Air Duct Cleaning Cost - One Flat Price, Before-and-After Photos

Every visit starts with

Whole-system duct and dryer vent check with before-and-after photos - you see exactly what came out of your vents

Worth knowing

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.

Styles & brands we work with

‹

›

Before & after – our own jobs

‹

BeforeAfter

BeforeAfter

BeforeAfter

›

How Much Does Air Duct Cleaning Cost in Los Angeles?

Air duct cleaning costs in Austin, TX differ, but in Los Angeles it typically runs $350 to $700 for a standard single-family home, with most LA homeowners landing around $475 for a system with 10 to 15 vents. Larger homes in the hills, homes with multiple HVAC zones, and properties dealing with heavy dust, pet dander, or post-renovation debris can push higher, usually into the $800 to $1,200 range. Dryer vent cleaning, which we also handle, generally adds $125 to $225 on its own.

Those numbers reflect what we actually charge across Los Angeles in 2026. Not a national average pulled from a directory, not a teaser rate that doubles once the technician is standing in your hallway. Kestrel Air Duct Cleaning puts the price in writing before a single vent is touched, and that written price is the price. If you’ve been burned before by a quote that changed at the door, you already know why that matters.

We’re part of the Kingswell family of companies, founded in 2004, and every job runs under the Kingswell Guarantee: written price before work begins, a defined arrival window, a clean job site, and a written guarantee on the work itself. You can see how that plays out on our Air Duct Cleaning in Los Angeles page, or keep reading for the full cost breakdown.

Air Duct Cleaning Cost Breakdown (2026)

Here’s how pricing breaks down for the Los Angeles market. These are real ranges, and the line items stack based on what your home actually needs.

What pushes a job toward the top of a range? Vent count is the biggest driver, followed by how accessible your ductwork is. A single-story ranch in Torrance with a straight trunk line and easy attic access is a faster job than a 1920s Craftsman in Echo Park with a maze of retrofitted flex duct and a crawlspace entrance the size of a pizza box. System condition matters too: ducts that haven’t been touched in a decade take more agitation passes and more negative-air time than ones cleaned four years ago.

What keeps a job at the lower end? Fewer vents, one HVAC zone, and routine maintenance rather than a first-time deep clean. If you’ve had your ducts serviced before and you’re staying on schedule, you’re usually in the bottom third of the range.

What Affects Air Duct Cleaning Pricing in Los Angeles

• Number of vents and HVAC zones. Most LA homes have one system; hillside homes in Studio City, Sherman Oaks, and the Hollywood Hills often run two. Each additional zone means another air handler, another set of returns, and more time.
• Duct material and age. Sheet metal lasts and cleans well. Flex duct, common in homes built or remodeled after the 1980s, sags and collects debris in the low spots. Older LA housing stock – especially pre-1950 builds in Highland Park and Boyle Heights – often has original ductwork that’s been added to piece by piece.
• Access. Attic access in a single-story home is straightforward. Crawlspace access under a raised foundation takes longer and adds labor. We quote based on what we find, but vents and zones give us the ballpark before we arrive.
• Contamination level. Post-renovation drywall dust, pet dander from a multi-pet household, or rodent activity in the ducts all mean extra passes and more HEPA filtration time. Rodent debris in particular requires careful handling.
• Additional services. Dryer vent cleaning is a separate job with its own price. Most homeowners bundle it since we’re already on site and it’s a known fire risk when lint builds up past the trap.
• Filtration and IAQ add-ons. If you want to maintain cleaner air between visits, Honeywell, Aprilaire, and Guardsman filtration products install in the $150 to $500 range depending on the system and your existing setup.

One factor that doesn’t move our price: the day of the week or the neighborhood. We don’t upcharge for a Saturday or for driving out to the Westside. The written price you get is the price you pay, whether you’re in Silver Lake or Woodland Hills.

What You Actually Get for the Price

Worth spelling out, because air duct cleaning means different things to different companies. Some outfits run a shop vac over your registers and call it done. That’s not what you’re paying for here.

A Kestrel cleaning uses Rotobrush rotary brush systems to agitate debris off the duct walls – a spinning brush on a flexible shaft that reaches inside the run and knocks loose what’s stuck to the surface, which a vacuum alone won’t move. Then Nikro negative-pressure units pull that loosened material out of the system entirely, so it leaves your house instead of settling back into the living space. Throughout the job, Abatement Technologies HEPA filtration traps fine particles at the source. All three tools work together, which is why the result holds up instead of looking clean for a week.

Technicians are background-checked and uniformed. They arrive in the window we gave you, lay down protection, and leave the place cleaner than they found it. That’s not a slogan – it’s one of the four promises in the Kingswell Guarantee, and it’s in writing on every job.

How to Save on Air Duct Cleaning in Los Angeles

You don’t need to chase the cheapest quote in the city. In fact, that’s usually how homeowners end up paying twice – once for the bargain job, and again when it has to be redone. Here’s what actually lowers your cost without sacrificing the work.

• Bundle duct and dryer vent cleaning. We’re already on site with the equipment set up. Combining the two typically saves $50 to $100 over booking them separately.
• Get several quotes, but compare scope, not just price. A $299 quote that skips the trunk line isn’t cheaper – it’s incomplete. Ask what’s included: how many vents, whether returns and the main trunk are covered, and what equipment is used.
• Book before peak season. Late spring and early fall get busy as people prep for AC season and wildfire smoke. Scheduling in a slower window can mean more flexibility on timing.
• Stay on a maintenance schedule. A system cleaned every three to five years rarely needs the heavy-contamination tier. Waiting a decade usually does.
• Ask about the written price up front. Any company that won’t put a firm number in writing before the visit isn’t giving you a price – it’s giving you a starting point they can move later. Ours doesn’t move.

Free estimates are standard here. Call (469) 972-3151 and we’ll give you a real range over the phone based on your home size and vent count, then confirm the exact written price before any work starts.

Repair or Replace: When Cleaning Isn’t Enough

Sometimes cleaning is the right call. Sometimes the ducts are too far gone. If your ductwork is crushed, disconnected at the joints, or made of degraded flex that’s sagging and torn, cleaning it will improve things temporarily but won’t fix the underlying problem – you’ll lose air pressure and pay more to heat and cool the house.

We’ll tell you honestly which situation you’re in. We clean ducts and dryer vents; that’s what we do, and we won’t sell you a cleaning that won’t help. If the ducts need replacement, we’ll say so and point you in the right direction rather than take your money for a job that won’t hold.

One safety note worth raising while we’re on cost: if your dryer vent is clogged past the lint trap – lint that bypasses the trap and builds up in the line – that’s a genuine fire risk, not just an efficiency problem. A clogged dryer vent is one of the more common causes of house fires, and it’s the kind of thing a $150 cleaning catches before it becomes something far more expensive. If your dryer takes two cycles to dry a load or the exterior vent flap barely moves, get it looked at.

Why Kestrel Doesn’t Quote by Phone-and-Surprise

If you’ve had a bad experience with a home service company, the story is usually the same: the phone quote was one number, the door price was another. A “technician” arrives in an unmarked truck, looks at your system, and suddenly the job costs 60% more than you were told. Or nobody shows up in the window, and nobody calls. Or the work gets done, the invoice gets paid, and when something goes wrong three months later, the company is unreachable.

Kestrel exists as the alternative to that. Under the Kingswell Guarantee, every job includes a written price before work begins, a defined arrival window we commit to, a clean job site, and a written guarantee on the work. We answer the phone with a live person 24/7 – not a voicemail queue, not a call center script. A real conversation, any time.

The 365-Day Done Right Promise is the part most companies won’t put in writing: if the work falls short within the guarantee period, we come back and make it right at no charge. That includes a free second visit if a repair fails. It’s documented on every job, not extended as a courtesy at our discretion. The Kingswell Way values govern every visit – say the price, show up in the window we gave, leave the place cleaner, put the guarantee in writing, and come back if it fails.

Each Kestrel location is independently owned and operated under the Kingswell Guarantee, which is why the standard holds whether you’re in Los Angeles or anywhere else we operate.

FAQs - Air Duct Cleaning Cost in Los Angeles

How much does air duct cleaning cost in Los Angeles in 2026?

Most Los Angeles homeowners pay $350 to $700 for a standard whole-home cleaning, with a typical job landing near $475. For comparison, see how much air duct cleaning costs in Atlanta, GA. Larger homes, multi-zone systems, and heavy-contamination jobs run $800 to $1,400. Call (469) 972-3151 for an exact quote – estimates are free and the written price doesn’t change after we arrive.

Is it cheaper to clean my ducts or replace them?

Cleaning is almost always cheaper – typically $350 to $700 versus several thousand for full duct replacement. Cleaning is the right call when the ductwork is intact but dirty. Replacement makes sense only when the ducts are crushed, disconnected, or badly degraded. We’ll tell you which situation you’re in before you spend a dollar.

How often should ducts be cleaned in Los Angeles?

Every three to five years for most LA homes. If you have pets, allergies, or you’ve just finished a renovation, closer to every two to three years. Homes near wildfire zones or busy corridors may want it more often because smoke and outdoor particulate settle into the system faster. Call (469) 972-3151 and we’ll help you figure out the right interval for your home.

Do you charge extra for weekends or different LA neighborhoods?

No. The written price is the same whether it’s a Tuesday in Culver City or a Saturday in Pasadena. We don’t upcharge for the day of the week or the drive. Call (469) 972-3151 for a free estimate.

What’s included in the price – and what isn’t?

Standard pricing covers supply and return vents, the main trunk line, and the air handler area, using Rotobrush agitation, Nikro negative-pressure extraction, and Abatement Technologies HEPA filtration. Dryer vent cleaning is a separate service ($125 to $225) and filtration or IAQ product installs (Honeywell, Aprilaire, Guardsman) are optional add-ons. Everything is itemized in your written price before work begins. Call (469) 972-3151 to get your number.

Getting Your Exact Price

If you want a real number for your home rather than a range, that’s a quick phone call. Tell us your square footage and roughly how many vents you have, and we’ll give you a firm estimate on the spot. The written price comes before any work starts, and it stays put. If you want to see how we handle the full job from start to finish, start on our home page and go from there.

Call (469) 972-3151 for a free estimate. A live person answers, any time of day.

Pricing reflects the Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles since 2004.