Cleaning Dirty Ducts + Sheng Wang’s Bayou Childhood + Forced Air vs. Baseboard Heat episode artwork

EPISODE · May 26, 2026 · 49 MIN

Cleaning Dirty Ducts + Sheng Wang’s Bayou Childhood + Forced Air vs. Baseboard Heat

from This Old House Radio Hour · host American Public Media

A five-foot snake inside the ductwork?! This week on Radio Hour, we uncover the strange, dusty, and sometimes creepy world hiding inside your vents — and what actually happens during a duct cleaning. Comedian Sheng Wang takes us back to his packed suburban Houston childhood home, where 12 relatives shared one house and the neighborhood bayou became an endless adventure. Plus, House Therapy tackles a family battle over baseboard heat versus forced hot air, and we answer your questions about damaged cork floors, mysteriously heated tiles, rocky hillsides, and cracking plaster ceilings. In This Episode You’ll Learn:* How to repair shiny tape damage on cork flooring without refinishing the entire floor * Whether warm floor tiles could mean leaking HVAC ducts beneath a slab foundation * What plants can actually survive on a steep shale hillside with almost no soil * What causes “alligator” cracking on old plaster ceilings and how to fix itAll of this, plus we’re answering your home improvement questions at 877-This Old House Radio Hour! — That’s (877) 864-7460.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 26, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

Cleaning Dirty Ducts + Sheng Wang’s Bayou Childhood + Forced Air vs. Baseboard Heat

0:00 49:56

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of This Old House Radio Hour?

This episode is 49 minutes long.

When was this This Old House Radio Hour episode published?

This episode was published on May 26, 2026.

Can I download this This Old House Radio Hour episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!