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 Somerville
Air duct cleaning in Somerville typically runs $350 – $650 for a full residential system and $800 – $2,400 for commercial jobs, with most homes completed in a single visit. Hollis Air Duct Cleaning dispatches crews to Somerville from our Boston office, and we know the city’s triple-deckers, its 1920s gravity-furnace retrofits, and the shared duct chases that trip up less experienced technicians. Call (361) 326-5060 for a free written estimate.
We’ve been working in Somerville long enough to recognize the patterns: the asbestos-wrapped ducts in Winter Hill basements, the flex-duct add-ons in Union Square renovations, the original round metal runs hidden behind plaster in East Somerville. Each neighborhood has its own ductwork fingerprint, and each requires a different approach. Our Air Duct Cleaning team shows up with Rotobrush rotary systems and Nikro negative-air machines, not shop vacs with extra hose.
Why Hollis Air Duct Cleaning Is Somerville’s Preferred Air Duct Cleaning Company
Somerville homeowners don’t hire us because we’re the cheapest. They hire us because we’re the most predictable. Every Hollis job starts with a written price that doesn’t move once the technician walks through the door, and every job ends with a 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 free second visit.
Our technicians are background-checked and uniformed, and they operate under The Garrison Standard, which means arriving inside the quoted window, pricing in writing before touching equipment, completing the job by the book, and leaving the site clean. Phones are answered by a live person 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No voicemail loops. No callback queues.
We coordinate dispatch and scheduling from our Boston office, but our crews serve Somerville locally and understand the specific challenges of its housing stock. That matters when you’re dealing with a triple-decker on Highland Avenue where three units share a single return chase.
Residential Air Duct Cleaning in Somerville
Residential Air Duct Cleaning in Somerville means working inside homes built mostly between 1880 and 1930, with ductwork that can span four material generations in a single system. We clean supply ducts, return ducts, and the full trunk line using a rotary brush system that loosens debris from the duct walls, paired with a negative-air HEPA vacuum that pulls it out of the house entirely. A typical single-family or condo unit in Somerville runs $350 – $650; a full triple-decker, when all three units are scheduled together, typically runs $900 – $1,800 depending on access and condition.
Supply and Return Duct Cleaning
Supply ducts push conditioned air into your rooms. Return ducts pull air back to the furnace or air handler. In Somerville’s older homes, these two systems often have different problems: supplies get clogged with dust and pet hair at the register end, while returns collect decades of debris where they pass through unheated basements or attics. We clean both, and we inspect the junctions where they meet the main trunk. That’s where we often find disconnected runs or crushed flex duct from a 1990s retrofit.
Video Inspection Before and After
We run a camera through the system before we start and again when we’re done. You see what we see: the buildup before, the clean metal after. In Somerville, this often reveals surprises – a dead section of original 1920s duct that was capped but never removed, or a rodent entry point in a basement penetration. The video becomes part of your job record, and it shows you exactly what you’re paying for.
Commercial Air Duct Cleaning in Somerville
Commercial Air Duct Cleaning in Somerville covers the restaurants along Assembly Row, the medical offices near Porter Square, the converted mill buildings, and the multi-unit retail spaces that dot Broadway and McGrath Highway. These systems are larger, more complex, and subject to heavier use than residential ductwork. A typical commercial job in Somerville runs $800 – $2,400 depending on square footage, system accessibility, and whether the building requires after-hours scheduling.
Full System Cleaning and Maintenance Plans
Commercial HVAC in Somerville often runs 12 to 16 hours a day, six or seven days a week. That volume moves debris through the system faster and wears on components. Our full system cleaning includes all supply and return trunks, branch lines, registers, grilles, and the air handler cabinet. We can set up quarterly or semi-annual maintenance plans for restaurants and high-traffic spaces that need more frequent attention.
Code Compliance and Documentation
Somerville’s commercial buildings fall under state and local fire and health codes that require documented duct maintenance, especially for kitchen exhaust and dryer vent systems. We provide written reports with before-and-after photos, equipment logs, and certification of completion. If your insurance carrier or the city inspector asks for proof, you have it.
Trusted Brands We Service in Somerville
Hollis crews carry professional-grade equipment from Rotobrush, Nikro, and Abatement Technologies, and we stock filtration products from Honeywell, Aprilaire, and Guardsman. For Somerville homeowners with older systems, this matters because we can often replace a damaged register boot or upgrade a standard filter to a higher-efficiency model during the same visit, without a second trip. We don’t show up hoping the hardware store on Broadway has what we need. We bring it.
Common Air Duct Cleaning Problems We See in Somerville Homes
- Shared return chases in triple-deckers. In Somerville’s three-unit buildings, the return ducts for all three apartments often run through a common chase in the party wall. Cleaning one unit without coordinating the other two can pull debris into a neighbor’s system, which is why we schedule all three units together or seal the chase temporarily.
- Original 1920s round metal ductwork with interior rust. The freeze-thaw cycles in Somerville’s unheated attics loosen joints and let moisture in, which rusts the inside of original metal ducts. High-pressure air alone flakes this rust and blows it into living spaces. We use rotary brush agitation with controlled negative pressure to remove it without aerosolizing it.
- Asbestos-wrapped ducts in basements. Many Somerville homes still have asbestos paper or tape on basement duct runs. We do not disturb asbestos-containing material. If we encounter it, we stop, document the location, and recommend a licensed abatement contractor before proceeding with cleaning.
- Disconnected or crushed flex-duct retrofits. Somerville’s 1980s and 1990s central-air retrofits often used flex duct run through tight wall cavities. Over decades, these get crushed by settling or damaged by rodents. We find these during camera inspection and can often repair or replace the damaged section with proper duct sealing mastic.
Pricing for Air Duct Cleaning in Somerville, MA
Here’s what air duct cleaning costs in Somerville’s market, based on the jobs we’ve completed in the last two years:
| Service | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Single-family or condo, full system | $350 – $650 |
| Triple-decker, one unit only | $350 – $550 |
| Triple-decker, all three units (recommended) | $900 – $1,800 |
| Commercial, small retail or office | $800 – $1,400 |
| Commercial, restaurant or large space | $1,200 – $2,400 |
| Video inspection add-on | $75 – $150 |
| Duct sealing (mastic, per system) | $200 – $500 |
What moves the price: accessibility (crawl space vs. full basement), the amount of debris, whether we find damage that needs repair, and whether asbestos is present. We give you a written price before any work starts. That price does not change at the door. Call (361) 326-5060 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Somerville
Hollis provides Air Duct Cleaning in Somerville and dispatches to Cambridge, Medford, Boston, and Everett. Each city has its own housing stock and its own ductwork patterns, and our crews are trained to recognize the difference between a Cambridge Victorian and a Somerville triple-decker before they open the basement door.
Serving Somerville, MA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Somerville 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 Somerville
Yes, or you risk pulling debris into your neighbors’ systems and getting called back. We got called to a three-family on Highland Avenue after the middle-floor tenant kept getting dust puffs from her registers every time the first-floor neighbors ran their heat. A camera inspection showed all three returns tied into one chase in the party wall, with a crushed 1920s round metal run off the original gravity furnace and rodent debris pushed up from the basement. We set up negative pressure on one unit at a time, ran agitation tools through the shared chase, source-removed about two grocery bags of debris, then sealed the crushed joint and foamed the party-wall penetrations so cross-contamination stopped. Call (361) 326-5060 to schedule all three units together.
Yes, but it requires the right equipment and technique, not high-pressure air alone. Original metal ducts in Somerville homes often have interior rust from decades of moisture in unheated basements and attics. We use a Rotobrush rotary system with soft bristles to loosen debris, paired with Nikro negative-air HEPA vacuuming to pull it out of the house. The brush scrubs; the vacuum captures. No aerosolized rust, no dust pushed into your living room. Call (361) 326-5060 and we’ll show you the video.
Because the real problem wasn’t the ducts alone. Somerville’s cold, humid winters and hot, humid summers mean HVAC systems work overtime, and the freeze-thaw cycles in unheated attics loosen duct joints. If a cleaner ignored those attic and basement runs, your system is pulling cold, dusty outdoor air through gaps in the ductwork and distributing it through your registers. The ducts were cleaned; the envelope wasn’t sealed. We check for this during every job and can apply duct sealing mastic to close the gaps. Call (361) 326-5060 for an inspection.
We do not disturb asbestos-containing material. If we encounter asbestos paper, tape, or insulation on your ducts, we stop work in that area, document the location with photos, and recommend a licensed Massachusetts abatement contractor. Once the asbestos is properly removed by a certified professional, we return to complete the cleaning at no additional trip charge. Call (361) 326-5060 and we’ll inspect first to identify any asbestos before we quote the full job.
We seal the shared chase or schedule all three units for the same day. In Somerville’s triple-deckers, the party-wall return chase is the highway between units. If we clean Unit 1 while Units 2 and 3 are occupied and running, the negative pressure we create can pull debris through gaps in the chase and into their systems. Our standard practice is to coordinate with all three units, set up temporary blocking in the chase, or clean all three in sequence with HEPA containment. It’s more work upfront. It eliminates callbacks. Call (361) 326-5060 to discuss your building’s layout.
Ready to see what’s inside your ducts? Call Hollis Air Duct Cleaning at (361) 326-5060 for a free written estimate. We’ll show up in the window we promised, price the job in writing before we start, and leave your Somerville home with clean ducts and a 365-Day Done Right Promise in hand.
Written by Roy Castellanos, Owner at Hollis Air Duct Cleaning, serving Somerville and the greater Boston area since 2004.