[eastcan]

I have an air exchanger in my home. Some of the duct work runs into the attic, leading to vents outside. Birds got into the vent from outside, and damaged the duct (which is made of that shiny silvery material that looks like aluminum foil). The duct is torn and almost completely separated.

Questions:

(1) To repair this, is it just a matter of me getting some replacement duct material, using duct tape to repair the damage?

(2) I have lived in this house for 9 years, the house is about 12 years old. I have never had it serviced. Is this something that should be done on a regular basis?

Thanks,
NF Canada, Nova Scotia

 

[yuri]

Is it an actual HRV heat recovery ventilator like this one. If so it has filters inside which need cleaning 1-2x a year and the core removed an washed when it is dirty if it is a metal core like in the Lifebreath. Others are not washable or use friendly. The flex pipe should be replaced and we use an insulated type here as it gets below freezing.

 

[eastcan]

I don't know if it is heat recovery type or not. How would I find this out? Apologies for the rookie questions.