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There's a crawl space in my basement where the gas pipe to the stove goes through a hole in the ceiling. I think it might be a big enough hole for a mouse to get through so I'd like to stuff some steel wool in there, which has worked for me against mice before.

My concern is whether having steel wool against a gas pipe is anything to worry about. First, I'm in the US and am only assuming that pipe is steel, so I would think it's OK to do that but is there a reason I shouldn't?

The area is under cover, to the ground, but not insulated. Is rust of the wool a worry?

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  • I've seen someone mention this stuff before: Pest Plug which is a special, rust-free steel wool type mesh made for keeping out rodents.
    – JPhi1618
    Commented Oct 14, 2015 at 20:14

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By gas pipe, you mean the gasline--not the actual chimney, right? If so, that is likely steel pipe. It COULD be copper, but you'd be able to tell if that's the case. If it's a steel pipe, stainless steel wool should be fine to plug it.

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  • Is rusting of the steel wool a concern?
    – Rob
    Commented Oct 14, 2015 at 20:48
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    @Rob that's why you'd use stainless steel wool.
    – DA01
    Commented Oct 14, 2015 at 20:53
  • I tried finding stainless steel wool at HomeDepot and Lowes. Neither carries it but they do have bronze steel wool. It doesn't rust but would it interact with the steel (or iron) gas pipe?
    – Rob
    Commented Oct 15, 2015 at 13:28
  • @Rob I'm not sure about that. It shouldn't be too hard to find stainless steel wool though. I believe my local Ace Hardware had it. Be sure to check in the finishing section (near the stains and such).
    – DA01
    Commented Oct 15, 2015 at 13:39
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    I found it at Ace in the cleaning supplies area.
    – Rob
    Commented Oct 15, 2015 at 21:52
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With black iron pipe that is normally used for gas pipe I would use spray foam insulation it will expand and fill the voids you won't be able to get to with the steel wool and it will stop air leaks and not rust away even slightly below grade it will seal better and longer than steel wool

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    I would but I've read that mice will eat through the foam.
    – Rob
    Commented Oct 15, 2015 at 3:26
  • @Rob they do make rodent-resistent foam (at least it's advertised as such)
    – DA01
    Commented Oct 15, 2015 at 14:42

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