My mom called me last Monday, because she thought a rat was inside of the ductwork.
I told my mom that it was unlikely, but she insisted that I come over after work to check it out.
When I arrived, I started looking at the heat pump and the ductwork. I used a really bright flashlight to see inside of the ductwork. I saw no evidence of rats or mice. I didn’t even see any evidence of bugs like cockroaches, termites, or ants. My mom told me about a loud sound that she kept hearing at night. When she started to describe the sound, I didn’t think it seemed like a ductwork problem at all. I believed it sounded like an issue with a heat pump. Unfortunately, heat pumps and electricity are not my area of expertise. I could have helped my mom with a pest control problem, but I didn’t know the first thing about the heat pump. I knew it was best to leave the work to a professional and certified expert. I found a local heating company that offers free estimates and I gave them a call for my mom. Waited until the repair service arrived so I could find out what they thought about the problem. They agreed that the sounds were likely coming from the heat pump and not the ductwork. They performed a full system service tune up that included cleaning all of the electrical and mechanical parts of the system. Hopefully the system will run better now that it has been serviced and cleaned.