When everything is functioning smoothly in your Sacramento, CA household, the temperatures should generally be pretty even from one room to the next. For example, you probably shouldn’t feel like you need to put on an extra layer of clothing any time you walk from the dining room to the bedroom. However, uneven household temperatures, which are also referred to as “hot and cold spots,” are a very common problem that homes deal with all over the country. There are many reasons why this frustrating issue might occur in your house, meaning that there’s no universal, guaranteed solution. However, there are a handful of potential fixes you can try, and there’s a good chance that one of them will get your home comfort back on track.

Check Your Vents

One of the most common causes of hot and cold spots is clogged or blocked air vents. These vents are located in various areas of your home, and whenever your heating or cooling system is running, it’s using those vents to distribute the conditioned air to each room. So, if any of the air vents are obstructed, those parts of your house won’t receive as much warm or cool air as the rest of the living space. If you’re trying to remedy hot and cold spots in your home, checking and cleaning your vents should be one of the first things you try; it won’t take long, and it has a good chance of either improving the situation or solving the problem.

Firstly, you’ll want to verify that there’s nothing physically blocking the airflow of the vents. Oftentimes, people will accidentally move furniture in front of a vent or leave a pile of clutter in an unfortunate spot. You should also take some time to clean the interior of each vent. Contaminants like dust, dirt, mold, and small debris will accumulate in your air vents over time, and you can use a vacuum cleaner with a hose extension to clean them out.

Schedule a Duct Cleaning

If you have a central air HVAC system in your home, it’s possible that your uneven temperatures are being caused by a ductwork problem. Much like the interior of your air vents, the interior of your ducts will accumulate a variety of contaminants over time. If that accumulation is allowed to go unchecked for a prolonged period, certain sections of the ductwork may start to get clogged up. When that occurs, your heating and cooling systems will begin to have trouble moving a sufficient amount of airflow through those areas. As a result, some areas of your home may remain significantly colder or warmer than others. Leaky ducts cause a similar issue; if there are gaps or cracks in your ductwork, large amounts of conditioned air will escape when your HVAC system is running.

The good news is that you can enlist the help of local duct cleaners to clear the contaminants out of your ductwork. They’ll thoroughly remove any dust, dirt, pollen, dander, mold, and debris from your air ducts. Plus, they’ll be able to inspect the ducts for any leaks or damage. This process may take care of your hot and cold spots, and it will also have a variety of other benefits for your home, including better air quality and lower energy bills.

Change Your Thermostat Setting

If your home uses a standard thermostat, it most likely has two settings for operation: auto and on. Typically, the default setting is auto due to the fact that it is typically the more energy-efficient setting. When the thermostat is set to auto, the HVAC system’s fan will only run when your heating or cooling system is cycling. In most cases, this is the setting you’ll want to go with, but switching your thermostat to on may provide a solution for your uneven household temperatures.

When your thermostat is set to on, your HVAC unit’s fan will constantly be cycling until you manually turn it off. When you’re trying to fix your hot and cold spots, try using this setting and letting the fans run for an extra 10 or 15 minutes after the heating or cooling cycle has completed. Doing so will give the conditioned air a chance to circulate around the household for a bit longer, which may be necessary to achieve consistently even temperatures. That said, it’s important that you only leave the thermostat on this setting for short amounts of time; otherwise, you’ll be spending quite a bit of extra money on your energy bills.

Inspect Your Home for Air Leaks

Sometimes, the reason for household hot and cold spots is a simple one. For example, if one or more areas of your home are harboring significant air leaks, it’s going to have a major effect on the temperatures in those parts of the house. If you’re noticing that specific rooms with windows or doorways are consistently colder or warmer than the rest of your living space, there’s a very good chance that air leaks are to blame. Fortunately, you should be able to find and seal these leaks on your own if you’re willing to put in a bit of time and effort.

Usually, air leaks in your home will be located along the edges of doors or windows, and they don’t have to be large to cause problems. In some cases, these openings will be too small to find visually, and you’ll need to feel around with your hand for moving air to locate them. When you’re dealing with hot and cold spots, you should thoroughly inspect for any air leaks and use caulking and weather stripping to seal any that you find. Even if this doesn’t fix your uneven temperatures, it will be great for the overall comfort and functionality of your home.

Schedule an HVAC Tune-Up

The hot and cold spots in your home could be a result of a struggling HVAC system. If your household unit is overdue for a maintenance visit, it may be having trouble effectively distributing air to every part of your home. Of course, there may also be something wrong with the equipment, in which case a repair will likely be needed, but scheduling a tune-up is a wise place to start. Our team at Crystal Blue Plumbing Heating & Air will be able to handle this service for you, and if there’s anything significant wrong with your HVAC unit, our technician will diagnose the problem and help you determine the best way to proceed.

In addition to potentially solving your hot and cold spots problem, scheduling an HVAC tune-up will also provide your home with some or all of these benefits:

• More consistent comfort
• Lower energy costs
• Longer HVAC system life expectancy
• Fewer HVAC repairs needed
• Better indoor air quality

We at Crystal Blue Plumbing Heating & Air have been faithfully serving the greater Sacramento area since 1976. In addition to our exceptional plumbing, heating, and cooling services, our friendly professionals can also assist you with your duct repair and replacement, boiler services, humidifiers and dehumidifiers, indoor air quality, and much more. Give us a call today if you’d like to schedule an appointment!