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
AfterHow Much Does HVAC Cleaning Cost in Los Angeles?
Whole-home HVAC and air duct cleaning in Los Angeles typically runs $450 to $900 for a standard single-family house, with most jobs landing near $550 to $700. Condos and smaller units under 1,200 square feet often come in at $350 to $500, while larger homes in the hills with two or more systems can reach $1,200 to $2,000. The price depends on square footage, how many air handlers you have, and how much debris has built up since the last cleaning.
We write the number down before any work starts, and it doesn’t move once the technician is inside. That’s how HVAC cleaning in Los Angeles should work: priced up front, done by the book, and covered in writing.
HVAC Cleaning Cost Breakdown (2026)
Here’s what homeowners across Los Angeles are paying this year. These ranges cover labor, equipment, and standard supplies. Any add-on is quoted separately, in writing, before we connect a single hose.
| Service | Typical LA Price (2026) | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Air duct cleaning, single system | $450 – $700 | Supply and return ducts, vents, registers, one air handler |
| Air duct cleaning, two systems | $800 – $1,200 | Same scope across two air handlers |
| HVAC unit / coil cleaning | $150 – $350 | Evaporator coil, blower, drain pan, cabinet interior |
| Dryer vent cleaning | $125 – $250 | Full-length vent, lint trap housing, exterior termination |
| Duct sealing (mastic) | $400 – $900 | Sealing accessible joints and leaks with duct mastic |
| Sanitizing / antimicrobial fogging | $100 – $250 | Optional treatment after cleaning, per system |
| Filter upgrade (Honeywell / Aprilaire) | $60 – $200 + install | Better filtration media than hardware-store panels |
| Before/after camera inspection | $0 – $125 | Interior video of duct runs (often included) |
Most Los Angeles homeowners we work with fall into the $550 to $700 band. A Sherman Oaks house with one system and decent filter habits sits at the low end. A 1960s ranch in Woodland Hills with original flex duct and a second system added for the converted garage pushes toward the top. Add-ons matter too: sealing leaky joints in an older attic crawlspace usually adds $300 to $600, and it’s often worth it because unsealed ducts in a hot attic lose a real percentage of the air you already paid to cool.
What pushes the price up
- Number of systems. Each additional air handler is roughly $350 to $500 in labor and equipment time.
- Home size. Square footage drives duct run length, vent count, and how many hoses we run.
- Age and condition of ductwork. Cloth-lined or crumbling flex duct from the 1970s and 80s takes longer and sometimes can’t be cleaned safely at all.
- Access. Attics and crawlspaces with tight clearance slow the job down. Two-story homes with vaulted ceilings add ladder and reach time.
- Contamination level. Smoke, pet dander, rodent debris, or post-renovation drywall dust require a heavier pass.
- Extra service. Coil cleaning, duct sealing, and dryer vent cleaning are priced separately.
What keeps the price down
Regular maintenance. A home cleaned every three to four years stays close to the base range because the debris load is light. One that hasn’t been touched since the early 2000s or has been through a remodel is a different job. When you call, we ask about square footage, system count, and whether there’s been recent construction. That’s how the written price lands close to what you actually pay.
What Affects HVAC Cleaning Pricing in Los Angeles
LA isn’t like most markets, and a few local realities move the number more than they would in a smaller city.
- Wildfire season and ash. After a bad fire year, homes from the San Fernando Valley to the foothill neighborhoods in Altadena and La Cañada see fine ash pulled into return ducts. That sediment settles deep and requires slower passes with negative-air equipment, which adds time to the job.
- Marine layer humidity and dust. The coastal climate from Santa Monica through the South Bay means more airborne dust and pollen cycling through filtration, so ducts load up faster than in drier inland markets.
- Old housing stock. A lot of LA homes date to the 1920s through the 1960s. Original ductwork in these houses is often undersized by today’s standards, which means more cleaning passes to reach the same standard.
- Attic and crawlspace heat. Inland and valley homes bake their attic ducts at 130 to 150 degrees in summer. Heat degrades flex duct and loosens joints, and loose joints mean leaks we should seal while we’re there, which is a separate line item.
- Multi-system homes. Zoned systems and additions with their own air handlers are common in LA. Each one is priced individually.
- Parking and access windows. In dense neighborhoods like Koreatown or the Fairfax District, scheduling and equipment staging take longer. We quote around the window, not through it.
If your home has ever had rodent activity in the attic – common in hillside neighborhoods – expect the technician to flag contaminated runs. Those aren’t a price-gouge opportunity; they’re a safety issue, and we’ll show you the camera footage before recommending anything.
How to Save on HVAC Cleaning
The honest answer: clean on a schedule, not on a crisis. A duct cleaning every three to four years costs less over a decade than one emergency cleaning after rodents, smoke, or a failed filter has pushed debris through the whole system.
- Bundle services. Adding dryer vent cleaning to an HVAC job usually costs less than booking it as a separate visit.
- Keep up with filters. A quality filter from Honeywell or Aprilaire, changed on schedule, cuts the debris that reaches the duct run. Hardware-store panels let more through than most people realize.
- Seal leaks while we’re there. Duct sealing with mastic paired with a cleaning visit is cheaper than coming back for a second call. Sealed ducts are also how you stop paying to cool your attic.
- Renters and condo owners. If your unit shares a system with neighbors, ask us to quote the in-unit portion only. It’s often $350 to $500.
- Watch for the door-price bait. A $99 ad that turns into $900 once the technician is standing in your living room is the most common complaint in this trade. We don’t do that. Price is written before any work starts.
Free estimates are available any time. Call (361) 326-5060 and we’ll size the job over the phone, then confirm the written number on arrival.
What Does HVAC Cleaning Actually Do for Your Home?
Cleaning removes what’s built up in the supply and return ducts, the air handler cabinet, the evaporator coil, and the blower. The method matters as much as the price. We use a rotary brush system from Rotobrush to break loose caked-on debris from duct walls, paired with a Nikro negative-air machine that holds the duct under pressure and pulls loosened material out rather than pushing it into your living room. Filtration runs through Honeywell, Aprilaire, Abatement Technologies, and Guardsman products, chosen to match what your system can actually move.
The result isn’t a smell or a feeling. It’s measured: less dust settling on surfaces within a week, lower static pressure on the blower, and a coil that isn’t insulated with lint. We show before-and-after camera footage on every job so you see the runs, not a sales sheet.
Areas we serve around Los Angeles
Hollis covers the city and the surrounding neighborhoods – the San Fernando Valley, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Woodland Hills, Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, the Westside, and the South Bay. Each Hollis location is independently owned and operated under The Garrison Standard, which lays out how a technician behaves on a job: arrive inside the quoted window, price in writing, work by the book, leave the site clean.
FAQs – HVAC Cleaning Cost
How much does HVAC cleaning cost in Los Angeles?
Most single-family homes in Los Angeles pay $450 to $900 for whole-home air duct and HVAC cleaning, with a typical job at $550 to $700. Condos run $350 to $500, and larger multi-system homes run $1,200 to $2,000. Call (361) 326-5060 for a written estimate specific to your home – it’s free.
Is duct cleaning worth it, or should I just replace my system?
Cleaning is worth it when ducts are dirty but structurally sound. If your flex duct is crumbling or your air handler is over 20 years old and failing, replacement may make more sense – and cleaning first would be money wasted. A camera inspection tells you which side you’re on. On a healthy system, cleaning at $450 to $900 protects equipment that costs ten times that to replace. Call (361) 326-5060 and we’ll tell you honestly which one you need.
How often should I get HVAC cleaning in Los Angeles?
Every three to four years for most LA homes. If you have pets, allergies, live near fire zones, or have been through a remodel, every two years. Homes on the coast with year-round dust load sometimes need it sooner. Call (361) 326-5060 and we’ll recommend a schedule based on your setup – not a subscription.
Do you offer same-day HVAC cleaning in Los Angeles?
Often yes, depending on the day and your neighborhood. We answer phones with a live person 24 hours a day, so you’re never stuck in a voicemail loop. Emergency slots open up when a job runs short or a cancellation lands, and we fill them same-day. Call (361) 326-5060 to check availability before you commit.
What’s included in the quoted price, and what costs extra?
The base price covers supply and return duct cleaning, register and vent cleaning, the air handler cabinet, and before/after camera footage. Coil cleaning ($150 to $350), duct sealing ($400 to $900), dryer vent cleaning ($125 to $250), and antimicrobial fogging ($100 to $250) are add-ons quoted in writing before we start. The price does not change at the door – that’s the point. Call (361) 326-5060 for an itemized number.
What is the 365-Day Done Right Promise?
Every job Hollis completes is covered in writing for a full year. If the work fails, we come back and make it right at no charge, including a free second visit. That’s a written guarantee, not a verbal promise. If a technician tells you something different, call (361) 326-5060 and we’ll correct it.
Why Homeowners Call Hollis Instead of the Cheapest Bid
We’ve been at this since 2004, part of the Garrison Partners family, and we’ve watched the same pattern play out: a homeowner takes the lowest quote, the crew shows up late or not at all, the price grows once they’re inside, and the ducts look no different after they leave. The Garrison Standard exists to kill that pattern. Background-checked, uniformed technicians. A live person on the phone every hour of the day. Written price before work. Written guarantee for 365 days after.
Compare that to the duct cleaning landscape in Los Angeles, where a name-brand ad can hide a subcontractor with no accountability. We aren’t that. Every Hollis location is independently owned and operated, but every one runs The Garrison Code on how a technician behaves on a job.
If you want the version of HVAC cleaning that doesn’t require you to stand over the crew with a stopwatch, read our home page or just call us. The estimate is free, and the number we quote is the number you pay.
Contact Hollis Air Duct Cleaning
Call (361) 326-5060 for a free estimate on HVAC cleaning in Los Angeles. A live person answers 24/7 – no queue, no callback wait. We’ll size the job over the phone, write the price before any work starts, and back it with the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If you’d rather see the full service lineup first, start with our HVAC Cleaning in Los Angeles page, then call when you’re ready.
Written by Roy Castellanos, Owner at Hollis Air Duct Cleaning, serving Los Angeles since 2004.
Pricing reflects the Los Angeles market as of 2026. Hollis Air Duct Cleaning offers free estimates – call (361) 326-5060.
What Our Customers Say
"Sealed some leaking duct joints in the crawl space with mastic. Rooms that were always cold now get air."
- Ronald W."Dryer vent was packed with lint and took two hours to dry a load. Cleaned it out from the roof cap down. One cycle again."
- Paula Q."No sales pitch. Told me which parts of the system were fine and only cleaned what needed it."
- Ted L.