# How to Check If My Heater Ducts Are Leaking
Leaking joints in air ducts, along with holes and poor connections, typically result in a 20-percent loss of air in a house, according to the federal government’s Energy Star program. This loss of air affects how quickly your house heats up, meaning you must turn up your thermostat to achieve a comfortable temperature. As your furnace works harder to heat your house, it consumes more energy and the result is higher heating bills.
Things You'll Need
- Incense stick or smoke pencil
- Lighter
- Metal tape
Instructions
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1
Locate the ducts in your housing by looking in the attic, basement, crawl space or other unfinished areas of your house. Inspect the joints between the duct sections, looking for openings or tape of any kind that is sealing the joints.
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Light an incense stick or a smoke pencil, and then hold it near the joints in the ducts. If you see the smoke from the incense stick or smoke pencil disturbed while the furnace is running, the joints are leaking.
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3
Peel off any tape covering leaking joints. Wrap metal tape around the joints instead, pressing the tape down so the joints are tightly covered. Check the connections between air vents and the ducts as well, sealing any leaky joints.
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Ventilation
- How to Check the Defrost on a Kenmore Heater
- How to Check a Water Heater Thermocouple
- Are Cold Air Heater Ducts Important?
- How to Replace Collapsed Ducts
- How to Check Furnace Ducts for Blockage
- How to Check a Heater Core for Clogging
- How to Fix a Leaking Heat Exchanger on a Hayward Heater
- How to Check a Dryer's Heater Coil
- How to Check if an Electric Baseboard Heater Is Broken
- How to Fix a Leak in a Heater Duct
- How to Check for a Central Air Leak
- How to Mud the Joints of Drywall
