HVAC Cleaning Cost - One Price Per System, Agreed Before We Start

Every visit starts with

Whole-system duct and dryer vent check with before-and-after photos - you see exactly what came out of your vents

Worth knowing

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.

Styles & brands we work with

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Before & after – our own jobs

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How Much Does HVAC Cleaning Cost in Los Angeles?

HVAC cleaning in Los Angeles typically costs $350 to $800 for a standard whole-home air duct and system cleaning on a single-family house, and $150 to $275 if you’re only having one component serviced, like the return vent or a single air handler. Larger homes in the hills, homes with multiple HVAC zones, and jobs that include dryer vent cleaning run higher, usually $900 to $1,400. These are real numbers for the Los Angeles market in 2026, not a national average pulled from a template.

If you’ve been burned before by a crew that quoted one price and billed another, the ranges below are what we actually see across the city. And when we come out, you’ll get a written price before anyone touches anything, so the number on the invoice matches the number on the estimate.

Key Takeaways

• Standard whole-home HVAC cleaning in Los Angeles: $350-$800.
• Single-component service (one vent, return, or handler): $150-$275.
• Multi-zone homes and larger floor plans: $900-$1,400.
• Dryer vent cleaning added on: $125-$225.
• Every Morton’s job comes with a written price before work starts and a photo of the clean-up before we leave.

HVAC Cleaning Cost Breakdown (2026)

Here’s how the pricing usually shakes out line by line. The table reflects what we charge and what we see other licensed Los Angeles companies charging for comparable work, so you can compare apples to apples when you’re getting quotes.

The single biggest driver is square footage and how many separate systems your house runs. A 1,400-square-foot bungalow in Highland Park with one central system is a very different job than a 3,200-square-foot place in Sherman Oaks with a main unit and a separate upstairs zone. That second zone means a second air handler, more ductwork, and roughly double the time. Access matters too: if the ducts run through a tight crawlspace under an older Craftsman, or up through a hot attic, the job takes longer than a home with clean ceiling access.

We use Rotobrush and Nikro equipment on every job, along with Honeywell and Aprilaire components where filters and treatments are part of the visit. That gear costs more than a shop vac and a brush, and it’s the reason a proper clean actually removes the buildup instead of pushing it around. When you compare quotes, ask what equipment the company runs and whether they’ll show you before-and-after photos, because that’s the difference between $350 spent well and $200 spent twice.

What Affects HVAC Cleaning Pricing in Los Angeles

• Home size and number of systems. Most LA homes under 1,800 square feet run a single central system. Add a second zone and the price climbs into the $900-$1,400 range because there’s a second handler and a whole separate run of ductwork to clean.
• Duct access and attic conditions. In neighborhoods like Eagle Rock and Mount Washington, ducts often run through crawlspaces and older attics that are hard to reach. Summer attic temps in the Valley regularly climb past 130°F, which slows the work down and adds labor time.
• How long since the last cleaning. A home that’s never had ducts cleaned, or hasn’t in a decade, holds far more debris than one cleaned three years ago. Heavier buildup means more passes with the Rotobrush and more time.
• Pets and heavy shedding. Homes with dogs and cats in Los Angeles tend to accumulate pet dander and hair in the returns faster, especially in neighborhoods with more time spent indoors during fire season. Those jobs often need extra return-side attention.
• Dryer vent add-on. Los Angeles homes, particularly older ones in Mid-City and Koreatown, frequently have long or kinked dryer vent runs. Adding dryer vent cleaning to an HVAC visit is $125-$225 and worth bundling.
• Added treatments. Coil cleaning and antimicrobial treatments add $100-$450 depending on what’s needed. We’ll tell you plainly whether your system needs them or if it’s money you can skip this year.

One local factor worth naming: Los Angeles air carries more particulate than people expect. Between wildfire smoke drifting into the basin, freeway-adjacent neighborhoods like those along the 10 and 101, and the natural dust from our dry climate, filters and returns load up faster here than in most of the country. That doesn’t mean you need cleaning every year, but it does mean a three-to-five-year rhythm is realistic for most Angeleno families, and sooner if you’ve got pets or anyone in the house with allergies.

For a fuller picture of what the service actually involves, our HVAC Cleaning in Los Angeles page walks through the process step by step. And if you want to understand how we approach the work as a company, you can read more about Morton’s Air Duct Cleaning.

How to Save on HVAC Cleaning

You don’t need to chase the cheapest quote in the city to save money. The cheapest quote is usually the one that skips the return side, runs a brush for twenty minutes, and leaves the fine debris behind, which means you’ll pay again sooner. Here’s what actually keeps the number down.

• Bundle HVAC and dryer vent cleaning in one visit. Adding dryer vent cleaning to an existing appointment is $125-$225 versus $175-$300 standalone, because the crew is already there and set up.
• Keep filters changed on schedule. A $20-$75 filter swapped every few months keeps the blower compartment and coils cleaner, which pushes your next deep cleaning out by a year or more. This is the single best dollar-for-dollar move.
• Clean before buildup gets severe. A moderately dusty system cleans fast. A system that’s been ignored for fifteen years takes twice the labor.
• Ask for a written estimate before booking. Any reputable Los Angeles company will provide one. If a company won’t put a price in writing, that’s your answer.
• Ask what’s included in the base price. Return vents, supply runs, the air handler, and the blower compartment should all be named. If they’re not, they may be add-ons later.

We offer free estimates, so you can get a real number before you commit to anything. Call (323) 918-4345 and a live person will pick up, day or night. Tell us the square footage, how many systems your house runs, and whether you’ve got pets, and we’ll give you an honest range on the spot.

What’s Included in a Morton’s HVAC Cleaning Visit

Since pricing only makes sense next to what you’re getting, here’s what a standard visit covers. We clean the supply and return ductwork, the registers and grilles, the air handler and blower compartment, and the accessible portions of the system using Rotobrush and Nikro equipment. We protect your floors from the moment we walk in with shoe covers and drop cloths, and every technician is background-checked and arrives in uniform.

Before we start, you get a written price. Not a verbal ballpark, not a “we’ll see once we’re in there” – a written number. That’s part of the Cedarwell Care Promise, which every Morton’s job is held to as an independently owned member of the Cedarwell family of companies. If you’ve got a toddler napping or a dog that hates the vacuum, tell us. We work around nap schedules and use quieter tools where we can, and we’ll choose pet-safe products where they’re available because we know your animals live here too.

And every completed job ends with a photo of the clean-up, taken before the crew leaves. You get visual proof that your home was left the way we found it, or better. That’s not a marketing line – it’s just how the work gets closed out.

Every visit also carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise. If something isn’t right, we come back and make it right. Not “if you call and complain loudly enough” – it’s stamped on the job from the start.

Is It Cheaper to Repair or Replace?

For HVAC cleaning specifically, cleaning is almost always the cheaper path. Cleaning runs $350-$800 for a typical Los Angeles home. Replacing ductwork runs into the thousands, and replacing a whole system is a separate and much larger decision that a cleaning visit won’t settle. If your ducts are intact and just dirty, cleaning is the answer. If a technician finds collapsed or disconnected duct sections, that’s a repair conversation, and we’ll tell you what we see rather than clean around a problem.

What we won’t do is use fear to push you toward replacement. If your system is fine and just needs cleaning, that’s all we’ll recommend. Call (323) 918-4345 for a free estimate and a straight answer.

FAQs – HVAC Cleaning Cost

How much does HVAC cleaning cost in Los Angeles?

Whole-home HVAC cleaning in Los Angeles runs $350 to $800 for a standard single-family home in 2026. Larger homes and multi-zone systems climb to $900-$1,400, and single-component service, like one return vent or the air handler alone, is $150-$275. Call (323) 918-4345 for an exact quote – estimates are free.

Is $99 air duct cleaning in Los Angeles a real price?

No. A $99 air duct cleaning offer in Los Angeles almost always means one vent or a surface-level pass, with the real work sold as add-ons once the crew is inside your home. A genuine whole-home cleaning using professional Rotobrush or Nikro equipment takes hours and runs $350-$800. If a quote sounds too low for the scope, ask exactly what’s included. Call (323) 918-4345 and we’ll give you a written price with nothing hidden in it.

How much does dryer vent cleaning cost in Los Angeles?

Dryer vent cleaning in Los Angeles is $125-$225 when added to an HVAC cleaning visit and $175-$300 as a standalone job. Los Angeles homes often have long or kinked vent runs, which take extra time to clear properly. Bundling it with HVAC cleaning is the cheaper way to do both. Call (323) 918-4345 to schedule both in one visit.

Can you come today for an HVAC cleaning estimate?

Often, yes. We answer the phone 24/7 with a live person, and same-day estimates are frequently available across Los Angeles. The cleaning itself is usually scheduled within a few days depending on the neighborhood and the size of the job. Call (323) 918-4345 and we’ll tell you what’s open.

Do I need HVAC cleaning every year in Los Angeles?

For most Los Angeles homes, no. Every three to five years is typical, though homes with pets, anyone with allergies, or a location near a freeway or wildfire-prone area often benefit from cleaning every two years. Los Angeles air carries extra particulate from smoke and dry-climate dust, so filters load faster here than in many cities. Call (323) 918-4345 and we’ll help you figure out a realistic schedule for your home.

Why Families in Los Angeles Call Morton’s

Morton’s Air Duct Cleaning has been at this since 2005, and we’ve been part of the Cedarwell family of independently owned companies from the start. We specialize in air duct cleaning and dryer vent cleaning using professional equipment from Rotobrush, Nikro, Honeywell, Aprilaire, Abatement Technologies, and Guardsman. All technicians are background-checked, arrive in uniform, and work to the Cedarwell C.A.R.E. values on every visit.

That means shoe covers and drop cloths the moment we walk in. A written price before any work starts. A quiet approach if there’s a nap happening down the hall. A live person on the phone at 2 a.m. if that’s when you finally get a minute to call. And a photo of the clean-up before we leave, so you can see the house is the way you left it.

The 365-Day Done Right Promise backs every job: if it’s not done right, we make it right. That’s not a slogan we trot out for reviews. It’s stamped on the work order.

If you want to know the exact number for your Los Angeles home, call (323) 918-4345 for a free estimate. A real person will answer, and you’ll get a written price before anything starts.

Written by Paul Adeyemi, Owner at Morton’s Air Duct Cleaning, serving Los Angeles since 2005.

Pricing reflects the Los Angeles market as of 2026. Morton’s Air Duct Cleaning offers free estimates – call (323) 918-4345.