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What Is Mastic?

There is a big misconception that duct tape is a good remedy for repairing faulty ductwork ; unfortunately, this just isn’t true. The glue on duct tape breaks down fairly easily when applied to ductwork, and provides, at most, a temporary solution. This is why, when professional perform duct sealing on your Cary home, you won’t see duct tape used, ever; instead, you’ll see a product called mastic.

What It Is

Mastic is a fibrous adhesive that hardens into a long-term seal. When a technician applies mastic to your faulty ductwork, it goes on like a paste; it takes a few hours to harden, but once it does, the seal is good for a long time.

How Is It Applied?

Once your technician has completed a thorough inspection of your duct system and ascertained the areas where sealing needs to be performed, he/she will take a two-step approach to sealing your ductwork. First, the mastic is applied to the problem area and then a piece of foil or fiberglass tape is placed on top of the mastic to help secure the seal. Then, the mastic is left to cure (harden). For broken bonds between connections, the technician will apply the mastic to both ends, wrap the joint with metal binding and secure the seal with sheet metal nails; the mastic will cure inside the joint.

Why Schedule Duct Sealing?

There are a few important reasons to consider professional duct sealing for your home. The first is air loss. Faulty ductwork can account for up to 30% of your home’s total air loss. When your system loses this much air, your HVAC system has to compensate for the loss, and does so by working harder and using more energy. A second reason duct sealing is so important is your indoor air quality: not only does air escape from your ductwork, it can also enter it, and the air entering can contain contaminants, odors and excess moisture, just to name a few.

Faulty ductwork can lead to high energy bills, unnecessary stress on your HVAC system and poor indoor air quality. If you suspect the ducts in your Cary home need sealing, call the professionals you can count on: Ideal Services Heating & Cooling.