3 Top Problems Sealing Air Conditioning Ductwork with Duct Tape

Whenever you are working with air conditioning ductwork you will more than likely think that using duct tape is not going to be an issue. However, there are several reasons why you should not use duct tape for sealing your air conditioning ductwork. Duct tape can be used for a lot of different things, and it can usually work really well with anything that you use it for. However, there are still a few things that you should probably not use duct tape with and sealing air conditioning ductwork is at the top of the list. Make sure that you understand why you should not do this so that you can make good decisions about not doing it at all.

Short Lasting

Many people do not realize that duct tape actually has a short lifespan. This is something that is usually true whenever the tape is put under stress for long periods of time like it would be if it were to seal your air conditioning ductwork. You will need to make sure that you understand that it is not going to be able to be something that you can rely on for very long periods of time. You will be a lot better off if you simply steer clear of duct tape when it comes to trusting it to seal your duct work.

Temperature Changes

Duct tape can handle a lot of things, but dramatic temperature changes are not one of them. If you are using duct tape to seal the air for your duct work, then you can expect it to not be able to stand up to the frequent changing of temperatures. This is something that a lot of people do not think about when they think of how strong duct tape is. Most of the time, whenever you are using duct tape it is not going to have to go through a lot of temperature changes in a short amount of time. This goes to show that something that is as important and changing as your air conditioning duct work system is not going to be able to rely on duct tape.

Leaks

Duct tape is not going to be able to stand up against leaks. While it may be able to stop them for a short amount of time or at least slow them, it is not something that is going to end up lasting. Duct work tends to leak if it is not properly sealed. Duct tape is not going to seal your ducts properly and it is definitely not going to be able to stop any type of leaks when they do begin. While you can rely on duct tape for a lot, sealing duct work is definitely not one of them.

Other Options

It is recommended that instead of duct tape that you use the gooier types of sealants that will be painted on. They will harden after being painted and this will allow them to properly seal your ductwork.