Keep your cold air returns open in the summer. Closing them restricts airflow, which forces your air conditioner to work much harder. This can cause the evaporator coils to freeze, damage your compressor, and decrease energy efficiency.
In the summer, leave your high (ceiling) return vents fully open and close your low (floor) return vents. Because hot air rises, high returns efficiently pull the hottest air out of your living space, allowing the heavier cool air to settle on the floor.
Yes, mice can absolutely crawl through, live in, and travel throughout a home using HVAC vents, cold air returns, and dryer vents. Due to their ability to squeeze through gaps as small as a dime or a pencil (roughly 6mm–1/4 inch), they can navigate ductwork, chew through flexible ducts, and enter living spaces through floor or wall registers.
The return vents in your home help equalize the pressure that changes as your HVAC system heats or cools your home. These vents should never be fully closed because closing them off restricts airflow and strains the system.
When it is 100°F outside, industry experts recommend setting your thermostat between 78°F and 80°F. Most standard air conditioning units are designed to lower the indoor temperature by about 20°F relative to the outdoors, meaning 80°F is a realistic baseline that protects your unit from freezing up or overworking.
Amish households stay cool without air conditioning by utilizing natural ventilation, passive cooling design, and strategic daily habits. Key methods include maximizing cross-ventilation with open windows, utilizing shade from trees and porches, and using basements or lower levels during peak heat. They also use battery-operated fans and rely on high ceilings to allow hot air to rise, keeping living spaces comfortable.
Climate models indicate that 2026 will likely be about as hot as 2025, but potentially slightly cooler than some of the peak records set in previous years.
Return air ducts pull stale air out of rooms and return it to the HVAC system to be reconditioned. To ensure safe, efficient, and balanced airflow, all return ducts must follow strict installation, placement, and location guidelines.
Return air vents play a crucial role in maintaining proper airflow, ensuring your HVAC system operates efficiently, and improving indoor air quality. They help to balance air pressure within your home, prevent strain on your HVAC system, and filter out dust and allergens.
Closing house air vents in unused rooms may damage your HVAC system, leading to costly repairs. Your heating or cooling system produces the same amount of air regardless of how many closed vents you have. Avoid closing AC vents completely to keep air moving and avoid potentially higher energy bills.
The Amish control mice through non-chemical, self-sustaining methods, relying on active trapping, natural scent repellents, and structural exclusion. Rather than using commercial poisons, they focus on physical barriers and natural predators to keep rodent populations in check.
You might think that spotting one mouse means you only have one mouse. This rarely happens. Mice live in family groups and reproduce quickly. If you see one mouse during the day, it usually means the hidden population has grown large enough that they're competing for food and space.
Mice have an incredibly sensitive sense of smell, making them highly repelled by strong, sharp, and spicy odors. Their absolute least favorite scents include peppermint oil, white vinegar, ammonia, cinnamon, and cloves.
Blocking a cold air return starves your HVAC system of the airflow it needs to function properly. This restriction causes your system to work harder, which spikes your energy bills, creates uneven temperatures, and can cause your furnace to overheat or your air conditioner to freeze up.
People have moved away from using electric attic fans (and whole-house fans) because modern building science revealed they often do more harm than good. Instead of cooling the house, they frequently pull conditioned, expensive air from your living space and introduce dust or humidity into your home.
An attic is generally considered "too hot" if it exceeds 130∘F. Under ideal conditions with proper ventilation, your attic should only be about 10∘F to 20∘F warmer than the outside air. If it climbs past 130∘F, it can degrade roofing materials and drive up your utility bills.
Problems arise when return air vents are blocked by furniture, rugs, or decorative covers. These vents don't blow air into a room like supply vents. Instead, they pull air back into the HVAC system, which is why they're often overlooked. Over time, blocked return vents restrict airflow and disrupt system balance.
One per room is ideal, but placing two or three in central locations can provide enough air circulation to maximize the energy efficiency of your HVAC and optimize indoor air quality, so your family stays healthy. If your home has multiple stories, you should have at least one return air vent per floor.
Older homes were designed to allow airflow through the walls. That's why they have ventilation bricks or vents on the outside—to keep air moving through the wall cavities and prevent moisture buildup.
Yes, mice frequently get into ductwork. Because their flexible bodies allow them to squeeze through tiny holes, they use your HVAC system's air ducts and vents as warm, dark, and protected highways to travel between rooms and nest.
In HVAC duct design, the "Two-Foot Rule" dictates that you should keep branch take-offs at least 24 inches away from any bends, transitions, or the end cap. This spacing allows turbulent airflow to settle down and regain optimal pressure before being forced into a new direction.
The $5,000 rule is a quick formula used to decide whether to repair or replace an aging HVAC system. It helps homeowners avoid the trap of continuously pouring money into old equipment that is nearing the end of its lifespan.
Vermont is widely considered the safest U.S. state from climate change, followed closely by New Hampshire, Michigan, and others in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions. These areas generally offer lower risks of extreme heat, hurricanes, and massive wildfires, making them top choices for climate resilience.
Extreme heat is the number one weather-related killer globally and in the United States. It results in more fatalities on average than hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods combined.
The year 2030 is widely cited by climate scientists as a critical deadline because it marks the deadline for cutting global greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 45% to prevent global temperatures from permanently exceeding the 1.5∘C warming threshold established by the Paris Agreement. Failing to do so risks triggering catastrophic and irreversible environmental tipping points.