3 Reasons Why You Should Have Your Air Ducts Cleaned After Getting Rid Of A Rodent Infestation In Your Home
If rodents like rats or mice get into your home's attic, they may start nesting in your home's air ducts. Air ducts are an excellent nesting spot for rodents since it's a good location to hide from predators. When rodents start nesting in your air ducts, you'll need to have them removed in order to prevent your home from being damaged — rodents will chew through wood, insulation, and even electrical wires.
Once you remove them, however, it's important to take the additional step of having your air ducts cleaned afterward. Below, you'll learn three reasons why it's important to remove everything that the rodents left behind in your home's air ducts.
1. Urine and Droppings Left in Your Ducts Will Introduce Foul Odors Into Your Home
When rodents nest in your air ducts, they'll leave urine and feces everywhere. When you're using your home's central air system, air will blow over the accumulated urine and feces and deliver foul odors to the interior of your home.
Your air filter won't help keep the odors out since it's located at the entrance to your home's air ducts. Air that moves past the filter will pick up odors from the rodent urine and droppings before it enters the inside of your home. In order to get rid of the foul odors, you'll need to completely remove all of the urine and droppings from your ducts by having them cleaned.
2. Rodent Droppings Can Be a Health Hazard
Rodent urine and droppings do more than introduce foul odors into your home. They can also be a health hazard. Rodent droppings contain bacteria and viruses that can make you ill. As air moves over the droppings, it can pick up some of these pathogens and bring them inside your home.
The pathogens can land on frequently touched surfaces inside your home like door knobs and countertops, where you can come into contact with them without knowing it. Removing all of the droppings with an air duct cleaning will prevent you from becoming ill from the bacteria and viruses in your air ducts, keeping you and your family safe.
3. Nests Obstruct Airflow, Reducing Your Central Air System's Efficiency
Rodents will use the insulation and fiberboard in your attic to build nests in your air ducts. These nests will obstruct airflow in your ducts, reducing your central air system's heating and cooling performance.
Some rooms of your home may not receive enough air through the vents, making them uncomfortably hot or cold, and your energy bills will rise as your central air system tries to keep these rooms at a comfortable temperature. Removing the nests in your air ducts will increase airflow, improving your central air system's efficiency.
Removing the urine, droppings, and nests from your air ducts will improve your air quality, protect your health and help you save money. If you've recently eliminated a rodent infestation in your home, contact an air duct cleaning service and have them remove everything in your air ducts that the rodents left behind. They'll use powerful vacuums to remove the nesting material and droppings in your air ducts, and they'll spray disinfectant into the ducts in order to eliminate any bacteria or viruses that could make you sick.