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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AfterFast, Reliable Air Duct Cleaning Across Cambridge
Air duct cleaning in Cambridge, MA typically runs $450 – $850 for a whole-home system and takes three to five hours from arrival to final walkthrough. Most Cambridge homeowners schedule during shoulder seasons when HVAC demand drops, though we work year-round because Cambridge’s climate doesn’t give ducts much downtime.
We’re Hollis Air Duct Cleaning, part of the Garrison Partners family, and our Air Duct Cleaning in Cambridge crews know this city’s housing stock inside out. Dispatch and scheduling run from our Boston office, but the technicians who arrive at your door live and work in the metro area. They understand what a triple-decker in Cambridgeport demands versus a gut-renovated Victorian near Harvard Square or a sealed high-rise by Kendall. That local knowledge matters because Cambridge’s buildings don’t all get the same fix. Call (361) 326-5060 for a free estimate with a written price before any work starts.
Why Hollis Air Duct Cleaning Is Cambridge’s Preferred Air Duct Cleaning Company
We’ve been in business since 2004, and our 365-Day Done Right Promise covers every job in writing. If the work fails within a year, we return and make it right at no charge, including a free second visit. That guarantee outlasts most competitors in this trade.
Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed, and they arrive inside the quoted window. The price is written down before any equipment touches your system. No estimates that balloon once we’re inside. That’s The Garrison Standard, and it applies to every Cambridge job we take.
Phones are answered by a live person 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No voicemail loops, no callback queues, no waiting until Monday when your ducts are blowing dust into a child’s bedroom.
We use professional-grade equipment: Rotobrush rotary brush systems, Nikro negative-air machines, and filtration products from Honeywell, Aprilaire, and Abatement Technologies. These are the same tools commercial crews use, not hardware-store gear, and we explain what each one does for your specific system before we start.
Vent Cleaning in Cambridge
Vent Cleaning in Cambridge means more than brushing off register covers. In this city, supply vents in older homes often sit at the end of short duct runs installed during mid-century conversions, while return vents in triple-deckers may serve multiple units through shared plenums. We remove each vent cover, clean the boot and first few feet of duct behind it, and inspect with a camera for crushed runs or disconnected seams. A typical vent cleaning as part of a whole-system job in Cambridge runs $450 – $850; standalone vent cleaning for a single problematic register starts around $150.
Supply Vent Cleaning
Supply vents push conditioned air into your rooms. In Cambridge’s Victorian homes, we often find supply boots packed with plaster dust from decades-old renovations, or new covers installed over original openings that were never properly sealed. We clean the boot, the damper, and the visible duct run, then check airflow with an anemometer. If the reading’s low, we camera the line to find the obstruction.
Return Vent Cleaning
Return vents pull air back to the handler. They’re the dirtiest points in most Cambridge systems because they act as the building’s vacuum inlet. In shared triple-decker systems, return vents on lower floors often draw dust from upper units. We clean the grille, the filter rack, and the return trunk, then document pressure differential before and after.
Air Duct Repair in Cambridge
Air Duct Repair in Cambridge frequently turns out to be the real need behind a cleaning call. This city’s housing stock hides original 1920s ductwork behind walls that have been opened and closed multiple times. We find crushed flex duct, disconnected metal runs, and seams that have separated where vibration wore through the fasteners. A standard clean without addressing these failures leaves you with polished ducts that still leak 30% of your conditioned air. Air duct repair in Cambridge typically runs $350 – $750 for sealing and minor reconnection, or $800 – $1,400 if we need to replace crushed or inaccessible sections.
Camera Inspection and Leak Detection
We feed a borescope through the duct system before we quote repair work. In a recent job near Inman Square, the camera revealed a supply trunk that had been partially crushed during a 1980s basement renovation, reducing airflow to two bedrooms by half. The homeowner had been told for years that the rooms were just “hard to heat.”
Duct Sealing and Reconnection
Once we identify the failure, we seal with mastic or replace damaged sections with properly sized duct. We pressure-test after repair to confirm the fix. Our written price covers the complete repair, not a per-foot add-on that grows at the door.
Trusted Brands We Service in Cambridge
We clean and service ductwork connected to equipment from every major manufacturer, and we stock filtration products from Honeywell, Aprilaire, and Abatement Technologies for Cambridge customers who want to upgrade while we’re on site. Our Nikro negative-air machines and Rotobrush rotary systems handle the physical cleaning; the filtration upgrades keep the system cleaner longer. Most Cambridge jobs that include a filter upgrade turn around same-day because we carry the common sizes. For specialized high-rise systems near Kendall or MIT, we coordinate parts through our Boston office with next-day availability on most items.
Common Air Duct Cleaning Problems We See in Cambridge Homes
- Crushed original ductwork behind renovated walls. In Cambridge’s older homes, original 1920s metal ductwork often gets crushed against joists during basement or kitchen renovations. Homeowners notice weak airflow to certain rooms, but a standard vent cleaning won’t find the problem without camera inspection.
- Cross-unit contamination in shared triple-decker systems. In Cambridgeport and Inman Square, many triple-deckers share a single HVAC system across three units. Cleaning only one unit’s registers without sealing shared runs just moves dust between floors, and tenants on different levels may disagree about who should pay.
- Moisture and mold in poorly insulated duct runs. Cambridge’s cold, humid winters and hot, humid summers cause condensation in ductwork that passes through unconditioned spaces. We find mold growth in basements and crawl spaces where insulation has fallen away or was never installed.
- Disconnected seams from decades of vibration. Original ductwork in Victorian and early-20th-century homes was fastened with methods that loosen over time. We find supply and return trunks leaking conditioned air into wall cavities, driving up utility bills and making rooms uncomfortable.
Pricing for Air Duct Cleaning in Cambridge, MA
Whole-system air duct cleaning in Cambridge runs $450 – $850 for a typical single-family or condo unit, depending on system size, accessibility, and contamination level. Triple-deckers with shared systems start higher because we coordinate multiple units and often find repair needs that a single-unit job doesn’t present. Air duct repair, when needed, adds $350 – $750 for sealing and reconnection, or $800 – $1,400 for section replacement.
What moves the price: number of supply and return vents, whether the system includes a main trunk and multiple branches or just short runs to a few rooms, presence of mold requiring source removal beyond standard cleaning, and accessibility (crawl spaces, finished basements, or locked utility rooms in condo buildings). We give one flat price per system, agreed in writing before work starts. No per-vent pricing, no add-ons at the door. Every Cambridge job includes before-and-after photos of your own ducts, so you see what was there and what we removed. Call (361) 326-5060 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Cambridge
Our crews work throughout the metro area, including Cambridge, Somerville, Belmont, Medford, and Boston. We understand the building stock and HVAC conventions in each community, from Somerville’s similar triple-decker density to Boston’s high-rise mechanical systems. Scheduling is coordinated from our Boston office with local crews dispatched to your area.
Serving Cambridge, MA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Cambridge 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 Cambridge
We coordinate with all tenants or the property manager to access each unit, then clean and inspect the shared trunk and individual branches. In Cambridgeport and Inman Square, we’ve found that original 1920s ductwork in these buildings has often never been cleaned despite repeated unit renovations. We document findings with video and provide a single written quote for the full system, since cleaning only one unit’s registers without addressing shared runs just moves dust between floors. Call (361) 326-5060 to schedule a camera inspection.
Yes, original metal ductwork can almost always be cleaned, and in Cambridge it’s often worth repairing rather than replacing. We camera-inspect first to find crushed sections, disconnected seams, or areas where renovation work damaged the original runs. In a recent Cambridgeport job, we found a crushed return duct and a disconnected supply run behind a finished wall; after repair and source removal, the system performed better than it had in decades. The 365-Day Done Right Promise covers our repair work if anything fails within a year. Call (361) 326-5060 for a free estimate.
Cambridge’s cold, humid winters and hot, humid summers mean HVAC systems run heavily year-round, pulling moisture through ducts. When that moisture condenses in poorly insulated runs, especially in older buildings with basement or crawl-space ductwork, mold colonizes the organic dust layer inside. Standard vacuuming doesn’t fix the underlying moisture problem. We perform source removal with HEPA filtration, then identify and seal the insulation or condensation issues that let moisture in. Call (361) 326-5060 to stop the cycle.
Yes, our source-removal methods meet NADCA guidelines: we use negative-air machines to maintain continuous suction during cleaning, contain debris with HEPA filtration, and protect furnishings and finished surfaces. We document the work with before-and-after photos of your ducts, not stock images. The Garrison Standard requires completing the job by the book and leaving the site clean, which aligns with NADCA’s emphasis on containment and verification. Call (361) 326-5060 to discuss your specific system.
Every three to five years for most Cambridge homes, sooner if you have pets, recent construction, or occupants with allergies or respiratory conditions. Heavy year-round use accelerates accumulation, especially in older buildings where original ductwork has rough interior surfaces that trap debris. Homes with shared triple-decker systems or original 1920s ductwork may need more frequent inspection because decades of buildup and physical damage compound faster than in newer construction. We recommend a camera inspection every two years for these properties. Call (361) 326-5060 to schedule.
Ready to see what’s inside your ducts? Call Hollis Air Duct Cleaning at (361) 326-5060 for a free estimate with a written price before any work starts. Our background-checked, uniformed technicians serve Cambridge with professional-grade equipment and a 365-Day Done Right Promise backed in writing on every job.
Written by Roy Castellanos, Owner at Hollis Air Duct Cleaning, serving Cambridge as part of the Garrison Partners family since 2004.