When your home has clean, air tight ductwork, you shouldn’t notice any foul odors coming from your HVAC registers. If you’re getting the unpleasant smell of decay when the blower cycles on, it’s likely that a rodent has gotten inside your ductwork and then died.
A single small decomposing carcass can create the awful odor you’re experiencing, but that bad smell can also be a warning sign of other potentially serious problems, including:
Air quality and health issues. The foul odor of a decay in the ductwork can affect your air quality throughout the home. Beyond the horrible smell, your family may also be breathing in biological contaminants from decomposition and rodent droppings, and allergens such as mold and animal dander.
HVAC deterioration. Your ductwork may have gaps or disconnected sections where pests gained access, and such leaks can compromise your heating and cooling system’s operation and efficiency. While that dead rodent was still alive, it may have damaged the duct insulation, and other components of the HVAC system like the electrical wiring.
What To Do About Dead Rodents in Your Ductwork
If you’re getting an awful smell of decay from your heating and cooling registers and suspect that there’s a dead rodent somewhere in the ductwork, don’t attempt to handle the situation yourself. Instead, call an experienced HVAC professional who can:
- Locate the source of the smell and remove the rodent carcass.
- Inspect the ductwork to pinpoint the pest’s access point and any damage done to the ducts and HVAC equipment.
- Advise you if your ductwork can be repaired and sealed, or whether the duct system needs a partial or complete replacement.
Once the dead rodent has been found and removed and you have clean ductwork that’s in good repair again, your HVAC contractor will most likely recommend contacting a pest control service so you can take steps to prevent similar problems with rodents and other pests in the future.
If you’re concerned that the ductwork in your Eastern North Carolina home has been contaminated by a dead rodent and you need help, contact us today at Jackson & Sons. Proudly serving Eastern North Carolina since 1974.
Jackson & Sons, Inc.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Eastern North Carolina (including Wayne, Johnston, Greene, Lenoir, and Duplin Counties) about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).