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.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Air Duct Cleaning Across San Bruno
Air duct cleaning in San Bruno typically runs $350 – $650 for a full residential system, with most jobs completed in a single visit. We’re Hollis Air Duct Cleaning, and we’ve been working in San Bruno homes long enough to know what the marine layer does inside your walls. Our crews dispatch from the San Francisco Bay Area office and carry Rotobrush rotary systems and Nikro negative-air machines through neighborhoods from Crestmoor to Mills Estates to the original tract homes off San Bruno Avenue. If your vents smell musty or your allergies spike when the blower kicks on, call (361) 326-5060. We’ll show you what the camera sees before we quote a price.
Why Hollis Air Duct Cleaning Is San Bruno’s Preferred Air Duct Cleaning Company
We’ve cleaned ducts in San Bruno since before most of the current competitors opened their doors. Our Air Duct Cleaning team knows the difference between a 1952 galvanized run and a 2012 builder-grade flex system, and we price accordingly before any work starts.
Roy Castellanos built this operation on The Garrison Standard: written prices, written guarantees, and technicians who arrive inside the quoted window in uniform. Every San Bruno job carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If the work fails within a year, we return and make it right at no charge, including a free second visit.
Phones are answered by a live person 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No voicemail loops. No waiting until Monday to schedule.
Our background-checked technicians use equipment from Rotobrush, Nikro, and Abatement Technologies. We explain what each tool does and why it matters for your specific duct material, whether that’s original galvanized steel or post-rebuild flex.
Vent Cleaning in San Bruno
Vent Cleaning in San Bruno means more than brushing off register covers. Because the marine layer keeps humidity elevated year-round, your supply and return vents collect a sticky, salt-laden residue that dry-climate vacuums won’t pull free. We remove each register, agitate the duct throat with rotary brushes, and extract debris under negative pressure with HEPA filtration so nothing resetstles in your living room. A typical vent cleaning as part of a full San Bruno system runs $350 – $550.
Supply Vent Buildup
Supply vents push conditioned air into your rooms, but in San Bruno they also push out whatever the blower picked up from damp duct walls. We find pollen, skin cells, and mold spores coating the first three feet of most supply runs. Our techs brush that throat clean and seal any gaps where the boot meets drywall, stopping the blower from pulling attic or crawlspace air around the edges.
Return Vent Loading
Return vents act as the intake lungs of your system, and in San Bruno they pull in fog-laden air through undersized or poorly filtered grilles. We clean the return plenum and upgrade filtration where the system can handle it, using Aprilaire or Guardsman media that captures particles down to 3 microns without choking airflow.
Air Duct Repair in San Bruno
Air Duct Repair in San Bruno addresses what cleaning alone cannot fix. Decades of damp operation have left many original galvanized systems with crushed runs, disconnected branches, or rusted joints that leak conditioned air into walls and crawlspaces. Repair work ranges from $200 for simple reconnection and sealing to $1,200+ for replacing failed sections with properly sized flex or sheet metal. We always run a camera first so you see the damage before we quote.
Galvanized Duct Restoration
Original 1940s – 1960s galvanized ductwork in San Bruno tract homes often sits behind remodeled drywall with no access panels. We cut strategic access points, repair crushed sections with rigid metal where possible, and seal all joints with mastic and mesh. The goal is restoring airflow and stopping the blower from pulling unconditioned, musty air from your crawlspace.
Post-2010 Flex Duct Correction
Homes rebuilt after the 2010 pipeline explosion, particularly in Crestmoor and Mills Estates, were fitted with builder-grade flex duct that sags at low points and traps debris in standing water. We replace sagging runs with properly supported flex or upgrade to rigid duct where accessible, then balance airflow so every room receives its designed CFM.
Trusted Brands We Service in San Bruno
We stock parts and filtration products from Honeywell, Aprilaire, and Guardsman for San Bruno customers, which means faster turnaround when your system needs more than a cleaning. Our Rotobrush rotary brush systems and Nikro negative-air machines are the same tools commercial crews use in hospitals and schools, not hardware-store vacuums with extra hoses. If your San Bruno home has an Aprilaire media cleaner or a Honeywell electronic air cleaner, we service those units as part of the duct cleaning visit and can source replacement elements without a second trip. Abatement Technologies HEPA filtration runs on every job, capturing the mold spores and fine particulate that San Bruno’s damp climate generates.
Common Air Duct Cleaning Problems We See in San Bruno Homes
- Microbial growth in original galvanized runs. The marine layer keeps San Bruno’s 1950s ductwork damp enough for mold and mildew to colonize the interior seams. Surface cleaning misses this; camera inspection and agitation with HEPA extraction are required to pull it free.
- Sagging builder-grade flex in post-2010 rebuilds. Crestmoor and Mills Estates homes rebuilt after the pipeline explosion now have 10 – 15-year-old flex ducts that droop at low points, trapping fog-dampened debris that never dries and begins to smell.
- Disconnected branches behind remodeled walls. San Bruno’s post-WWII tract homes have seen multiple renovations. We’ve found flex branches completely separated from supply boots, dumping conditioned air into wall cavities while bedrooms go stale.
- Air handler contamination from delayed service. Because San Bruno’s mild climate never forces a heating or cooling shutdown, homeowners postpone duct cleaning until musty odor or allergy symptoms appear. By then, the blower motor and evaporator coil have already absorbed microbial growth from the ductwork.
Pricing for Air Duct Cleaning in San Bruno, CA
A typical full residential duct cleaning in San Bruno runs $350 – $650, depending on system size, duct material, and whether we find damage requiring repair. Commercial systems start around $800 and scale with square footage and access complexity. Here’s how San Bruno pricing breaks down:
| Service | Typical Range in San Bruno |
|---|---|
| Full residential system cleaning (up to 12 vents) | $350 – $550 |
| Full residential system cleaning (13 – 20 vents) | $500 – $650 |
| Dryer vent cleaning (add-on or standalone) | $125 – $225 |
| Duct repair / reconnection (per access point) | $200 – $400 |
| Sectional duct replacement with rigid metal | $600 – $1,200+ |
| Video inspection with written report | $150 – $250 (credited toward cleaning if scheduled) |
What moves the price: original galvanized ductwork takes longer to clean properly than modern flex; crushed or disconnected runs require access cuts and repair; homes with multiple HVAC zones add time and equipment. We write the price down before any work starts, and it does not move at the door. No per-vent add-ons. No equipment charges that appear after we arrive. Call (361) 326-5060 for a free estimate, or schedule a video inspection to see exactly what your system needs.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Bruno
Our crews work throughout the Peninsula and northern San Mateo County, including Air Duct Cleaning in San Bruno and neighboring Millbrae, South San Francisco, Pacifica, and Brisbane. Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from our San Francisco Bay Area office, with local crews serving each community.
Serving San Bruno, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Bruno area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Air Duct Cleaning in San Bruno
San Bruno’s persistent marine layer keeps relative humidity inside ductwork high enough for mold spores to germinate, while inland cities like San Jose or Walnut Creek see dry dust that brushes free easily. The salt-laden fog also leaves a hygroscopic residue that holds moisture against duct walls. If you smell mustiness when the blower starts, that’s microbial growth, not outside air. Call (361) 326-5060 and we’ll run a camera to show you where it’s living.
Builder-grade flex duct installed during post-2010 reconstruction was often hung without proper support straps, creating low points where debris and condensation collect. In San Bruno’s damp climate, those low points grow microbial colonies within 8 – 12 years. We find sagging flex and standing water in Crestmoor and Mills Estates homes regularly. A camera inspection reveals whether cleaning or replacement is the right fix. Call (361) 326-5060 to schedule.
Original galvanized ductwork can almost always be cleaned if the metal is intact and joints are accessible. We cut strategic access panels, agitate decades of buildup with rotary brushes, and extract under negative pressure. Replacement becomes necessary only when galvanized sections are rusted through, crushed beyond airflow recovery, or located in areas where repair costs exceed replacement. We show you the camera footage and quote both options before any work begins. Call (361) 326-5060 for a video inspection.
Yes. Every San Bruno job follows NADCA assessment and cleaning standards, including source-removal methods with contained agitation and HEPA-filtered negative-air collection. Our Abatement Technologies HEPA systems capture 99.97% of particles at 0.3 microns, which matters in San Bruno’s mold-prone environment. We provide before-and-after photos of your own ducts, not stock images. Call (361) 326-5060 to ask about our process in detail.
If the smell intensifies when your HVAC blower cycles on and fades when it shuts off, the source is inside your ductwork, not outside air. San Bruno’s fog doesn’t enter sealed, properly functioning ducts in concentrated bursts. We use a video scope to identify microbial growth, standing water, or disconnected runs pulling crawlspace air. The inspection runs $150 – $250 and is credited toward cleaning if you schedule service. Call (361) 326-5060 to book.
Written by Roy Castellanos, Owner at Hollis Air Duct Cleaning, serving San Bruno and the Bay Area since 2004.