If you notice there’s something happening with your HVAC system, you might have a problem with your air conditioner, your furnace, your ductwork, or your thermostat. In this article, we’ll talk about ductwork problems.

If you’re having temperature issues, you might blame your ductwork, and rightly so. Only an HVAC company like the Otter Guys can tell you for sure, though. It’s best that you call and schedule service as quickly as possible.

Let’s talk about some reasons why your ductwork might not work in the way that you want and what an HVAC company can do about it.

Blockages from Kids

Let’s say that you move into a new house. You get an inspection, and everything seems fine. Sometimes, though, you won’t turn on the furnace or air conditioner during the inspection, particularly if you buy an already vacant house.

Once you move in, you’ll turn on the HVAC system and see how it works. You might try both the furnace and the central air unit, assuming you have one. Not every house has central air. That depends on where you live and the climate there.

Maybe once you turn on the furnace, you notice you don’t have a nice, uniform temperature throughout the house. You may notice it’s toasty warm on the first floor, but it’s still quite chilly up on the second.

If that happens, you’ll want to contact an HVAC company so they can come check out your ductwork. They’ll look at your furnace as well, but, assuming it’s working okay, they’ll likely investigate the ductwork next.

They might find some blockages between the first floor and the second. If they do, they must look inside the ductwork to find any obstructions. 

If they find any, they might realize the kids that lived there before you threw or stuffed some items into the vents. If you had some mischievous kids living there before you, and they pried open a loose vent, they might throw objects down there and create blockages through which the warm or cool air can’t pass.

What Might Block the Ductwork?

If you talk to HVAC repair people, they might have some stories about what they have found in ductwork. In houses where kids lived, they might find clothing, toys, books, and just about anything else. 

They can get to work fishing out those items. Once they’re out of the ductwork, you can try running the furnace again. If you get warm air throughout the house now, you’ll know you’ve found and alleviated the problem.

Blockages from Animals

You might also contact HVAC repair people and have them take a look at ductwork when you don’t have uniform air temperatures, and they’ll find animal-related obstructions. If you live by some woods, that becomes more likely.

If you live near woods, that means you might have rats, squirrels, raccoons, opossums, and other wildlife setting up shop in your house. As the weather gets colder and you turn on the heat, your home becomes very attractive as a place to hole up for the winter.

An animal might nest in the ductwork. They will enjoy the warm temperatures, and they might build a nest and try raising their young in there too.

You might contact both an HVAC person and an exterminator if that happens. If your HVAC repair person finds a nest of possums, they won’t want to tackle those. You need a pest control expert for that.

Integrity Problems

If you notice you don’t have the temperature uniformity throughout the house that you want, you may also find that you don’t have a blockage. Instead, your HVAC repair person might discover that you don’t have structural integrity throughout the ductwork.

It’s not likely, but sometimes, the ductwork bends out of position, or a section breaks off entirely. You might notice that on your own, but you may need an HVAC person who can go over that ductwork inch by inch to determine the spot or spots where that happened.

Once they’ve found the damage, they can make repairs. After they cobble the ductwork back together and make sure it’s secure, you should get warm or cool temperatures throughout the house again. 

If you don’t have secure, unblocked ductwork, you can’t fully enjoy your house and either your furnace or central air unit. That’s why you should contact an HVAC company without delay if you feel warm in one section but cold in another.

Guest Contributor: Susan Melony