DAP EnergySaver High Performance Air Leak & Gap Sealant - Review

A while back, DAP sent us a tube of their new EnergySaver Air Leak & Gap Sealant. It's been sitting on the desk for a while because, well, who cares about sealing their house in the middle of July? Not us, we've got mowing to do. But the seasons do change and here we are. So last week we cut open the tube, prepped a few window casings, and checked out the label to see if there are any specific instructions that go along with the product. Which is exactly where problems started...

Our one complaint with this product is that there is no indication as to what the hell it is. The labeling has zero to tell us about what's really in it. It mentions a water clean-up and there's a little insignia indicating low VOC, but beyond that, the rest of the label has a lot of, 'save energy...save money!' sloganeering. Which is fine, but as conscious homeowners, we'd like to know what we're smearing on our house. And we would never even think of putting some mystery product on a client's house.

So in order to get to the bottom of this, we went to the DAP website and found the itty-bitty-teeny-weeny link to the pdf of the product's MSDS sheet. What we discovered after doing some MSDS side-by-side, is that EnergySaver is nearly identical to DAP's ALEX Painter's Caulk (minus the Ammonia and Stoddard Solvent). With this being the case, we'd have been happy if DAP had added the term 'acrylic-latex caulk' somewhere on the product or something similar. That's all we ask for...not much...just a little guidance.

We're probably a bit odd about wanting to know this information. EnergySaver isn't really aimed at the contractor (it's only available at Wal-Mart), because they're going to go with a product that they're familiar with. But the guy who's just looking to stop the breeze running through his kitchen, probably doesn't care so much, and this product will be fine because it behaves, guess what, just like an acrylic-latex caulk.

EnergySaver is available at Wal-Mart.

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Posted by Doug Mahoney at September 14, 2010 1:20 PM

I believe that it is an affordable alternative to the seven dollar tube of Mastic to seal hvac duct connections. which these last two winters have been brutally cold in the south which is "heat pump" country. This would not be a problem if all HVAC installers really sealed up their connections properly. Thankfully I've serviced my blower/evap before burnout from attic dust. I hear ya though on your review, like cheap white mixed w some construction glue. gonna try it on my ducts with mesh tape & cheap can spray glue for foil blanket repair on trunks etc. After that I only have to encapsulate my 1945 crawlspace to prevent further rot,lol!

Posted by: Leaky duct at January 11, 2011 10:03 PM