It may sound like a complete contradiction in terms, but though it is now called duct tape, its only real use is for minor household projects. The name duct tape has evolved over time in the same way that Chinese whispers works. It was originally developed to seal round ammunition boxes during the First World War, and was referred to as ‘duck tape’ as it was used to provide a watertight seal in the way water rolls off a duck’s back.

In truth, duck tape wasn’t that good at resisting moisture over long periods of time, but it did a good short-term job. With the passage of time, around the 1950’s ‘duck’ was changed to ‘duct’ as it began to be erroneously used to make repairs to leaking ductwork. Yes, it provided an effective temporary fix, but over the longer term, it lost it’s ‘stickiness’ in a humid environment, and any repairs became obsolete.

Today it is still assumed that duct tape was specifically developed for carrying out repairs to ducting, especially that of an HVAC unit, and many of you may have carried out repairs using duct tape. For those of you who have done so, our recommendation is to give us a call here at A&E Air Conditioning and Heating and invite us out to inspect your ducting and any repairs you may have carried out over time.

We have the correct materials, and know-how, to perform guaranteed long-lasting repairs to HVAC ducting, and we promise that you will never see us using duct tape! In addition, if your system is very old, we can carry out a full inspection and provide you with a quote for replacing your ducting, free of charge. To avoid confusion, the quote is provided free of charge, not any new ducting!