Your air ducts play a big part in the quality of your home. If your air ducts are full of dirt, allergens, or other contaminants, they’ll spread those things through your home every time you turn on your HVAC unit. That’s why it’s so important to get air duct cleaning services when your system gets dirty. But how much does air duct cleaning cost?
We’ve put together this guide to walk you through the air duct cleaning process.
How Much Does Air Duct Cleaning Cost?
Cleaning your air ducts can cost you anything between $250 and $450 on average. However, the exact amount you’ll have to pay can be much lower or higher depending on your specific circumstances. There are also a number of ways your air duct cleaning professional might charge you.
Here are a few examples:
Per Vent
Some companies charge a set amount for each vent in your home. This amount can be as low as $25 or as high as $50. To get a basic estimation of how much you’ll have to pay, you can count your vents and multiply them by the price per vent. If you aren’t sure how much the company will charge, multiplying by $35 will at least give you an idea.
Per Square Foot
The air duct cleaning professional may also charge you by the square footage. It’s important to understand the square footage refers to the size of your home, not the length of your vents. So if you have a large home, you’ll have to dish out more money.
Flat Fee and Per Vent
If they don’t use either of the above methods, your air duct cleaning professional may charge a flat fee plus a certain amount per vent.
Here’s how it works.
The flat fee will cover the cost of the first few vents. After that, the professional will charge an additional amount for every other vent.
Things That’ll Affect the Price
While we’ve given you the average cost of air duct cleaning, there are several factors that can impact the cost of the job. Before you come up with a budget for this project, you should spend some time thinking about these things.
Size
Regardless of how the professional chargers (by square footage or per vent), a bigger house means a bigger expense. After all, the more rooms you have in your house, the more vents you’ll need.
Accessibility
Are your vents difficult to access? If the air duct cleaning professional has a hard time getting to your vents or doesn’t have enough space to do their job easily, they may add on an extra expense.
Contamination
The dirtier your ducts are, the more expensive the job will be. This is especially true if your ducts pose a safety risk. If they’re full of rodent droppings or mold, they can cause several health problems. Because of this, you might get hit with an extra charge.
If you already know there are rodents in your home, it’s a better idea to call an extermination company into the home first. This way, they can clean out the infestation before you clean your ducts.
Damages
Do your air ducts need other repairs? This will make the price go up.
Commercial vs. Residential
Air duct cleaning is often more expensive for commercial buildings. This is because commercial buildings are often larger than residential buildings, and commercial HVAC systems function at a higher rate. This also means the ducts will be full of more airborne particles than normal homes. If you need to clean commercial air ducts, you should be prepared for a higher cost.
What to Expect During the Cleaning
What exactly are you paying for when you hire professional air duct cleaning? Here’s a quick overview of the process.
The Preparation
Before the professional air duct cleaner arrives, you should spend some time clearing space around your HVAC system. This will ensure the professional has full access to the unit and enough space to work.
It’s also a good idea to make sure the vents in each room are accessible.
The Cleaning Process
Since your professional air duct cleaner can’t crawl into the ducts themselves, they have to use specialized tools to clear out any debris. They’ll start by creating a hole in the plenum of your HVAC system. This will give them access to your ducts (every duct in your home connects back to your HVAC system).
They’ll then insert long and flexible brushes into the ducts. These brushes are powered by compressed air, which makes them spin around inside the ducts. They’re also fitted with small vacuums that help clear out any debris. Because of this, cleaning your ducts isn’t something you should try to DIY. If you don’t have the right tools, you won’t be able to do much good.
The Timeframe
The cleaning process should take about four hours, depending on the size of your home. Like the price, this number can be either slightly lower or higher. However, be wary of companies that tell you the cleaning will only take an hour or under. These companies probably won’t be able to provide quality cleaning in such a short time.
Understanding the Price of Air Duct Cleaning
So how much does air duct cleaning cost?
The exact answer will depend on a variety of factors, including the size of your home and the condition of your ducts. But you should expect to pay between $250 and $450 on average.
