[Music] welcome back to the final lesson in our five-part series on the problems Aeros seal solves or prevents in our first four lessons we tackled the many ways duct leakage causes temperature and humidity Comfort complaints our next problems which Aeros seal often solves all relate to the fact that duct leakage is not clean fresh air here's a great quote from the energy star fact sheet on the overall topic sealing ducts can also help improve the indoor air quality by reducing the risks of pollutants entering ducts from Dusty attics or musty crawl spaces and circulating through your home dust from insulation particles or smells from damp spaces could aggravate Asthma and Allergy problems the first distinct air quality problem Aeros seal help solve is too much visible dust putting a IDE any of the health aspects many homeowners are simply fed up with having a Dusty house as you know if you're in the HVAC or duct cleaning businesses many tell us they can dust the house and it's back on the furniture and the hardwood floors within just a few days duct leakage is often a big cause I've had many customers over the years tell me that they used to have to dust every week or even every few days and then after sealing the Ducks found they could go two or 3 weeks before feeling it needed to be done again return leakage draws Dusty air right into the system however in my experience the houses with the worst dust problems due to duct leakage usually have more supply duct leakage then return When the supply ducts are losing air to attics and crawl spaces this causes negative pressure that sucks air into the house through the envelope to balance out the Lost air dust hitches a ride with the air coming in through the leaks like the can lights the pull down stairs up around the plumbing or just cracks in the outside walls this was a house I worked on in New Mexico she could dust the house and 2 or 3 days later it was back turns out the dust was mostly white fiberglass insulation winter or summer every time the system came on the supply duct leaks made the house go negative attic air got sucked in mostly through her can lights and the big gaps around her pull down stair as well as the boot to sheetrock joints we sealed the Ducks sealed the boot leakage put the house back to neutral pressure now she can go weeks between house cleanings instead of days and itive pressure is also a possible cause of staining at the edge of carpets the carpet fibers act as a filter somewhat cleaning the dirt out of the air as it gets sucked in problem is then it's very hard to clean the stain out of the edge of the carpet a distinct variation on this is the complaint that they get dust stains around ceiling diffusers the Venturi effect occurs when high-speed air goes sideways over a crack it causes a suction that pulls air through the crack think of a Miracle Grow lawn fertilizer dispenser sprayer same principle well it's a good thing to fertilize your lawn but it's a bad thing to fertilize your house air with all the yucky stuff in the Attic sealing the boot to sheetrock joint is the number one way to stop these unsightly dust Trails on the ceiling from forming it also usually stops condensation and mold growth striking up a conversation about this problem when you see it and asking the homeowner if they happen to know why it happens is a proven way to create a clean and seal sail as alluded to in the energy star quote earlier another common complaint we hear is musty odors when the duct work is located in crawl spaces in particular duct leaks are in my experience the number one way that funky odors come up into the house return leaks suck the smelly air right into the system when the circulating fan is not running all the gaps and cracks in the Ducks let it waft up naturally and supply duct leaks pressurize the crawl space while depressurizing the house and transfer musty air up through all the gaps in the floor aerol seal combined with sealing the boot to plywood Gap makes an enormous difference to musty odors while the customer can't see musty air coming in due to duct leakage they do often see bugs and mice insects of all kinds have no problem getting in through duck leaks I've seen a gazillion different creepy cares inside ducks and coming out of ducks like spiders silverfish cockroaches ladybugs wasps ants and more some gaps are big enough for mice to get through true and since the registers and grills are open bugs and mice have little problem then scuttling into the house I've often come across insect screening retrofitted under the grills to try to stop them sealing the duck leaks and the boot to house structure leaks gets to the root cause and keeps them out and if any ducks are disconnected or have been chewed open much bigger Critters get in too like rats raccoons possums even snakes Aeros seal on its own may not fix major damage of course but it should be part of a repair project so bugs and mice in your ducks or home are gross they might also be unhealthy this is our next common problem caused by duct leakage unhealthy indoor air when duct leakage causes the air from attics crawl spaces garages and wall and floor cavities to get into the home it's not good in section four I'll share how you can gently educate and simultaneously gross out your customers about the many unhealthy contaminants from the spaces that hit take a ride into their home and their lungs and the possible impacts on their health according to the American Lung Association over 40% of households have at least one member who suffers from a respiratory issue like allergies asthma or COPD and the other 60% shouldn't breathe any of these contaminants either whether they have a diagnosed health issue or not the disgust people feel when they learn their constantly breathing unhealthy air from these spaces regularly triggers an Aeros seal purchase if your company is in HVAC or duct cleaning you were already in the IAQ business prior to getting involved with Aeros seal hear me when I tell you that of all the ieq products and services you now offer sealed Ducks is virtually always the most important everything helps but trying to have clean air while ignoring leaky Ducks is like putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound Aeros seal addresses the root cause of many of the unhealthy air problems we see out there leaky ducks are sometimes the cause of another really scary IAQ problem backdrafting Gas Appliances negative pressure is really bad for atmospherically vented water heaters furnaces and even wood burning fireplaces and wood stoves over the years I've uncovered many situations where combustion gases including carbon monoxide were spilling into the home because of duct leakage the most common cause is return leakage in an enclosed combustion Zone like a mechanical room or Closet in extreme places supply duct leakage to the outside was causing the entire house to go negative and Backdraft the fireplace or water heater duck ceiling fixed it when insulation fibers mold spores pollen Mouse fur and dust get sucked into the return air system that can cause equipment fouling and breakdowns this is a really big problem where the air filter is remote from the equipment say in a ceiling mounted filter Grill the filter in the grill may catch stuff in the house air but any duct leakage Downstream cream in the return duct is unfiltered so unwanted particles get stuck in the equipment especially on a wet AC coil then you have a nice mold farm this is bad for health lowers efficiency and can cause premature equipment breakdowns here's a great analogy to explain this having duct leaks between your filter and the equipment is like wearing a dust mask when sanding some wood but having the mask pulled an inch away from your face but what if the customer has a central air cleaner mounted right at the intake of the Furnace or air handler well any leakage there bypasses the air cleaner the gap between the air cleaner rack and the furnace or air handler must be sealed now since this is where we often create a block to protect the equipment from the Aeros seal sealant it usually must be hand sealed in order to do a complete job last but not least duct leakage causes excessive utility bills now this one is a big topic and so we will return to it many times in different ways throughout this course especially in section six the cost of pain cost of leaky Ducks here's just a few facts for now to emphasize that aerol seal really does save money on Heating and Cooling portion of your customer utility bills this big doe study found that of all the measures Americans could do to cut energy waste sealing leaky Ducks was Far and Away the number one most effective thing to do they say it has five times more energy-saving impact than replacing Windows energy star says that because of duct leakage homeowners may think they're buying a high efficiency energy star 14 sear system and in fact the operating efficiency may be closer to a 10 Consumer Reports Magazine says duck sealing is a great way to improve efficiency because 25 to 40% of the conditioned air is lost through ducts that leak duct insulating and sealing are best left to a professional and could lower your annual Heating and Cooling bills by $400 so that's it for our crash course on the problems duct leakage causes and the benefits Aeros seal provides the audio track for this video is available to listen to for review next we'll dive into how Aeros seal works and how to answer some of the frequently asked questions thanks for being an Aeros seal dealer I'll see you on the next lesson [Music]