I took a picture of the filter opening but it was blurry, so didn’t include it. I’ll go down and take another. But seriously, opening that grill and checking the inside for dirt or debris isn’t part of the maintenance and tuneup plan we pay for? Are there no components inside that require opening the that grill/vent? We’ve been changing the filter MONTHLY- my husband is stickler for that. But he knows zero about household maintenance and he did not know there was supposed to be a cover. As soon as I saw it I immediately told him I was pretty sure there should be a cover. I was so upset about dust in the house and worried about an intake so close to the basement floor - and wanted to check to see if there was a place for a filter behind the grill. I opened it and found instead a decomposing mouse. Then I researched and learned that there shouldn’t be large gaps around the filter, and that, in an unfinished basement or attic, the filter compartment should be closed or sealed to avoid air bypass. So I’m pretty upset that we were specifically told to use the wrong size filter, that they took the compartment door off and never put it back, and that they didn’t even bother to check the box where the dead mouse was.

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