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Am I missing anything? Help me fix my leaky AC duct

Posted on 9/22/25 at 8:23 am
Posted by AFtigerFan
Louisiana
Member since Feb 2008
3668 posts
Posted on 9/22/25 at 8:23 am
I noticed my daughter's bathroom vanity cabinet has a musty smell. I figured it was a leak from one of the water lines. After I inspected everything, I couldn't find a leak at all, but the humidity was 85% under the cabinet and nowhere else. I used a moisture meter and didn't find anything excessive under the cabinet (3-5%).

So I then used the moisture meter on her bathroom walls and found about a 2-foot area above the vanity, right before the ceiling, that was reading 20%. I knew her AC ducts ran right above that spot so I crawled into the attic space above her room, which was a pain in the butt. Her room is the bonus room above the garage so there isn't much space to work with, but I managed.

When I got to the spot that had the moisture issue, I saw there were 2 flexible AC ducts that ran right across that spot. I put my hand between the ducts and there was water/condensation on the ducts themselves just at that spot and nowhere else. The insulation was wet underneath that spot also.

It was raining so I was able to make sure there wasn't a roof leak at all, and there is no signs of water damage anywhere so I ruled that out. Unfortunately, it was hot as balls up there and her AC wasn't on at the time so I couldn't really check for any small holes in one of the flex ducts, but I assume that's what I'm dealing with.

Is there anything else that would cause water/condensation to form between those flex ducts and drip underneath to the insulation? The ducts themselves were completely covered with insulation also, if that helps. If no other cause, here's my plan.

I plan to go up there this evening and fix the issue. I would:
1. Turn her AC on to help find any hole(s).
2. Use straps or string to hang the flexible ducts higher for better access while I fix them.
3. Bring a towel up with me to dry off any condensation on the flex ducts.
4. Use AC duct tape or metallic tape to wrap the ducts where there are potential hole(s). Is there a specific tape you would recommend?
5. Remove any wet insulation.
6. Run a fan to dry out the area for a couple days.
7. Replace insulation once the area is dry.
8. Should I put the ducts back where they were or keep them elevated?
9. I can't think of any other reason that the flex duct would have condensation/water unless there was a rip or hole. Am I missing something? This isn't by a vent register... it's in the middle of the run.

My hope is I can take care of this without having to have an AC guy come in and quote me an arm and a leg. And if he's a big boy, he really isn't getting into that spot.


Thanks for any help and suggestions.
Posted by The Mick
Member since Oct 2010
44874 posts
Posted on 9/22/25 at 8:34 am to
quote:

8. Should I put the ducts back where they were or keep them elevated?
I would keep them elevated and in the straightest line possible.

quote:

9. I can't think of any other reason that the flex duct would have condensation/water unless there was a rip or hole. Am I missing something? This isn't by a vent register... it's in the middle of the run
I'm with you, there should be no condensation unless there's a rip/hole. I have ductwork laying on top one another in a few areas and it doesn't cause condensation.
Posted by TheBoo
South to Louisiana
Member since Aug 2012
5372 posts
Posted on 9/22/25 at 8:46 am to
That's what I did with a leak I found, with the addition of: after sealing with tape, wrapping the area with a piece of r-14 insulation I had laying around just to be sure.
Posted by AFtigerFan
Louisiana
Member since Feb 2008
3668 posts
Posted on 9/22/25 at 8:48 am to
quote:

after sealing with tape
What kind of tape did you end up using?
Posted by T-Jon
Member since Jan 2012
96 posts
Posted on 9/22/25 at 8:54 am to
Sounds like a typical condensation problem caused by putting HVAC in unconditioned space. Due point conditions are occurring on the foil face of your ductwork. Probably a duct leak, or maybe the duct insulation is compressed enough at that location to not do its job.
Posted by Turnblad85
Member since Sep 2022
4411 posts
Posted on 9/22/25 at 9:15 am to
Duct isn't suppose to be covered with attic insulation or have the duct insulation itself be compressed. The whole reason is to keep the foil/mylar of the duct insulation above the dewpoint of the attic. IE, surface of foil/mylar temp of 75 degrees will condense water in an attic with an 85* dewpoint. Contrary to intuition, the foil should be kept warm.
I will say its not a certainly that improper attic insulation contact will cause condensation. Just depends on if all conditions are right.

A hole in the foil/mylar can cause attic air to find the inner cool surface of the duct itself and cause your problem. Less likely is that the inner duct is damaged and leaking actual air but could also cause a problem. My guess is the two ducts being close together is keeping the foil cold and causing condensation. I wouldn't feel the need to run a fan--the attic is hot as balls and will dry the area out quick as it is. Just toss the wet insulation.



If you don't find any holes, just separate and raise the ducts up and make sure the duct insulation isn't compressed.



Unfortunately, none of that is going to solve high humidity under a cabinet. This is likely from water leak or a air imbalance of the home pulling outside air in through unsealed plumbing holes.

Posted by AFtigerFan
Louisiana
Member since Feb 2008
3668 posts
Posted on 9/22/25 at 9:23 am to
quote:

Unfortunately, none of that is going to solve high humidity under a cabinet. This is likely from water leak or a air imbalance of the home pulling outside air in through unsealed plumbing holes.

I believe the humidity is due to the water lines and drain going through that wall. This isn't an exterior wall either. So there's an air gap where the lines come in at, which lets the humidity from the wet area come through. It's all on the same wall.

I replaced the water line valves because they were the old type (push pull valve), and I replaced them with the quarter turn valves instead. There was no sign of a leak anywhere, and the drywall itself was dry also. You can feel air coming from where the lines are coming through the wall, so that's why I'm assuming the humidity is from the condensation dripping onto the insulation right above that exact spot.
This post was edited on 9/22/25 at 9:24 am
Posted by Turnblad85
Member since Sep 2022
4411 posts
Posted on 9/22/25 at 10:25 am to
quote:

. You can feel air coming from where the lines are coming through the wall, so that's why I'm assuming the humidity is from the condensation dripping onto the insulation right above that exact spot.


The wet area might be raising the moisture content of the air coming in by a small amount but any outside air flowing in is going to cause a high humidity problem under a cabinet in the summer months.

quote:

This isn't an exterior wall


If not raised home, the leaking air is likely coming from slight gaps and cracks in drywall around sides of top plate and top plate piping/electrical penetrations.....this means hot humid attic air.


Its good to fix the sweating ducts but don't expect to not see high humidity under the cabinet next summer if the air leakage isn't fixed/sealed.

While you're up there crawling around, look for air leakage from ducts which can cause a lot of the air imbalance which may be drawing air in from around the cabinet pipes.

Posted by TheBoo
South to Louisiana
Member since Aug 2012
5372 posts
Posted on 9/22/25 at 11:55 am to
quote:

What kind of tape did you end up using?


Just regular foil tape. Here's an example.
Posted by AFtigerFan
Louisiana
Member since Feb 2008
3668 posts
Posted on 9/22/25 at 12:09 pm to
quote:

Just regular foil tape. Here's an example.

Thanks. I just picked up some AC foil tape and straps to hang the ducts from Lowes. I'll work on it tonight and tomorrow since I'm off work then. We just moved into this house a couple months ago and it's been issue after issue.

There's no way to prove it, but the previous owners had to know these issues existed and just didn't disclose them. And our home inspector was pretty worthless also. Between a toilet not working whatsoever, mildew/mold in my daughter's bathroom vanity which led to me discovering the current issue, flooded side yard whenever it would rain, etc., we've had to fix things non-stop. Hopefully this is the last big issue we come across.
Posted by TheBoo
South to Louisiana
Member since Aug 2012
5372 posts
Posted on 9/22/25 at 3:38 pm to
That's rough. A good inspector is worth their weight in gold. A bad one is worth their weight in shite.

Is there not some sort of action that can be taken against an inspector who missed a non-working toilet and MOLD??
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