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.
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AfterHow Much Does Air Duct Cleaning Cost in Houston?
Air duct cleaning in Houston typically runs $350 to $700 for a standard single-family home, with most homeowners landing near $450 to $550. Larger two-story homes, homes with multiple HVAC zones, and older properties with heavy buildup can push the job to $800 to $1,200. Dryer vent cleaning is separate and usually costs $125 to $250, while duct sealing runs $400 to $1,800 depending on the square footage and how much of the system has leaks.
We’re Hollis Air Duct Cleaning, offering our Air Duct Cleaning services as part of the Garrison Partners family and independently owned and operated here in the Houston market since 2004. If you’ve been quoted something wildly outside those ranges, either up or down, it’s worth understanding why before you book. A written price before any work starts is the standard we hold ourselves to, and it’s the one we’d want from any company working in your home.
Air Duct Cleaning Cost Breakdown (2026)
Here’s a straight look at what each part of the job costs in Houston in 2026. These ranges reflect real market pricing for professionally equipped crews, not the $99 teaser offers that get quoted on the phone and never survive the front-door walkthrough.
| Service | Typical Houston Price Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard single-system home (up to 2,000 sq ft) | $350 – $550 | Includes supply and return vents, main trunk lines |
| Larger home (2,000 – 3,500 sq ft) | $500 – $800 | Priced by vent count and system complexity |
| Two-story with dual HVAC systems | $700 – $1,200 | Second system roughly doubles labor |
| Additional vent beyond standard count | $15 – $30 per vent | Most homes have 12 to 20 vents |
| Dryer vent cleaning | $125 – $250 | Roof-terminated vents run toward the higher end |
| Duct sealing (mastic and mesh) | $400 – $1,800 | Priced by linear footage and access |
| Mold or microbial treatment | $300 – $900 add-on | Only after the source of moisture is fixed |
| Furnace and coil cleaning (add-on) | $150 – $350 | Often bundled with duct work |
The biggest swing factor is vent count, not square footage. A tightly built 1,900-square-foot home in Katy with 14 vents is a smaller job than a 1,700-square-foot bungalow in the Heights with 22 vents and a crawl-space trunk line. We count vents before we quote, which is why our price is written down before anyone opens a tool bag.
Does the Price Change Once the Technician Arrives?
Not with us. The price is written before work starts, and it does not move at the door. That’s the standard and we’ll say it plainly: the number you’re quoted is the number you pay. This matters more in Houston than in most markets because the city has a long history of bait-and-switch duct cleaning outfits that advertise $99, then find “mold,” “blockage,” or “contamination” the moment they’re inside your attic. By the time you’re standing in the hallway with a technician holding a flashlight, you’re negotiating under pressure. A written quote removes that entire problem.
If you’d like a straight number for your home, call (361) 326-5060 and we’ll give you a range on the phone and a written price before anyone touches your system.
What Affects Air Duct Cleaning Pricing in Houston
- Number of vents and trunk runs. Every supply and return vent adds time. Most Houston homes have 12 to 20; larger suburban homes in Sugar Land and Cypress often run 22 to 28.
- System count. Two-story homes here almost always run two separate HVAC systems. Each one is a full cleaning job on its own.
- Access and attic conditions. Houston attics hit 140 degrees in July and August, which slows work and means our crews rotate more often. Homes with attic-mounted units in older areas like Bellaire and Meyerland are tighter to work in than new construction in Bridgeland.
- Contamination level. Post-flood homes, homes near heavy construction in the Energy Corridor, and properties that have gone years without service carry more debris. That adds labor time, not a surprise fee.
- Duct material. Flexible duct (the silver slinky-looking stuff common in newer Houston builds) cleans differently than rigid metal duct found in 1960s and 70s homes. Flex duct takes longer and needs lower brush speeds.
- Add-on services. Duct sealing, coil cleaning, and microbial treatment are priced separately because they’re separate jobs. We don’t fold them in to pad a number.
Why Houston Homes Need Duct Cleaning More Often Than Most
Houston’s climate is the reason. The average relative humidity here sits in the 70s for much of the year, and that moisture doesn’t stay outside. It rides through your return air, condenses on cold coil surfaces, and leaves the interior of your ductwork damp for months. Damp ductwork grows things. We see it in the field constantly: homes in the Heights and Garden Oaks where the coil pan has been slowly overflowing into the plenum for two summers, and by the time the homeowner calls, there’s visible growth on the interior duct liner.
On top of that, Houston pollen season runs nearly year-round. Oak dumps in late winter, grass pollen in spring, and mold spores spike after every rain event. A home with a 1-inch filter running 10 to 12 months of cooling a year (typical here) will load that filter in 30 to 45 days. When the filter loads, dust bypasses it and coats the evaporator coil and the supply trunk. Once that layer sets, no filter change will remove it.
Our equipment handles this specifically: Rotobrush rotary brush systems to agitate debris off duct walls, Nikro negative-air machines to pull that debris out of the system and into a HEPA-filtered containment rather than into your living room, and filtration products from Honeywell, Aprilaire, Abatement Technologies, and Guardsman depending on what your system can support. This is commercial-grade equipment, not the shop-vac-and-a-hose setup some crews show up with.
How to Save on Air Duct Cleaning in Houston
There are legitimate ways to lower your bill. None of them involve hiring the cheapest bid on the phone.
- Clean the coil at the same time as the ducts. Bundling saves $75 to $150 compared to scheduling them separately, and on a Houston system the coil is usually dirtier than the ducts anyway.
- Do dryer vent cleaning on the same visit. It’s a small add-on when the crew is already on site, and Houston’s humidity keeps dryer vent lint damp and sticky, which is exactly the condition that causes vent fires.
- Check your filter size before you call. If you’re running a 1-inch filter, moving to a 4-inch media cabinet (Aprilaire and Honeywell both make them) will cut how often the ducts need cleaning. That’s a real dollar difference over five years.
- Fix leaks before you clean. If your ducts leak 25 percent of your conditioned air into the attic, you’re paying to cool a Houston attic. Sealing first, cleaning second, is the right order of operations and we’ll tell you if that’s your situation.
- Ask for the estimate in writing before booking. Free estimates are standard with us. Call (361) 326-5060 and we’ll walk through your home’s details and give you a real number.
Is It Cheaper to Repair or Replace Ductwork?
Repair almost always wins in Houston unless the duct system is failing in multiple places at once. Duct sealing on a typical single-system home runs $400 to $900, while full duct replacement often lands between $2,500 and $6,000 once you account for labor, materials, and attic access. The judgment call is really about condition: if the flex duct in your 2010-built home in Katy has a few disconnected joints in the attic, sealing is the answer. If the duct system is from 1985, crumbling at every joint, and has collapsed runs, replacement is the honest recommendation.
We’ll tell you which one you’re looking at before you commit to either. That’s not a sales position, it’s a math position.
What Does the 365-Day Done Right Promise Actually Cover?
Every job we complete is covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. If the work fails within a year, we come back and make it right at no charge, including a second visit if that’s what it takes. That’s not a vague “satisfaction guarantee.” It’s a written commitment tied to a specific job with a specific date, and it covers the duct cleaning, the dryer vent work, and the duct sealing.
What usually fails on a duct cleaning job is a joint we cleaned and resealed that reopens, or a flex duct connection that wasn’t holding to begin with. Those are the calls we get, and they’re the calls we handle without argument. The promise is the reason we can tell you to hold us to the standard we set.
Why We Quote in Writing and Show Up Uniformed
Two things go wrong most often in this trade: the price changes once the crew is inside, and nobody knows who’s in the house. We built our process around eliminating both. Technicians are background-checked and arrive uniformed, so you know exactly who is walking into your home before they ring the bell. Prices are written before any tool is unpacked. Phones are answered by a live person 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so you’re never stuck in a voicemail loop waiting to hear back on a Monday.
Every location under the Garrison Partners family is independently owned and operated under The Garrison Standard, which requires showing up inside the quoted window, pricing in writing, doing the job by the book, and leaving the site clean. Our crews work to that standard on every Houston job, whether it’s a 1,400-square-foot townhome in Midtown or a 4,000-square-foot house out in Fulshear.
FAQs – Air Duct Cleaning Cost
How much does air duct cleaning cost in Houston?
Air duct cleaning in Houston costs $350 to $700 for most single-family homes, with larger or dual-system homes running $700 to $1,200, similar to How Much Does Air Duct Cleaning Cost in Long Beach, CA? (2026 Price Guide). The exact number depends on vent count, system count, and whether add-ons like coil cleaning or duct sealing are included. Call (361) 326-5060 for a free estimate written for your specific home.
Is $99 air duct cleaning in Houston a real price?
No. A $99 duct cleaning ad in Houston is a door-opener, not a real service price. Once the technician is inside, the price typically jumps by $500 or more after they “discover” mold, blockage, or contamination that wasn’t mentioned on the phone. Legitimate jobs in this market start around $350. Call (361) 326-5060 for a written price that holds.
How often should Houston homeowners get their air ducts cleaned?
Every 3 to 5 years for most Houston homes, and every 2 to 3 years if you have pets, allergies, or live near heavy construction or one of the region’s flood-prone areas. Houston’s humidity and year-round pollen push the schedule tighter than the national average. If it’s been more than five years since your last cleaning, call (361) 326-5060 and we’ll tell you honestly whether you need one now.
Does duct cleaning lower my Houston energy bill?
It can lower it by 10 to 20 percent if your ducts are heavily restricted or leaking, but not by more than that from cleaning alone. Cleaning removes the airflow restriction; sealing closes the leaks. In Houston, where AC runs 10 to 12 months a year, sealing typically saves more than cleaning. A free estimate will tell you which one your system needs. Call (361) 326-5060.
Can you come today?
Same-day availability in Houston is common for us, and our phones are answered by a live person 24/7, so you can call at any hour. Emergency dryer vent situations and post-renovation cleanups get priority. Call (361) 326-5060 and we’ll tell you what’s open today or tomorrow.
Do you bring equipment or do I need to provide anything?
We bring everything. Our trucks carry Rotobrush rotary brush systems, Nikro negative-air machines, and filtration products from Honeywell, Aprilaire, Abatement Technologies, and Guardsman. You don’t need to supply a shop vac or move anything beyond clearing access to the attic and the vents. Call (361) 326-5060 if you have questions about access in your specific home.
Contact Hollis Air Duct Cleaning
If you want a Houston air duct cleaning price you can trust before anyone knocks on your door, call us at (361) 326-5060. Estimates are free, prices are written before work starts, and every job is backed by the 365-Day Done Right Promise in writing. Whether you’re in the Heights, Katy, Sugar Land, Cypress, Pearland, or anywhere else in the Houston area, we’ll give you a real number and a crew that shows up uniformed and on time. A clean duct system and an honest price shouldn’t be a gamble. Call today.
Pricing reflects the Houston market as of 2026. Hollis Air Duct Cleaning offers free estimates – call (361) 326-5060.
Written by Roy Castellanos, Owner at Hollis Air Duct Cleaning, serving Houston since 2004.
What Our Customers Say
"No sales pitch. Told me which parts of the system were fine and only cleaned what needed it."
- Ted L."They checked each section with a camera and showed me the dust before and after. Thorough and honest."
- Nicole H."Duct sealing along with the cleaning cut our summer bill. Straight talk and fair price."
- Gwen O.