What Should Duct Cleaning Cost?

One of the biggest questions a homeowner has when they are considering whether or not to have their ductwork cleaned is always the cost. Understandably, you want to make sure that your hard-earned money is being well-spent and that you aren’t overpaying. But in the duct cleaning industry, costs can vary widely depending on which company you call and a number of other factors. So how will you know whether the asking price is reasonable?

Here’s everything you need to know to make an informed decision: 

Scammers vs. Legitimate Companies’ Pricing

If you spend any time pricing duct cleaning at different companies you will soon see that there are many advertising that they charge $99 to clean your entire home and then there are companies whose pricing starts at hundreds of dollars and goes up from there. And there isn’t much in between. Why the difference?

Because unfortunately, many of the companies saying that they can clean all of your home’s air ducts for $99 are being dishonest. In our industry, we call these “blow and go” companies. They come in, blow some air through your ducts with sub-par equipment, spend only about an hour in your home, and then tack on a bunch of hidden costs after the fact, routinely bringing their bills up into the thousands of dollars for even the smallest homes. About 99% of the time, your ductwork is not clean after these guys finish and you’ve spent a lot more than anticipated, too.

Legitimate duct cleaners typically start their services at a few hundred dollars for small homes and apartments and can go into the thousands for larger homes or commercial buildings. Remember that old saying: “If it sounds too good to be true, it is”? Well, it definitely applies here folks, because $99 is too good to be true.

Home Size

With any legitimate duct cleaning company, the size of your home and your HVAC system will affect the total price you pay. It only makes sense that homes with more vents and cold air returns (or even multiple furnaces) would have to pay more because there’s more to clean!

Regardless of what size your home is, your best bet is to know how many HVAC units you have, how many rooms you have, and how many vents (both heat and cold air returns) you have so that regardless of how the company determines pricing you will be able to get a firm estimate over the phone. 

Region/Cost of Living

The cost of living and of doing business varies widely in different regions across the country. Accordingly, you can expect the price of duct cleaning services to vary depending on where you live.

Your best bet is to call around. Once you’ve ruled out the less reputable companies charging laughably low prices, you can look at the list of companies that are left. The National Air Duct Cleaning Association says that reputable companies typically charge somewhere between $450 – $1,000 depending on a variety of factors. This may range somewhat lower or higher depending on where you live, but as long as they are close to this range you are probably free to make your choice by considering reviews, testimonials, services provided, availability, and any other factors that matter to you. 

What’s our pricing?

If you are in the Greater Cincinnati area, we hope that we can gain your business. Our pricing is competitive and fairly straightforward (you can actually see it on our website along with a description of our cleaning process here).

               

The base price is $425.00 for the first 10 or less vents, and $20.00 for each additional vent over the first 10. 

For example, if you have 11 vents, the price would be $445.00, if you have 12 vents, it would be $465.00 and so on.

If you have multiple systems they will be $150.00 per system

Count both your heat/air vents and your returns.  Your vent count is a total of every opening. 

Please note that if you are in Ohio or Kentucky, we also have to add sales tax.

If you’d like to schedule a duct cleaning appointment for your own home and are in the Cincinnati area, please call us today at (513)737-3200!