October may be the month for scary things, but let’s face it – no one wants creepy critters in their home! Unfortunately, animals like to crawl into tight spaces and will look for warm places when it’s cold outside. Your outdoor HVAC unit can be the perfect place for them to invade. Once inside there are several ways they can cause damage to your home.
Creepy Critters Dying in Your Ducts
Small animals such as rats and mice can find their way inside your ductwork. Sometimes they can’t make it back out and will die inside the ducts. No matter how much you like scary things – you do not want the mysterious smell of rotting animal carcass emanating from your ducts. Not only is the smell very unpleasant but it’s also very unsanitary due to the parasites, bacteria or fleas the deceased animal may be attracting.
Creepy Critters Chewing through Your Ductwork
Some of these small animals will cause damage while in your ductwork. As they are crawling through they may be chewing and leaving holes behind, which will require a professional to fix. In the meantime, these holes will decrease the efficiency of your heating and cooling system because of the loss of air.
Creepy Critters Nesting in Your HVAC System
Animals such as snakes, rodents, birds or even racoons may decide to nest and make your HVAC unit their new home. They may be looking for a cooler place to reside or to escape winter weather. They can cause physical damage to your unit, and the urine and feces they leave behind can be very corrosive to your equipment.
Rodents may even chew on the wires within your HVAC equipment. If you’re having trouble controlling your HVAC system or you notice a metallic, burning odor from your HVAC unit, you should shut the unit off and contact your technician as soon as possible.
With regular maintenance on your HVAC system many of these infestations will be noticed and can be taken care of before they end up damaging your equipment. At Weather Master, our professional technicians will perform a comprehensive tune-up on your system. Should we find any damage as a result of an infestation, we’ll be able to get the problem fixed before it causes any further havoc to your system. Halloween is scary enough without adding any unwanted creepy critters to your home!