You come across some, well, let’s just say interesting things in the duct cleaning business. While most air duct cleaning jobs reveal years of dirt and dust, some workers have stumbled upon some much stranger items. From the disgusting to the dangerous, you’d be surprised just what can get caught in a home’s air duct system. Here’s a sampling of some of the strangest finds documented.
Contraband
Earlier this year, a duct cleaning company in Florida published a list of the oddities workers have pulled from dirty air ducts around the state. One experienced technician noted that he’s found a few controlled substances, from crystal meth to crack pipes to marijuana.
In addition to drugs, some duct cleaners have come across firearms stashed in ductwork. A duct cleaner from Atlanta found a .44-caliber pistol in one of his client’s ducts. Apparently, air ducts make good hiding places when you want to keep some of your possessions out of sight of the authorities, or out of reach of children. Of course, it’s only a good hiding place until you need someone to help clean the air in your home.
The remnants of past meals
Duct cleaners often find food-related debris in ductwork, which can sometimes be the result of thoughtless construction workers who toss their garbage into the vents while a house is being built. That debris has included coffee cups, food wrappers, chicken bones, half-eaten burgers, and even empty beer bottles.
Excrement
That’s right, we’re talking bodily waste here, and not just from the bodies of animals. While it’s not too surprising for a duct cleaner to see droppings left behind by mice or perhaps even raccoons, would you ever think to find human feces in air ducts? Some cleaners have had the misfortune of finding dried human waste in air ducts, and the culprit again may be the construction workers who built the house, and who didn’t have the time or the will power to hold it in until they could get to the port-o-potty.
Dead critters
Occasionally, a family pet goes missing, and the owners eventually come to terms with the fact that it found its way out of the house. But did it really ever leave the house? Not in the case of one duct cleaner who found a dead iguana that belonged to the homeowners. At least they could give their pet a proper burial.
Other duct cleaners have cleared dead spiders, rats, mice, and even a small fox from the ductwork of their clients. Sometimes duct cleaners have to double as animal control workers.
VHS tapes?
One of the strangest hauls from an air duct is a collection of videocassettes, discovered by a duct cleaning company in Scarborough. The company was called to examine a family room vent that didn’t seem to be letting in any air. After breaking a hole in the drywall ceiling and cutting a hole in the duct, the crew pulled out a remarkable 45 VHS tapes and 19 books. It turned out the family’s four-year-old son had made a habit of dropping the items down the vent. Maybe he really wanted his parents to invest in a DVD player.
