ShareThisQ: I have a three-level townhouse. Lately, I've seen moisture in the ceiling of the downstairs level, near a duct. After cutting a hole in a closet wall to see the ductwork, I saw that my ducts (about 30 years old) had insulation around them but no moisture barrier. The insulation on the bottom of a section was saturated to the point that I could squeeze it against the wall of the duct and wring the water out. We had been running the A/C for a couple of days, and then the days started to cool off so we turned off the A/C. Night temps were about 68. Rather than ripping out ceilings to re-insulate the ducts, do you have any ideas of ways I can stop this from happening? --Mike A., San DiegoA: The problem is one of condensation forming between the insulation and the metal duct inside the walls, in the attic or where exposed inside the home.Without an air barrier the humid air from inside the home will pass right through the fibers of the insulation until it reaches the cold metal of the ductwork. The moisture then condenses, turns back into a liquid and soaks the insulation.The soaked insulation needs to be removed or it could cause the sheet metal to rust or cause mold to form on the drywall. Wet insulation cannot be reused and should never be covered with a vapor barrier.Tearing out the walls and ceilings may be the only way to get to the existing ducts, or you might consider abandoning the older metal ducts and installing a new flexible and insulated duct system possibly inside the old ducts.A professional HVAC (heating, venting, air-conditioning) technician needs to inspect your AC system, the blower capacity of the fan and the size of the ducts in order to determine how to proceed.In the meantime, you need to lower the humidity inside the home by using a dehumidifier when the AC is off. Use the bathroom and kitchen fans to vent moisture to the exterior of the home, and make sure the clothes dryer is also vented to the outside.A tri-level home will have a portion of the foundation below the outside grade where it is possible for water to enter either through, over or under the foundation wall. Make sure the foundation is dry and that all runoff water from the roof, driveway, patio, walks and landscaping is drained away from the home.Any exposed soil under the floor system needs to be covered with a 6-mil-thick plastic vapor barrier.(Dwight Barnett is a certified master inspector with the American Society of Home Inspectors. Write to him with home-improvement questions at C. Dwight Barnett, Evansville Courier & Press, P.O. Box 286, Evansville, Ind. 47702 or e-mail him at d.Barnett(at)insightbb.com.)
Lack of air barrier causing condensation to form
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