How much does it cost to have your ductwork cleaned out?

It is the question everyone wants answered before they will let anyone into the house, and the range online is wide enough to be useless. The cost to have your ductwork cleaned depends on a handful of things you can check yourself before you ever pick up the phone.

How much does air duct cleaning cost?

Air duct cleaning costs on average between $300 and $700 nationally

So you are looking to have your air ducts cleaned but are seeing prices as low as $49 all the way up to $1000. So why would air duct cleaning have such a wide price range? Well that’s because there are unlicensed people vacuuming vents and there are licensed professionals performing proper air duct cleaning. The price may also vary on the size of your home and the design of the duct system.

Companies that offer $49 or $99 duct cleaning are not cleaning air duct systems, they are vacuuming the vents you see inside your home and never touching the ductwork. There are also companies that charge a flat rate of say $200 to clean ducts, these companies are not removing any dust or debris from the air duct system. They will come in vacuum the vent cover of the duct and then sanitize the system. The average price for air duct cleaning in Florida is $35 per vent. If your home has 8 supply vents and 2 return vents, the total would be $350. It is important to understand the difference between a handyman air duct cleaning and a professional air duct cleaning company.

Avoid air duct cleaning scams

It cannot be stressed enough to do research on the companies that provide air duct cleaning. It is recommended to call the duct cleaning companies in your area and asking questions, ask them what their process of cleaning ductwork is. Ask how long it typically takes them to clean the ductwork in an average home or small business. Looking up the licensing and certification the company caries may also be helpful in choosing an air duct cleaning company. Avoid the $99 duct cleaning as they will either do poor quality of work or they will likely try to upsell you on additional services.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”black”][vc_column_text]

Identifying an air duct cleaning company

Fortunately, air duct cleaning in Florida requires licensing. The Department of Professional Business Regulations website has a search tool that can be utilized to look up a company’s licensing. The reason licensing is important is the company is held to a standard of ethical business practices, if the company does something that is not ethical the DBPR can revoke the licensing.

The National Air Duct Cleaners Association holds the highest standards for their certifications and memberships. Many big facilities such as hospitals schools and nursing homes will only work with a NADCA certified company due to the standards they follow. NADCA has a tool on their website where you can search for air duct cleaning companies that are NADCA certified throughout your area, you would be surprised to find that not many duct cleaning companies are certified by NADCA.

Qualified air duct cleaners will follow strict standards set by NADCA and will be happy to show you their credentials. Licensed contractors also display their license numbers as they are required to, so browsing the company’s website should have the license number.

What really drives the cost to have your ductwork cleaned

Four things move the number. How many air handlers the property has, because each one is effectively a separate system. How many supply vents and returns there are, since each is a separate access point that has to be brushed. How reachable the equipment is — an attic air handler with a pull-down ladder is a different job from one in a garage. And condition: a system that has never been cleaned, or one with mould growth or rodent activity, takes longer and sometimes needs treatment beyond cleaning.

What should not move it is square footage on its own, and what should never move it is what happens once someone is already in your house. The pattern to watch for is a very low advertised price that becomes something else entirely on the day, once the crew is standing in your hallway explaining what the quote did not include.

We publish our figures rather than making you ask — the prices page sets out the ranges — and the estimate is free and written down before anything starts. If you want to see what is actually included, the residential duct cleaning page covers the method, or ask us for a quote.