The $99 Duct Cleaning Offer, Explained

Why the number cannot be real

A full cleaning needs two people for four to eight hours, a large vacuum unit, rotating brush and air-whip tools, and a truck to carry them. At $99 that does not cover the labor, let alone the equipment. NADCA, the trade association, says so directly: its consumer advice describes "$99 whole house specials" as a bait-and-switch tactic whose price does not cover the service. The EPA's national range for a proper job is $450 to $1,000 per system.

How a $99 visit typically plays out

The visit

One person arrives, often with a portable vacuum, sometimes a shop vac. The registers come off and the first foot or two of each run is vacuumed. In some versions the price covers a fixed number of vents, ten or twelve, and every vent after that is extra.

The pivot

Then comes the finding: mold, a dirty coil, a duct that "needs sanitizing", or a main trunk that is not included. The price for the "real" job arrives while the technician is standing in your hallway with the registers off. It is rarely cheaper than a straight quote from a company that does the work properly, and it is harder to say no to.

What you end up with

Either a superficial vacuum of the register boots, or an expensive job sold under pressure. Neither is what the postcard described.

Five questions to ask before booking

• Does the price include every supply and every return, with no per-vent charge?
• Does it include the main trunk lines and the plenum?
• What machine holds the system under negative pressure, and is it truck-mounted or HEPA-filtered?
• How long will the job take, and how many people?
• Who holds the Florida AC or mechanical license, and what is the number?

Are low prices ever honest?

Yes, for smaller jobs described accurately. A dryer vent cleaning at $99 to $150 can be entirely honest. So can a priced single-line job, or an inspection fee credited against a full cleaning. The problem is the words "whole house" next to a price that cannot pay for one.