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The History of Duct Tape—And Why You Should Care

Summer is almost upon us, although in our area summer can seem to be a year-round affair. That being said, it’s essential to make sure that our air conditioners and all of their components are functioning as effectively and efficiently as they can, in order to keep our households comfortable. Routine air conditioning maintenance is the leading way to ensure this is the case, but there’s more to improving and maintaining efficiency than that.

This brings us to our leading subject today: your ductwork. When damaged or leaking, your air ducts serve as one of the biggest “energy thieves” there is in your home. Proper Taylor, TX duct sealing services will stop your HVAC system from losing 20%–30% of the air that moves through the ductwork. Now, you may be thinking, “Great! I’ll just slap some duct tape up there.”

Duct tape is a good choice for minor projects and temporary fixes around the home. What duct tape is not, however, is a solution for ductwork repair of any kind, despite its misleading name.

The History of Duct Tape

You may be wondering now why duct tape is named what it is, and why it’s not actually meant for anything duct-related. Duct tape refers to the consumer-grade tape available at most hardware and grocery stores. It’s a cloth-backed adhesive that was first developed around the time of World War I.

The original purpose of this tape was to quickly seal up ammo boxes, and was actually called duck tape. It’s theorized that this name either comes from the fact that it’s backed with duck cloth, or because its water resistant properties reminded people of how water washes off a duck’s oiled back.

The assumption amongst HVAC professionals is that somewhere along the line—during the 1950s, it’s surmised—duck became duct due to the mistaken belief that it could work on ductwork as a way to repair and seal it. While this provides a temporary and superficial solution, tests have revealed that duct tape actually reacts poorly to heat and temperature fluctuations, and therefore should not be used for this purpose.

The Importance of Professional Duct Sealing

When our professionals come to seal your ductwork, we use special equipment and products, such as professional-grade resin based on mastic sealant and metallic tapes. This ensures that your air ducts remain airtight—not just for one season but throughout the lifetime of your entire cooling system, and possibly beyond.

Another important reason for professional duct sealing, versus slapping on some “duct” tape, is that our professionals know how to accurately pinpoint each and every leak and weak point in your ductwork, so we can access all of them for full system efficiency. This will ensure that the entire problem is taken care of, and that you’ll be able to rely on your air conditioner working as best as it can this summer.

If you suspect that you’re in need of this important duct repair service, you needn’t look any further than Roznovak’s Services for the job—contact us today!

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