Is Crawling Through Vents Possible?

We have all watched some of the popular Hollywood movies with heroic scenes in which the lead actors crawl through the air vents. Have you ever wonder is it possible to crawl through vents? Have anyone ever actually did it?

We will try to shed light on this phenomenon.

To begin with vent covers. They are really easy to open, and usually placed within the reach. Also, they are wide enough so someone of a smaller constitution can pass through it. The trouble would be if there were obstacles such as blowers or fans of some sort.

Ductwork doesn’t have to be large but the major HVAC systems usually use ductwork large enough to support a person. Usually, ducts are made of various types of materials such as galvanized steel, aluminium or PVC. If they are made of steel than there is an actual possibility of crawling through it since the steel is a durable material.

So yes, it is possible to crawl the air ducts in theory, but in practice… In real life, there are a lot of possibilities to seriously hurt yourself. You can bump your head onto a duct sealing, also, there are a lot of week sections that you can fall through (just like in the movie) and suffer major injuries. Last but not the least problem are dust and debris which can cause respiratory system irritations and diseases. So our advice would be: leave the crawling to stuntmen.