Help! Mice Family in Furnace and ducts

[VJP5]

I have a 36' Forest River Salem trailer that is on a permanent site. Our furnace stopped working so I called a service tech who came out and told me that he pulled a bag of dead mice out of the furnace. He got the furnace to work but said there was very little air coming out. Most likely there are more in the ductwork. Sadly, he said he does not do that work.

So......I cannot find instructions anywhere on how to clean/empty/replace the floor ductwork. Do you have to do this from underneath? This model has a bedroom in back (with 2 floor vents) and then a vent in 'den' and kitchen. It also looks like it is regular ducts (not the flexible hose).

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Even better, does anyone know someone who can do this for me? I can deal with many things but mice ain't my bag

The trailer is located in Edgerton Wisconsin.


Thanks!!

[cavie]

Originally Posted by VJP5

I have a 36' Forest River Salem trailer that is on a permanent site. Our furnace stopped working so I called a service tech who came out and told me that he pulled a bag of dead mice out of the furnace. He got the furnace to work but said there was very little air coming out. Most likely there are more in the ductwork. Sadly, he said he does not do that work.

So......I cannot find instructions anywhere on how to clean/empty/replace the floor ductwork. Do you have to do this from underneath? This model has a bedroom in back (with 2 floor vents) and then a vent in 'den' and kitchen. It also looks like it is regular ducts (not the flexible hose).

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Even better, does anyone know someone who can do this for me? I can deal with many things but mice ain't my bag



The trailer is located in Edgerton Wisconsin.


Thanks!!

They are not designed to be cleaned/ emptied/repaired or replaced. You can try removing the vents and using an electricians fish tape and pull a rag of some sort thru the ducts. from one to the other.

[VJP5]

Crap! What do I do then? There has to be a way to push/pull them out. I don't want to push them into the furnace. Do I have to pull the furnace out and then push towards the vents?

Seems to me like I'm up that famous creek without that famous paddle.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by VJP5

Crap! What do I do then? There has to be a way to push/pull them out.

use an electricians tape push it from one duct to the next. Attach some sort of rage ot towel that will fill up the duct and pull it back to where you pushed it in. Then move to the next one. You can call a mobil RV Tech. Maybe a local ac duct cleaning company.

[Flybob]

You can try Cutting a hole in opposite sides of a tennis ball big enough to accommodate the end of a shop vac hose and feed that into the duct work through a vent. The tennis ball should keep you from tearing the duct material. You can also try removing the duct from the furnace distribution box and do the same from that end.

[SailorSam20500]

Because the underbelly of my rig peeled back while I was driving down to Florida, I pulled it entirely. I have since replaced most of the foil flex duct with rigid or semi-rigid. Much harder for mice to chew through.

You most likely have one or more holes chewed into your ducting, which is contributing to your low air flow. The foil flex is easily compromised.

I suspect that you could "clean" the ducts some what by just pushing the hose of a shop vac down them from the register and see what you suck out.

I've attached a couple of after pics of what I did. I used a lot of aluminum tape to seal all of the joints and bends. Total cost was under $100. If you do a search, SeaDog has posted on his work doing a similar modification. If you decided to do the mods, understand that rigid pipe will give the best airflow. Any type of flex pipe needs to be fully extended to give max flow.

[Decon Blue]

Originally Posted by SailorSam20500

Because the underbelly of my rig peeled back while I was driving down to Florida, I pulled it entirely. I have since replaced most of the foil flex duct with rigid or semi-rigid. Much harder for mice to chew through.

You most likely have one or more holes chewed into your ducting, which is contributing to your low air flow. The foil flex is easily compromised.

I suspect that you could "clean" the ducts some what by just pushing the hose of a shop vac down them from the register and see what you suck out.

I've attached a couple of after pics of what I did. I used a lot of aluminum tape to seal all of the joints and bends. Total cost was under $100. If you do a search, SeaDog has posted on his work doing a similar modification. If you decided to do the mods, understand that rigid pipe will give the best airflow. Any type of flex pipe needs to be fully extended to give max flow.

Wow, nice work ! Too bad the factory standards aren’t that way.

[Locky]

Probably could call a duct cleaning service like Stanley Steamer or a place similar.

[JimMorrell]

As one, retired from the pest control industry, I would obtain the services of a professional duct cleaning service. Not sure of the situation in your area, but personally, I would have the ducts treated afterward with an anti virus solution to kill any unwanted diseases left by your friendly mice. Where I come from, Hanta Virus is prevalent, and is a killer of humans.

When the work is complete, screen off the heater vent, and any other potential entry locations.

[VJP5]

Thanks for all the responses. I was so looking forward to a nice weekend but I think I'm going to be a little busy.

I guess I'll bring a bunch of items up and see which one (or ones) will do the trick. How can such little creatures create such a big problem?

[Gm Mike]

I have used my shop vac coupled to my central vac garage hose ( really flexible) and was able to snake me way in to clean. I also removed the ductwork at the furnace and went in that way. Fortunately I found no critters hiding in my ductwork.

[jimmoore13]

Originally Posted by Locky

Probably could call a duct cleaning service like Stanley Steamer or a place similar.

X2,
Looked for this from someone before I posted the same suggestion.

NEXT:
This stuff works as a repellent: Fresh Cab Rodent Repellent.

I keep them in my camper at all times. The dogs ignore them, and the scent is pleasant. Tractor supply sells industrial quantities at affordable prices.

[jimmoore13]

Originally Posted by JimMorrell

<<SNIP>>
When the work is complete, screen off the heater vent, and any other potential entry locations.

Great advice...and by "screen," we're not talking window screen. Rodent teeth are just shy of steel on the hardness scale. Use galvanized hardware cloth...say 1/4" grade.

Home Depot and any hardware store sells this stuff. Use small screws and washers to hold the hardware cloth in place. This allows for removal for cleaning whatever is behind the screen.

They make screen bee-barriers for furnace exhausts/fresh air intakes.


Mice will also shock you when it comes to how small a hole they can pass through. So also look for points of entry. Again, since rodents can chew through aluminum flashing like it's not there, use steel as a barrier. Stainless steel kitchen pot scrubbers can be stuffed into gaps and sealed in place with spray foam. The hardware cloth or steel flashing can be placed around pipe chases...cut half circles into the edge of flashing and join two pieces to overlap a bit. Hold in place with stainless screws. Exclusion is the goal.

When winterizing, ALL food and water must be removed from the camper. They will go to any lengths to get to food and moisture. And remember that they are looking for shelter, too, so preventing access is crucial, or they will figure out how to get in out of the weather.

The Fresh Cab repellent is a great LAST line of defense, but that's all it is...the thing to drive them away once they've made entry.

[rrmccorm]

Put dryer sheets under cabinets and in all hidden voids. Helps keep the little hemi's out!

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by Gm Mike

I have used my shop vac coupled to my central vac garage hose ( really flexible) and was able to snake me way in to clean. I also removed the ductwork at the furnace and went in that way. Fortunately I found no critters hiding in my ductwork.

No mice in the little trailer. But DW had a really shaggy dog that shed a lot. The little trailer has what appears to be fabricated 2"x6" rectangular aluminum ducting. While troubleshooting its furnace a couple of years ago I cleaned the ducts at one point. I had the furnace out and used my shop vac with a 1-1/4" hose. I started at the furnace and went both ways. Then I went both ways from each register outlet. I got enough hair to make another dog. (The furnace problem turned out to be a bad propane regulator.)

You don't really have to take the furnace out. Take off the grille (usually four Robertson screws). Then take off the sheet metal cover in front of the furnace (one or two screws). That is right at the corner between the furnace and ductwork. Straight in is the air handler and heat exchanger. Straight down is the ductwork.

As for mice, we had them in the big trailer. Not in the furnace--just in the under-sink kitchen cabinet. Trapping them each time was never-ending, so I spent an entire day under the trailer mouse-proofing. I mended a couple of holes in the underside plastic membrane with Gorilla tape. Then I placed No.3 steel wool around every tubing, cable, or pipe that penetrated the membrane and secured it with cable ties. I also stuffed steel wool around every tubing, cable, or pipe I could see topside, forcing it in with a screwdriver.

It's likely that mice are getting in through a detached duct or a hole they've chewed in a duct. (They won't be getting in through the furnace vents because they lead to the firebox, not the ducts.) You may have to do some inspection before you clean. Even if you got rid of the mice, you couldn't heat well with an open duct. Ever wanted to play doctor? Buy this endoscope or this one if you are of the Mac persuasion and run it through all the ducts. Then you can figure out what you've got to fix.

Larry

[aircommuter]

Maybe for the future you could find some places to use Mice Blocker tape, I use it in my automotive shop on the wiring for car and truck harnesses, it has pepper in it. Most cars and trucks have soy based insulation on the wires, good attraction for the rodents.

[Villagerjjm]

Go to ACE hardware and buy a 12 foot Dryer Vent Brush. There are different kinds, so buy one that is flexible! Use that to clean the duct work. You do not want to push debris to the furnace, use the brush so it moves the debris towards an accessible vent. You can also use a vacuum cleaner hose attached to a shop vac.

[david_reaves]

I had the same thing happen on my Windjammer... long story short-- about $800 later the dealer dropped the under-cover and replaced the heater duct. It was chewed in several places, so heat wasn't making it to the vents. Also, the lovely odor of mouse
urine was propelled through the camper.

After the repair, I've worked to seal potential entry points with copper mesh and mose-resistant foam. So far, so good.

[VJP5]

Thank again for all the advice and tips. I am halfway home.

I was able to go in and clean the vents as best as I could with an industrial shop vac and 1" hose. I took off all four floor vents then covered and taped three. I went into vent 1 and cleaned in both directions. Opened vent #2, closed vent #1 and repeated. And so on. When I was done, I looked into the shop vac and quite a bit of mice poop, nest material, and 2 dead baby mice. I then got an aerosol can of Lysol disinfectant and was able to cover almost the entire ductwork. Opened the windows and let it sit for about an hour. Then ran the fan for about an hour.

Turned the furnace on and despite some urine odor, air was flowing through all the ducts and blowing hot.

So that concludes part 1. This weekend, I crawl under the trailer to see if I can find how they are getting in. There has to be a small hole somewhere. It's like playing "where's Waldo" only not as enjoyable.

To be continued......

[Skyliner]

My 5th wheel has rectangular aluminum ducts similar to what you find at home and not the "slinky" stuff you see as a dryer exhaust duct.

I removed my furnace and cleaned everything by hand. I used a bleach water mixture at first and then a product called ODOBAN that worked better then the bleach.

For the ductwork, I parked the camper nose up on a steep hill which happens to be where I live.


I prepared a 5 gallon mixture of bleach and water and poured it in the bedroom vent and had a shop vac running on the rear most downhill side vent to suck out the water and debris.

I then followed by rinsing the duct work with ODOBAN. This worked incredibly well and I was amazed by how many nests and dead mice were in my ductwork.

I'm fortunate that my camper had hard metal ducts and not slinky duct hoses.

ODOBAN works wonders and we use a lot of it in the house and on the RV.