Hello,
A bird died in my bathroom vent duct. I decided to take it apart and push the smelly body out (from the bathroom side), but seem to have run into something that prevents this. On examining the exterior flap there appears to be a current nest inside the outer flap and a bird hanging around waiting to enter her "home".
The duct is horizontal and I have inserted a (dry) old hose to push with. Is there a baffle or a jog in the vent that prevents the pushed hose from appearing on the outside and dumping the dead body (and the current nest)? I can't seem to find a drawing of what that duct is doing when it meets code. Should it be a straight line from the fan to the outside? Think I'll try a flashlight tonight from the outside. On the outside the vent's just beyond my ladder, but I may have to get a few feet higher to peer in it myself. Any other ideas?
By the way when working with this stuff it all seems to break as I take it apart. Furthermore, the design of the outer flap is obviously a joke of great amusement to the birds. They fly up to it perching on the wall and open it as if it were made for them. This house is 10 years old and the aluminum flap and vent hood are not broken -- just not equal to the intelligence of a common bird. New vents and covers in the same area use plastic louvers (hope these are better!!)
Thanks for any advice on cleaning out this smelly duct.
Dave Boyd