage problems, standing water, rodent hair, rust, radon in sub floors, asbestos, bees, wasps and a whole slew of other things that you simply do not want in your home.

I was crawling in an attic a few weeks ago, next to this large 18" duct and the smell of rodent urine was really quite asphyxiating. I had to crawl the whole length of this small attic, next to this duct that I new was being used by rodents as a highway across the attic. I accidentally bumped it and was inundated with so much fecal matter from rats and mice, that it felt like a big rain storm pounding down on me. This stuff is really nasty.

I was crawling through the attic, through this tight location to identify why the attic was so warm and why the opposite end of the home had no heat. It was obvious that there was a break in the ductwork, that air was leaking into the attic and that energy was being wasted. This duct system was made of wire flexible ductwork with a light grey plastic jacket. The jacket had separated due to heat over the years and I could see lots and lots of locations where the rats and other critters had torn off shreds of insulation to build nests with or what ever they do with it.

When I arrived at the break, it was at a junction where the ductwork split into three different direction. It was obvious that the ductwork had been connected using only duct tape and the glue on the tape had obviously dried out and separated from the metal and plastic. I found what had to be a few hundred dead broken snail shells inside of and around the broken ductwork. There were droppings from some critter there, that was not a mouse or a rat. There were pieces of long and short hair from some animal.

I did not repair the ductwork, I crawled out and informed the customer that it was simply time to replace the ductwork because of the health risks associated with its condition. The customer did not take my recommendation and simply eventually had another contractor repair the duct.

The customer was trying to get the problem fixed as cheaply as possible. I understand that, but there is no way I would have recommended the repair given the age of the system and the condition of the jacket, the amount of insulation missing and who knows what diseases the animal hair carries. I don't think that the company who did the repair, did the customer any favors.

That’s one of the problems with this industry, even though something like the health and safety of the consumer may be at risk, there is always going to be a company or a small contractor who needs the work that will do things that others won't, because they simply want the money. Perhaps his opinion of the ductwork was not as bad as mine and maybe he saw it differently. That customer had to make a choice. Perhaps I was not as convincing about the condition of the ductwork as his quote was for the repair.

You have to decide when to replace your old ductwork based on what your contractors will tell you, what your gut tells you and what makes sense. If repairing an old antiquated, rodent infested system makes sense to you, then you probably will decide not to repair it, but if the health and welfare of your family matter to you, then you will probably come to the conclusion that replacement is the only option.

If you would not crawl down in the sub floor or up in the attic to investigate the ductwork yourself, because you don't like what may be down there then why would you risk having that stuff come into your home?

This customer found out that going cheap is not the best option, because yesterday he called me and asked me to give him a price to replace his ductwork system. I'm considering it.