Question 1

How often should ducts in a Los Gatos house actually be cleaned?

Accepted Answer

Most homes here land somewhere in the three to seven year range, and the spread is real. A 1960s valley-floor ranch with a family, two dogs and a system that runs hard from June through September fills up faster than a downtown cottage that sits empty half the year. Wildfire years reset the clock on their own. After the 2020 CZU and SCU complexes put smoke over the whole area for weeks, we cleaned systems that had been done eighteen months prior. If you can't remember the last time anyone opened a supply register, it's been long enough to look. Call (408) 650-8498 for a same-day estimate.

Question 2

Walk me through what you actually do once you're inside.

Accepted Answer

First we open the system and look: air handler, plenum, a few registers, and the trunk line. Then we seal off every supply and return except the one we're working, hook a negative-air machine to the main trunk, and pull the whole system under vacuum. Rotating brushes and compressed-air whips go down each run to knock debris loose so the vacuum carries it out instead of pushing it into the room. We finish at the blower compartment and coil face, then show you the before-and-after on your phone. Call (408) 650-8498 for a same-day estimate.

Question 3

Should I plan on being home all afternoon?

Accepted Answer

A standard single-zone ranch with ten or twelve registers usually wraps in three to four hours. Hillside custom homes on steep lots run longer, often five or six, because multi-zone systems with long attic flex runs mean two air handlers and twice the register count. Pre-1940 downtown homes with retrofit ductwork in a tight crawlspace also add time, since every run has to be reached by hand. We give you a window when we arrive and tell you straight if we're running past it. Call (408) 650-8498 for a same-day estimate.

Question 4

Why would two houses on the same street get different numbers?

Accepted Answer

Register count is the biggest single factor, followed by how many separate systems feed the house. Access matters just as much: a 1950s ranch with an attic hatch and a walkable deck is quick, while a Craftsman bungalow with ductwork crammed into a two-foot crawlspace takes real labor. Hillside multi-zone homes carry two air handlers and long flex runs, close to double the work of a single-zone tract house. Heavy smoke loading or a coil packed solid also changes the scope, and we'll say so before we start rather than after. Call (408) 650-8498 for a same-day estimate.

Question 5

Do I need to clear rooms out, and how dirty does this get?

Accepted Answer

We handle the furniture that's in the way, usually a chair or a dresser sitting over a floor register. You don't need to empty rooms. Every register gets masked before the vacuum runs, the negative-air machine keeps debris moving toward the truck instead of into the house, and drop cloths go down at the air handler. The attic and crawlspace take the dirty end of the job, not your living room. Call (408) 650-8498 for a same-day estimate.

Question 6

My laundry room smells hot — is that the dryer or the furnace?

Accepted Answer

Look at where the symptom shows up. Clothes that need two cycles, a dryer cabinet too hot to touch, or lint around the exterior flap point at the dryer vent and nothing else. Dust settling on furniture days after you wipe it, weak airflow at bedroom registers, or a musty smell when the system kicks on points at the HVAC ducts. Older downtown homes often vent the dryer through a long crawlspace run with several elbows, which clogs fast and is worth checking on its own. Call (408) 650-8498 for a same-day estimate.

Question 7

Suppose there's mold growing in there. Then what?

Accepted Answer

We stop and show you. Photos, location, how far it runs. Light surface growth on sheet metal near a coil is common in homes where the summer marine layer pushes over the gap from the coast and condensation sits on cold ductwork, and that we can clean and treat with an EPA-registered antimicrobial. Growth soaked into flex duct insulation or spread across multiple runs is a replacement job, not a cleaning job, and we'll tell you that instead of selling you a service that won't fix it. If it needs independent testing, we say so and you hire that separately. Call (408) 650-8498 for a same-day estimate.

Question 8

Does the job include a new filter?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Putting a loaded filter back into a system we just cleaned makes no sense, so we install a fresh one in the standard sizes. We carry filters for Carrier, Trane, Lennox, Goodman, Rheem and American Standard units. If your air handler takes an odd-size media cabinet or a four-inch filter we don't have on the truck, we'll tell you the exact model number to order and show you how it seats. We also check that the filter slot actually seals, because a gap there lets attic dust bypass the filter completely. Call (408) 650-8498 for a same-day estimate.

Question 9

Can you get a truck out here today?

Accepted Answer

Often, yes. Call in the morning and there's a decent chance we have an opening the same day, especially for single-system homes on the valley floor. Late summer and the weeks following any wildfire smoke event book up fastest, so those days fill early. If today is full we'll give you the next real slot rather than a vague promise, and we'll tell you if the job needs a longer window than a same-day visit allows. Call (408) 650-8498 for a same-day estimate.

Question 10

How far out from Los Gatos do you travel?

Accepted Answer

Los Gatos sits at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains on the southwest edge of Santa Clara Valley, Santa Clara County, and we work that whole area. That covers downtown, the valley-floor neighborhoods, the hillside homes up toward Lexington Reservoir, and the Highway 17 corridor. We also run into Saratoga, Campbell, Monte Sereno and the surrounding Santa Clara County towns. Homes on steep access roads in the oak and chaparral hillsides are no problem; just mention the driveway when you call so we bring the right truck. Call (408) 650-8498 for a same-day estimate.

Air Duct Cleaning FAQ — Los Gatos, CA