Wednesday 18 March 2015

Air Conditioning Duct Work Cleaning – Rats in Ductwork

How To Tackle Rats In Your Duct Work


From pollen to mites, mould, and household dust, all sorts of nasties can be lurking in your duct work…including rats and mice. If you have rats you might have already heard the patter of tiny feet, but as you get preoccupied with day-to-day activities this may well go unnoticed until a foul smell emerges from your ceiling. Regular air conditioning duct work cleaning, however, will ensure that your business premises stays in pristine condition – even the areas not visible to staff or customers.
Duct work cleaning is so vital because unclean duct work will impinge on the health of staff and customers. As unclean air circulates through your business, it can aggravate existing problems such as asthma and allergies, which has a knock on affect through staff sickness and absenteeism. According to NHS statistics, as many as 5.4 million people in the UK receive treatment for breathing problems or asthma. Research shows that air quality inside homes and buildings have higher levels of certain pollutants in comparison to outside air. Since we spend the majority of our working day – and nights – indoors this can worsen the problem.
So, to keep your staff healthy and happy, it’s important to prioritise air conditioning duct work cleaning and not to leave it on the back burner. Here we take a look at what you can do to solve the problem of rats in the duct work.

Why Rats Get into the Duct Work

Rats and mice are attracted to duct work as it creates the ideal conditions for survival. Duct work is not only colder in summer and warmer in winter, but it also keeps rodents safe from predators and, of course, rats like to inhabit places that are close to where humans live as it means easy access to food.

Why it is a Problem

Rats in your air conditioning can cause a number of problems: firstly they may chew holes in your duct work making your air conditioning less efficient, secondly there are a number of health problems associated with rats. For a start, rat faeces are toxic, and the excrement can attract other rats to inhabit the area, thus escalating the problem; also, if there is a dead rat in your duct work, not only is the smell hard to tolerate, but the carcass will attract flies which creates further health and safety issues. Thirdly, rats can urinate up to three gallons a year, and breathing in rat urine can put your staff or customers at risk of contracting diseases such as Hantavirus, which is deadly to humans.

How to Tackle it

There are several ways to tackle rats in your duct work. One is by organising regular duct work cleaning from a reputable company such as Ingot Services. During the cleaning process they will check for holes in the duct work to ensure it is in full working order. Regular duct work cleaning will improve the air quality in your building, ensure your duct system runs at a more comfortable level. It saves money in the long run as you won’t have to carry out major repairs.  However, if your building frequently attracts rats or mice, it is also time to think about calling in the pest control services who will tackle the problem at source.

Over the years Ingot Services has seen a number of incidents at first hand where rats and mice have chewed holes in the ductwork and generally created havoc. Although it is tempting to tackle the problem yourself, a proper cleanup is essential and is best tackled by the experts. 

Call Ingot Services for a free quotation on 0800 731 7892.