Water in Your HVAC Ducts? Here’s What to Do
Ensuring that your HVAC ducts are spotless and dry allows healthy and fresh air to circulate throughout your home. As a homeowner, the main concern you should have is the quality of the air you’re breathing inside your house. That would require frequent cleaning and maintenance of your air ducts. However, most people don’t have the time or forget about this task.
That can create major problems further down the line, and one of them involves water getting inside your HVAC ducts and causing leaks. If you have noticed the formation of water droplets on your HVAC ducts or water leaking from the air vents, you may have a big problem on your hands.
When water gets inside your HVAC ducts, it can create a dangerous scenario for the residents, and the problem must be rectified by professional air duct cleaners quickly. We share how water may get into your HVAC ducts, why it’s dangerous for you, and what you should do about it.
How Does Water Get Inside Your Air Ducts?
Water getting into your HVAC ducts is a common occurrence, and it’s not due to poor maintenance or lack of oversight from you. It’s not your fault, but it’s essential that you learn how it happens, so you can act fast and stop the problem from escalating. Moisture build-up happens naturally in HVAC ducts and may be caused by one of the following:
- Leaking roof – water can travel into the air ducts and accumulate in little cracks.
- Air conditioner cooling coils – your HVAC system pulls humidity from your house and releases wet air outside. However, excessive moisture may create puddles of water in the air ducts in humid or hot weather conditions.
- Thunderstorms and flooding may cause water to get into your HVAC ducts.
Now that you’re familiar with how water gets inside your HVAC ducts, you should be vigilant about signs of water leaks in your ducts. It’s also better to fix your roof so any water doesn’t work its way into the air ducts and you have proper insulation.
Why Is Water in HVAC Ducts Dangerous for You?
One of the main threats of water getting inside your HVAC ducts is that you’re completely unaware of this problem. Even if there are visible signs of moisture build-up or water droplets on your air ducts, most people assume it doesn’t have any serious consequences.
Your home can be devastated by water damage, as small moisture patches can convert into large puddles that start dripping on your wooden floors and seep into the walls. When dealing with water damage in your home, it’s always best to call in professional restoration services. If you leave these small water droplets in your air ducts, it can cause extensive damage to your home’s structure.
Leaving water damage unattended for more than 24 hours creates the ideal breeding ground for mold growth. Black molds thrive in warm and wet spaces, which is something an HVAC duct offers them when water gets into it. You should know that black mold is extremely hazardous for you and can cause allergies, breathing disorders, chronic fatigue, and rashes.
If your HVAC ducts are filled with mold, you and your family members will be breathing toxic spores, which will spread to every corner of the home. You don’t want to deal with mold colonies in your house, as that will make your living conditions untenable.
That’s why you must act fast when you notice water in your HVAC ducts. Even if there aren’t any visible signs of moisture build-up in your air ducts, you should get your air vents and HVAC ducts cleaned and maintained regularly to ensure your family’s safety.
Steps You Can Take to Get Rid of Water in Your HVAC Ducts
The good news is that you can take some steps by yourself to ensure that water doesn’t get into your HVAC ducts easily. Here are some of the solutions you can try to keep your air vents and ducts dry and clean throughout the year.
- Only use the humidifiers during the night
- Seal and insulate all gaps in your HVAC ducts
- Use a dehumidifier in rooms with high humidity
- Call professional restoration services
It’s a good idea to get new insulation for your home so that water doesn’t leak or come from outside into your HVAC ducts. However, the best step is to schedule regular inspections by professional services so that your air ducts are cleaned and maintained every year.
Call the Experts at 911 Restoration of Toledo Today!
If you have noticed constant leaking or mold growth in your HVAC ducts, don’t try to clean or fix it yourself. Get in touch with the experts at 911 Restoration of Toledo to thoroughly extract moisture and anything blocking and growing inside your HVAC ducts. Our Toledo water damage restoration technicians are IICRC certified to help you with any water extraction or mold remediation needs.
