You put a lot of investment into keeping your Sacramento home cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Yet, you could be losing a massive amount of air from your home through tiny air leaks! DIY air leak detection isn’t so hard, but you have to know where to look before you start.
Big Mountain Heating & Air’s Sacramento air sealing services are the best in the area. Our professional air leak tests can target even the smallest air leak. But if you’re interested in detecting leaks yourself, there’s no better team to learn from! Keep reading to find out how exactly you can find the leaks around your home and seal them.
Start With A Visual Assessment
While air leaks can occur anywhere in your home, there are some common areas that are more vulnerable to leaks. Once you know to look in these areas, you’re likely to find some of the more obvious leaks right off the bat. Take a look at these places on the outside of your home first:
- The corners of your home where one wall meets another
- Exterior water faucets
- The bottom of your home where the siding meets the foundation
- The creases of your chimney
After you’ve sufficiently examined the exterior of your home, you can move inside. Though your home may feel sealed and secure, there are many places where your sheetrock is interrupted so that your pipes and electrical are accessible. Here are some of the most common areas for air leaks to form:
- Around electrical outlets and switch plates
- Door and window edges
- Wall/window-mounted air conditioners
- All vent and fan openings
- Cable, phone or electrical lines entering the home
- Attic hatches and fireplace dampers
Physical Testing
After you’ve spotted everything you can see, you can move on to some physical testing. Check your caulking and weather stripping for any wear, tears or missing pieces. Try to rattle your window frames to reveal gaps where air can escape. Some leaks can simply be resolved by adding additional sealing methods.
Another way to test for air leaks in your home is to use light or smoke. Using a flashlight, you can shine a light on any suspected areas of leaks. Another member of your home can stand outside or on the other side of the area in question and report if they see light shining through. A small piece of paper safely lit on fire will produce a curl of smoke. When held near an air leak, the smoke drifts toward the movement of the air. Remember to be very cautious when using this technique as fire is a potential danger to the rest of your home!
Get Professional Help
If your DIY tactics aren’t working, you can always count on the pros at Big Mountain Air to use our expertise. Those pesky air leaks causing you trouble can be a thing of the past with our proven sealing techniques. With years of experience on our side, we’ll be able to efficiently find your leaks and solve them. We care about your energy savings just as much as you do, so let us do what we do best!
Need Air Leak Sealing Help?
Stop waging a war on your home and get some real help. Get your home sealed and secure with Big Mountain Heating & Air’s air sealing services. Contact us today for more information!