Air Duct Cleaning in Palo Alto, CA

Often not. The original Eichler and Eichler-style homes here were built around in-slab radiant heating with no ductwork at all, so there's nothing for us to clean unless something was added later. What we do see constantly is retrofit work: ducted mini-split branches, or an air handler dropped into the low attic with flex runs feeding new registers. Those retrofits are what we service. If you're not sure what you have, look at your ceilings and walls for supply registers. If there are none and your floors warm up, you're on the original slab system. Send us a photo of the equipment and we'll tell you straight whether a cleaning makes sense or whether you'd be paying us for nothing.

This is the most common reason we get called in Palo Alto. Remodel and addition work is near constant here, and drywall sanding dust and demolition debris are fine enough to travel past plastic sheeting and settle deep in the supply runs. If the system ran at all during construction, or if registers were left open, that dust is in the trunk line and it will keep recirculating for months. Wait until the dusty phases are done (final sanding, flooring, paint), then have the system cleaned. Doing it mid-project means doing it twice.

Access, mostly. Postwar ranch homes south of Oregon Expressway typically run original galvanized duct through crawlspaces that are tight, and working a cleaning line through a low crawl takes longer than a job where everything's reachable from a standing attic. Older Spanish and Craftsman homes near downtown and Professorville are the other end. Ducts were usually added after the fact, so runs are odd, sometimes split between a basement and an attic, and register counts vary a lot house to house. Attic-mounted air handlers in retrofitted homes are usually the fastest. Count your registers and tell us whether the equipment is in the attic, crawlspace, or a closet, and we can give you a realistic figure over the phone before anyone comes out.

Usually within a few days for a standard scheduled cleaning. Spring through early summer is our busiest stretch locally, because oak, sycamore, and plane tree pollen off the street trees is heavy and homeowners notice it the same week. If you're calling in April or May, book a little further ahead. Post-remodel jobs we try to fit quickly, since most people are trying to move back in.