How To Deal With Rodents In Your HVAC Ducts
Posted on: 19 November 2019
Although it isn't a pleasant thought, it's possible for mice, rats, and even squirrels to get inside the air ducts in your home. If there's a gap or hole in a duct, warm air leaks out and attracts cold rodents seeking a nice place to nest. Unfortunately, this is bad for your home since the air that circulates in your house blows over rodent droppings, urine, and even dead bodies. Your house can take on a foul smell, and the debris that gets blown through your house could even irritate your allergies or make you sick. You want to fix this problem promptly, and here are tips on how to do it.
Get Rid Of The Rodents
The first step is to get the rodents out of your house. You may need to call in a pest professional to put wire mesh on holes in your roof or siding to block the rodents. You may need to set traps in the attic until no more rodents are caught. Once that's done, the holes in the ducts must be plugged to keep other rodents out and to keep warm air from being wasted by leaking into the attic.
Vacuum Out Debris
Once the rodent problem is solved, it's necessary to get rid of rodent droppings, hairs, nests, and other debris the rats or mice leave behind. This has to be done carefully to keep from blowing even more contaminants through your home. You don't want to stir up dust that is contaminated with rodent waste, so avoid sweeping or scrubbing dry waste. It's best to call in an air duct cleaning company because they can set up a vacuum using a negative pressure system that collects all the debris that's broken loose from cleaning and draws everything out of your house.
Sanitize The Ducts
It's also necessary to sanitize the ducts. This kills off germs that rodents are known to carry. A sanitizer might be used before scrubbing the sides of the ducts to get the droppings wet and cut down on contaminated dust. Once the ducts are clean, sanitizer is used again that eliminates odors and kills germs, so you don't have to worry about breathing the air that passes through your ducts.
If you've had a bad rodent infestation in your attic, you may also need to hire a company to clean and disinfect your attic and other parts of your house too. Mice and rats are not only a destructive nuisance in your home; these pests are a threat to your health, so it's important to eliminate them and remove droppings they leave behind.
Reach out to a duct cleaning company near you to learn more.
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