It can be an ongoing struggle to keep animals and insect pests out of your HVAC system. The placement of HVAC equipment—often outdoors or in dark basements—makes it even easier for animals to get into and damage furnaces, air conditioners, and heat pumps.
Here are several suggestions for what you can do to prevent animal damage and keep your HVAC equipment safe.
Install flue and vent covers
One of the easiest places for animals to get into your HVAC system is through chimney flues, vents, and similar openings. Squirrels, birds, and small animals can easily fit through these holes. Put flue and vent covers over these openings to keep animals from getting in. Make sure to cover fresh-air intakes as well as exhaust vents and pipes.
Clean up around indoor and outdoor units
If you let grass and other vegetation grow around the outdoor unit of your HVAC system, it can provide a place for animals and pests to hide and thrive. Similarly, if the area around the indoor HVAC unit is cluttered, it creates many hiding spaces for insects, rodents, and other creatures. Clean up around the indoor and outdoor units of your HVAC system. This gives pests fewer places to live and hide.
Seal openings
Many spots around your home will have cracks, holes, gaps, and other openings where small animals and insects could get through. For example, gaps between window frames and windows can provide an entry point, as can holes where pipes or wires come through the wall. Seal these openings with caulking or other appropriate sealant.
Seal ducts
The ends of ductwork should be equipped with vent covers as mentioned above. However, the rest of the ductwork should also be checked to ensure that all sections fit tightly together without gaps or openings that pets can get through. Connections should be sealed with mastic or metal tape.
CCAC is committed to serving HVAC customers in Corpus Christi and the Coastal Bend area of Texas. Contact us today for more information on how to recognize and prevent animal damage to your HVAC system.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Corpus Christi, Texas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about your HVAC system, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 361-678-2495. Â
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