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 Los Angeles?
Air duct cleaning in Los Angeles typically costs $350 to $800 for a standard single-family home, with most LA families landing between $450 and $600 depending on the size of the system and how many vents need attention. Smaller condos and apartments often come in under $400, while larger two-story homes in the hills or older Craftsman properties in Mid-City can run $900 or more. If you’ve ever been quoted a suspiciously low $99 special, that number almost always grows once the truck is in your driveway. We give you a written price before any work starts, and that number doesn’t change.
Our team at Morton’s Air Duct Cleaning has been serving Los Angeles since 2005, and we’ve cleaned enough ducts in this city to know the price question is really a planning question. You have a budget, and you’d rather not be surprised by the invoice. That’s the whole reason this guide exists.
Key Takeaways
- Standard LA home: $450-$600 for a full system clean.
- Condos and apartments: $350-$450.
- Large or multi-system homes: $800-$1,400.
- Written price before work begins, on every visit. No exceptions.
- Free estimates by phone: (323) 918-4345.
Air Duct Cleaning Cost Breakdown (2026)
Here’s what each piece of the job actually costs in the Los Angeles market right now. These are the ranges we work from when we build your estimate. Your exact price depends on your system, but you should see numbers in these neighborhoods.
| Service | Typical LA Price Range | What’s Included |
|---|---|---|
| Standard whole-home duct cleaning | $450 – $600 | Supply and return ducts, up to 10-12 vents, main trunk lines, registers |
| Condo or apartment (single zone) | $350 – $450 | Up to 8 vents, one air handler, register wipe-down |
| Large home / two systems | $800 – $1,400 | Two air handlers, 15-25 vents, extended trunk runs |
| Dryer vent cleaning (add-on) | $125 – $250 | Full lint removal, exterior cap check, airflow test |
| Sanitizing treatment (optional) | $100 – $200 | EPA-registered application to ducts and coil area |
| Furnace or coil cleaning (add-on) | $150 – $300 | Blower wheel, housing, evaporator coil where accessible |
| Return duct extra (per run) | $75 – $150 | Long or heavily soiled return lines beyond the standard count |
Most Los Angeles homes we walk into fall into the first two rows. A 1,400-square-foot bungalow in Highland Park with one HVAC system and 10 vents is a $450-$550 job. A 2,800-square-foot house in Porter Ranch with two systems, a zoned upstairs, and 22 vents is closer to $1,000. The spread isn’t marketing – it’s actual labor, equipment time, and the number of connection points we have to seal and clean.
Add-ons are where estimates sometimes balloon with other companies. We tell you upfront which add-ons your home actually needs and which ones you can skip. If your dryer vent runs 25 feet through a wall with two elbows, it genuinely needs cleaning and we’ll quote it. If your furnace coil looks fine, we’ll say so and leave it alone.
What Affects Air Duct Cleaning Pricing in Los Angeles
Pricing in this city looks different from pricing in Phoenix, Dallas, or Austin, and it isn’t just because everything costs more here. These are the factors we weigh when we build your quote.
- Square footage and vent count. Every register is a connection point that has to be sealed, cleaned, and restored. An 800-square-foot apartment in Koreatown with 6 vents takes about half the labor of a 2,200-square-foot house in Sherman Oaks with 14. More vents, more time, higher price – usually $25 to $40 per additional vent.
- Number of HVAC systems. A lot of Los Angeles homes, especially anything built after 1990 or renovated with a zoned addition, run two systems. Each one is a separate air handler, separate return trunk, separate filtration setup. That’s typically a $300-$500 jump on the estimate.
- Access and duct layout. Homes in the Hollywood Hills and parts of Mount Washington often have long, awkward duct runs through unconditioned attics or crawlspaces. We’ve crawled through attic spaces in the San Fernando Valley that hit 140 degrees in August. That’s real time and real caution. Access difficulty usually adds $75-$200.
- How much buildup is in there. Here’s where Los Angeles geography matters. Our dry, windy spring season pushes fine dust and pollen through open windows in neighborhoods like Echo Park and Los Feliz, and that dust settles into return ducts. If you have pets – and a huge share of LA families do – you’re also dealing with dander and hair that binds to that dust. Heavy buildup means more passes with the equipment, which adds to labor.
- Age of the home and duct material. A 1920s Craftsman in West Adams may have original or partially retrofitted ductwork with more joints and transitions than a 2015 build in Playa Vista. Older, leakier systems take longer to clean properly and often need a closer inspection for disconnected runs.
- Add-ons you choose. Dryer vent cleaning, sanitizing, and coil cleaning are separate line items. They’re optional, and we’ll tell you when they’re worth it for your situation and when they’re not.
One more local factor: parking and access. On narrow hillside streets or in dense areas like Silver Lake, our crew sometimes needs extra time to stage equipment safely. We don’t charge for that, but it’s part of why a Los Angeles job can take longer than the same square footage elsewhere.
What Should Actually Be Included at These Prices
Price only means something if you know what’s in it. A $350 quote that skips the return trunk isn’t a deal – it’s half a job. Here’s what a legitimate full-system clean includes, and what we do on every visit.
- Sealing every register and return before we start, so loosened debris goes into the vacuum, not into your living room.
- Cleaning the supply trunk lines, branch runs, and return ducts with professional equipment from Rotobrush and Nikro – not shop-vacs or rental gear.
- Cleaning the air handler cabinet, blower area, and accessible coil surfaces.
- Wiping down every register and grille before it goes back on.
- Shoe covers and drop cloths inside your home from the moment we walk in.
- A photo of the clean-up before we leave, so you can see the space is left better than we found it.
We use equipment from Rotobrush, Nikro, Abatement Technologies, and Guardsman because the difference between a real clean and a cosmetic one is mostly in the tooling. Honeywell and Aprilaire filtration components come up often too, especially when a family wants to upgrade filtration while we’re already in the system.
If you want the full picture of what a proper clean looks like, our Air Duct Cleaning in Los Angeles page walks through the process step by step.
Dryer Vent Cleaning: The Add-On Most LA Families Should Say Yes To
Dryer vent cleaning in Los Angeles runs $125 to $250 as a standalone service, and less when bundled with duct cleaning. We bring it up on almost every visit because a clogged dryer vent is one of the few home maintenance issues that’s genuinely a fire risk, not just an efficiency problem. The U.S. Fire Administration attributes thousands of home fires each year to dryer vents, and lint buildup is the cause in most of them.
The price depends on the length of the run and how many elbows are in it. A short straight run out a garage wall in Burbank might be a $125 job. A 30-foot run through a second-floor laundry room in a Century City condo with three turns is closer to $250. Either way, we test airflow before and after so you can see the difference on the meter.
How to Save on Air Duct Cleaning
You should never pay more than the job is worth, and there are real ways to keep the number down without cutting corners.
- Bundle duct and dryer vent cleaning. Combining the two usually saves $50-$100 versus booking them separately, since the crew and equipment are already on site.
- Skip add-ons you don’t need. If your ducts are clean and your coil is in good shape, sanitizing is optional. Ask us to walk you through what we see on camera, and we’ll tell you honestly whether it’s worth it.
- Get a written estimate before scheduling. This protects you. If a company won’t put a price in writing before they arrive, that’s a signal. We provide written pricing on every job, and it doesn’t change once we start.
- Address the source, not just the symptom. If you have pets, changing your filter every 60-90 days instead of every 6 months keeps duct buildup slower and stretches the time between cleanings. A $25 filter costs less than an earlier-than-needed cleaning.
- Ask about multiple-system discounts. Two-system homes sometimes get a better bundled rate than two separate visits. It never hurts to ask.
Free estimates are exactly that – free. Call (323) 918-4345 and a live person will answer, any hour, and talk through your system with you before you commit to anything.
Is It Cheaper to Repair or Replace?
For air ducts specifically, cleaning is almost always cheaper than replacing, and cleaning is usually enough. Full duct replacement in a Los Angeles home typically runs $3,500 to $8,000 or more, depending on access and duct material. Cleaning is a fraction of that. Replacement only makes sense when the ducts themselves are failing – crushed, disconnected, badly contaminated after water damage, or made of materials that have deteriorated. We’ll tell you if we see something that warrants a second opinion, but in our experience most homes just need a proper clean.
What we won’t do is sell you a replacement you don’t need. The home page has more about how we approach that, but the short version is: we’d rather do the $500 job right and earn your call next time than oversell a $5,000 replacement.
Why Families With Kids and Pets Choose Morton’s
We work in homes where a toddler is napping down the hall and a dog is watching from the couch. That shapes how we do the job. Quieter tools during nap hours. Pet-safe product choices where they’re available. Shoe covers and drop cloths on every visit, included – not as an upgrade. A background-checked, uniformed technician who tells you exactly what he’s going to do before he touches anything.
Every Morton’s job is backed by the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If it isn’t right, we make it right. That’s stamped on every job, not offered only when someone complains. We’re also an independently owned member of the Cedarwell family of companies, which means we work to the Cedarwell Care Promise and the C.A.R.E. values on every visit.
We’ve been doing this in Los Angeles since 2005. The phone is answered by a live human, 24/7 – not a voicemail, not a chatbot. If you call at 9 p.m. with a question about your dryer vent, someone picks up.
FAQs – Air Duct Cleaning Cost
How much does air duct cleaning cost in Los Angeles?
Air duct cleaning in Los Angeles costs $350 to $800 for most homes, with the typical single-family job landing between $450 and $600. Condos run $350-$450, and larger two-system homes run $800-$1,400. Call (323) 918-4345 for a free estimate specific to your home – a written price, not a range.
Is $99 duct cleaning a real price?
No. A $99 duct cleaning is a lead-in price, and in our experience it almost always grows once the crew is inside your home. Cleaning a full system properly takes hours and professional equipment, and a real Los Angeles job can’t be done for $99. Expect $350 and up for anything honest. Call (323) 918-4345 for a straight quote with no bait price.
Do I need air duct cleaning if my house is new?
Not usually. Newer Los Angeles homes – builds from the last 10-15 years – often don’t need a full clean unless there’s construction dust, pet dander buildup, or a recent renovation. A 5-year-old house in Playa Vista might only need a filter change and a vent wipe-down. Call (323) 918-4345 and we’ll tell you honestly whether you need the service at all.
How often should I have my air ducts cleaned in Los Angeles?
Every 3 to 5 years for most homes, and every 2 to 3 years if you have pets or allergies. The dry, dusty spring season in LA and the amount of time Angelenos keep windows open both accelerate buildup in neighborhoods like Silver Lake, Echo Park, and Los Feliz. Pet owners should lean toward the shorter end. Call (323) 918-4345 to figure out the right interval for your home.
Can you clean my ducts and dryer vent in the same visit?
Yes, and it’s usually cheaper to bundle them. Combined duct and dryer vent cleaning typically saves $50-$100 over booking each separately because the crew and equipment are already there. Most combined jobs run $550-$800. Call (323) 918-4345 to schedule both in one visit.
What does the 365-Day Done Right Promise actually cover?
If you’re not satisfied with the job within 365 days, we come back and make it right. That covers anything we did or should have done on the original visit. It’s stamped on every job, on every invoice, and it doesn’t require you to ask for it. Call (323) 918-4345 with any question about how it works.
Ready to Get a Real Number?
You now have a realistic range for what air duct cleaning costs in Los Angeles in 2026. The next step is a written price for your specific home. Call (323) 918-4345 and a live person will answer – day, night, weekend, whenever you get a quiet minute. We’ll ask a few questions about your system, give you a free estimate, and if you’d like, schedule a visit. No pressure, no bait pricing, and no surprises on the invoice. Every job comes with shoe covers, drop cloths, a written price up front, and a photo of the clean-up before we leave – backed by the 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Pricing reflects the Los Angeles market as of 2026. Morton’s Air Duct Cleaning offers free estimates – call (323) 918-4345.
Written by Paul Adeyemi, Owner at Morton’s Air Duct Cleaning, serving Los Angeles since 2005.
What Our Customers Say
"New house, old dusty ducts. They were gentle in the house, laid down drop cloths, and double checked every register was sealed back up. Air smells fresh now."
- Scott Hemmings"Friendly, calm crew that clearly cared about the house. Covered their shoes, protected the floors, and double checked they'd closed up every vent cover properly. Would have them back."
- Omar Zaid"Ducts and dryer vent both. They put runners down the whole hall and wore booties. Spotless after, and they showed me photos of what came out. Worth every penny."
- Bonnie Vo