Whole-system duct and dryer vent check with before-and-after photos - you see exactly what came out of your vents
That "$99 whole-house special" is a bait ad - the real number appears once they are in your hallway, or the "clean" is a shop-vac at the register. We photograph the inside of your ducts before and after instead.
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AfterHow Much Does Air Duct Cleaning Cost in San Francisco?
Air duct cleaning in San Francisco typically costs between $450 and $900 for a standard home, with most single-family houses landing near $600. Larger Victorian and Edwardian homes with multiple stories or extended duct runs often fall in the $900 to $1,400 range. That price should be in writing before any technician touches a vent, and at Kestrel Air Duct Cleaning it always is.
If you’ve been quoted a low number over the phone and then watched it climb once someone was standing in your hallway, you already know why the written price matters more than the lowest one. We don’t revise prices at the door. The number you receive is the number you pay.
Serving San Francisco homeowners from the Sunset to Bernal Heights, our home base is built on one standard: say the price, show up in the window, leave the place cleaner than we found it, and put the guarantee in writing.
Air Duct Cleaning Cost Breakdown (2026)
Here’s what San Francisco homeowners can expect to pay in 2026. Prices reflect the local market, where labor rates run higher than most of the country and older housing stock means longer, more complicated duct systems.
| Service | Typical Price Range |
|---|---|
| Standard air duct cleaning (up to 10 vents, single system) | $450 - $650 |
| Larger home (11-20 vents, 2+ stories) | $650 - $1,000 |
| Whole-house deep clean with brush agitation | $900 - $1,400 |
| Additional vent beyond the base count | $25 - $40 each |
| Dryer vent cleaning (add-on, single run) | $150 - $275 |
| Second HVAC system in the same home | $250 - $450 |
| Return-air plenum or crawl space duct work | $200 - $500 |
| Filter replacement (Honeywell, Aprilaire, Guardsman compatible) | $30 - $120 depending on size |
The base price covers negative-air extraction, brush agitation, and HEPA filtration of loosened debris. Negative-air extraction means we pull air out of the system under suction instead of blowing it around the room. Brush agitation means a spinning rotary brush breaks debris off the duct wall, where a shop vac alone can’t reach it. HEPA filtration keeps what we loosen out of the air you’re breathing during the job.
What pushes the price up: multiple HVAC systems, ducts run through unfinished crawl spaces or tight attic chases, heavy contamination from a recent remodel, or a home that hasn’t been cleaned in a decade. What pulls it down: a smaller footprint, easy access panels, and combining air duct and dryer vent cleaning on the same visit so you’re not paying a second trip charge.
What Affects Air Duct Cleaning Pricing in San Francisco
San Francisco isn’t a generic market, and neither is Seattle, WA. The housing stock here bends the price in ways you won’t see in a newer suburb, and it’s worth knowing which ones apply to your home before you compare bids.
- Age and layout of the home. A 1910 Edwardian in the Mission with original gravity-furnace chases has far less accessible duct work than a 1990s building in Mission Bay. Tight crawl spaces and sealed wall chases add labor hours, and labor is where most of the cost sits in San Francisco.
- Number of vents and systems. Every additional register adds time. Homes with two furnaces or a separate mini-split system get billed per system, not per house.
- How long since the last cleaning. Ducts in a home that hasn’t been serviced in 10 years carry more debris, which means more brush passes and longer extraction time. A Lake Merced home we cleaned last spring took nearly twice as long as the three-year-old condos we service in SoMa.
- Contamination source. Remodel dust, pest activity, or water intrusion in a crawl space all require more careful handling and sometimes a second visit.
- Accessibility of the air handler. If the furnace or coil sits in a cramped closet or a rooftop mechanical room, setting up negative-air equipment takes longer and costs more.
- Fog-season moisture and coastal air. San Francisco’s marine layer keeps indoor humidity higher than inland cities during summer fog cycles, and that moisture encourages dust to cling to duct walls rather than fall out. It’s a small factor, but it’s why we often recommend an Aprilaire or Guardsman filter setup for homes near the coast.
One more local reality: parking and access. A technician hauling Rotobrush and Nikro equipment up three flights of stairs in North Beach or squeezing into a shared garage in the Richmond District takes more time than a suburban driveway job. We build that into the written quote up front rather than surprising you later.
What’s Included in a Kestrel Air Duct Cleaning
Every job, regardless of price, includes the same core work. There’s no stripped-down tier where we skip steps and call it a discount.
- Written price before work begins. You see the full cost before a single vent comes off. No step revisions, no “while we’re here” additions.
- Rotobrush rotary brush agitation through every accessible run, dislodging debris from the duct wall itself.
- Nikro negative-pressure extraction pulling loosened contaminants out of the system, not into your living room.
- Abatement Technologies HEPA filtration running throughout the job so the air in your home stays clean while we work.
- Background-checked, uniformed technicians who follow The Kingswell Way on site: state the price, respect the arrival window, leave the space cleaner than we found it.
- The 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If the work falls short within a year, we come back and make it right at no charge. That’s not a courtesy we extend when we feel like it. It’s in the paperwork.
We were founded in 2004 under the Kingswell Guarantee, and the same written standard has applied to every job since. Kestrel takes its name from the small falcon that hangs motionless in moving air, holding its position no matter what the wind does. That’s the idea: steady when things get complicated, and accountable when the work is done.
Homeowners who want clean air between service visits can add Honeywell, Aprilaire, or Guardsman filtration products to the same appointment. We don’t upsell them, but if your current filter setup is a poor match for your system, we’ll say so and give you a written price for the fix.
How to Save on Air Duct Cleaning
There’s no secret discount code here, but there are real ways to keep the number down without cutting corners on the work itself, much like finding value in air duct cleaning costs in Staten Island, NY.
- Bundle air duct and dryer vent cleaning in one visit. The trip charge and setup time are shared, which typically saves you $75 to $125 compared to booking them separately. Dryer vent cleaning is one of only two services we offer, and it’s a natural pairing.
- Get the written quote before you commit. Compare the full itemized price, not the headline number. A low bid that balloons once the technician arrives isn’t a deal, it’s a bait price.
- Handle small filtration upgrades yourself between visits. Swapping a Honeywell or Aprilaire filter on schedule costs far less than a premature deep clean. We’ll tell you what size your system takes at no charge.
- Book during the shoulder seasons. Spring and fall tend to be less booked than the foggy summer months or the winter heating rush, which means more flexible arrival windows.
- Ask about multi-system pricing if you own a duplex or multi-unit building. Cleaning two systems in one trip is priced differently than two separate appointments.
Free estimates are exactly that. Call (469) 972-3151 and we’ll give you a real range for your home, in writing, with no pressure to book on the spot. A live person answers around the clock, so you’re not leaving a message and waiting until Monday.
FAQs - Air Duct Cleaning Cost
How much does air duct cleaning cost in San Francisco?
Most San Francisco homes fall between $450 and $650 for a standard single-system cleaning, with larger or multi-story homes running $650 to $1,400. The final number depends on vent count, accessibility, and how long it’s been since the last cleaning. Call (469) 972-3151 for an exact written quote for your address, and it’s free.
Is it cheaper to repair or replace my ductwork instead of cleaning it?
Cleaning is almost always the cheaper path when the ducts are intact. Cleaning runs $450 to $1,400, while replacing ductwork in a San Francisco home routinely runs $3,000 to $8,000 or more once you account for labor and wall access. Replacement only makes sense when ducts are crushed, disconnected, or lined with deteriorated material. Call (469) 972-3151 and we’ll tell you honestly which situation you’re in.
Can you come today?
Same-day appointments are often available, and we’ll tell you the real earliest window when you call, not a vague “sometime this week.” We give a defined arrival window and we show up in it. Call (469) 972-3151 and we’ll check today’s schedule for your neighborhood.
How much does a clogged dryer vent cost to clean in San Francisco?
Dryer vent cleaning in San Francisco typically runs $150 to $275 for a single run, and it drops to the lower end when bundled with an air duct cleaning on the same visit. A clogged dryer vent is a genuine fire hazard, not just a slow-drying annoyance, so if your dryer takes two cycles to finish a load, it’s worth a call. Reach us at (469) 972-3151 for a free estimate.
Do you charge extra for multiple HVAC systems or a hard-to-reach crawl space?
Yes, and we say so up front. A second system adds roughly $250 to $450, and crawl space or tight-chase duct work adds $200 to $500 depending on access. None of that gets added at the door. The written price you receive before we start is the price you pay. Call (469) 972-3151 for a quote that includes every factor from the first conversation.
What does the 365-Day Done Right Promise actually cover?
The 365-Day Done Right Promise covers the work we performed for a full year. If the cleaning falls short within that window, we return and make it right at no charge, and the commitment is documented in writing on every job. That’s the standard we’ve held under the Kingswell Guarantee since 2004. Call (469) 972-3151 with any questions before you book.
What to Expect When You Call
You’ll reach a live person, day or night, who will ask about your home’s size, vent count, and system layout. Within that conversation you’ll get a real price range for San Francisco, and you’ll get it in writing before any appointment is set. On the day of the visit, our background-checked technician arrives in the window we promised, uses Rotobrush, Nikro, and Abatement Technologies equipment, and leaves the space cleaner than they found it. If anything falls short within a year, we come back and fix it at no charge.
Our founder, Dale Whitmore, built this company on a simple idea: a price that doesn’t move and a guarantee you can hold in your hand. If you’ve been burned before by a contractor who vanished after the invoice cleared, that’s exactly the pattern Kestrel exists to break. Call (469) 972-3151 for a free estimate and a written price before you commit to anything. Serving San Francisco homeowners, one honest quote at a time.
Pricing reflects the San Francisco market as of 2026. Kestrel Air Duct Cleaning offers free estimates - call (469) 972-3151.
Written by Dale Whitmore, Owner at Kestrel Air Duct Cleaning, serving San Francisco since 2004.
What Our Customers Say
"Bought an older home and the previous owners had pets everywhere. After Kestrel did the ducts the stale smell was just gone. On time, quick, and they showed me the filter they pulled."
- Preston Ngata"Our dryer was taking two cycles to dry a load. They cleaned the vent and pulled out a frightening amount of lint. Dries in one cycle now and honestly I feel better about the fire risk."
- Marcus Lee"Set up an appointment for the whole house plus the dryer line. They called the morning of to confirm, showed up in the window, and showed me pictures of the gunk they pulled out. Worth it."
- Terrence Boyd