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
AfterAir Duct Cleaning Company in Los Altos, CA
Air duct cleaning in Los Altos runs $395-$850 for a typical ranch home, though homes with original 1960s ductwork and wildfire smoke accumulation often land at the upper end of that range. Most Los Altos jobs take one full day, and we quote a written price before any work starts. Scheduling is coordinated from our San Francisco Bay Area office, but the crews who show up at your door are familiar with Los Altos attics, crawlspaces, and the particular way smoke settles into ducts along the foothills. Call (323) 918-4345 and a live person will help you figure out whether your system needs attention.
Why Los Altos Homes Are Different
Los Altos sits at the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley, directly downwind of the Santa Cruz Mountain fire corridor. When fires burn in the mountains, smoke funnels westward into these neighborhoods before dispersing further east. That means HVAC systems here carry a heavier smoke-particulate load than homes in Sunnyvale or Milpitas, and the pattern shows up clearly on return-air grilles and filter housings in older systems.
The housing stock compounds the issue. Most of Los Altos’s residential core is post-WWII ranch construction, built between roughly 1950 and 1970. Many of those homes still run their original sheet-metal trunk-and-branch ductwork through hot, unconditioned attic spaces, and plenty of that ductwork is unlined or wrapped in deteriorating duct board. When the tech-wealth renovation cycle kicks in, room additions and ADU builds disturb those aging runs, splice new duct into old, and flush construction dust deep into the system. We see dark staining in return-air grilles that maps directly to the years of major nearby wildfire seasons, a pattern far less common in the newer tract homes just a mile east.
Our Main Los Altos Services
Two services account for nearly every call we take from Los Altos homeowners: air duct cleaning and dryer vent cleaning. Each has its own Los Altos page with local pricing, what to expect, and the answers to the questions Los Altos families ask most.
Air Duct Cleaning in Los Altos
In Los Altos, air duct cleaning is as much about wildfire smoke as it is about ordinary household dust. Original 1960s duct runs in unconditioned attics trap and hold smoke particulates season after season, and we clean them with professional equipment from Rotobrush and Nikro, not entry-level rental gear. Before anything starts, you get a written price in hand. During the job, shoe covers and drop cloths go down, and quiet tools keep the house livable if a toddler is napping down the hall. Afterward, you get a photo of the clean-up before the crew leaves. Full details are on the Air Duct Cleaning in Los Altos page.
Dryer Vent Cleaning in Los Altos
Dryer vents in Los Altos ranch homes often run longer than modern code allows, snaking through walls or crawlspaces to reach an exterior outlet. That extra length, combined with the dust and lint a busy family with kids and pets generates, means vents here clog faster than the national average. We clean the full run from dryer to exterior termination, inspect for kinks and damaged sections, and leave the laundry area cleaner than we found it. See the Dryer Vent Cleaning in Los Altos page for what a typical Los Altos vent job costs and how we handle attic and crawlspace access.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Brands We Service in Los Altos
We work on every major residential brand found in Los Altos homes, including Honeywell, Aprilaire, and Guardsman equipment. Common replacement parts for these systems are stocked locally so most jobs finish same-day without a second visit. We also run Abatement Technologies HEPA filtration gear on the truck for homes with heavy smoke residue. See our brands for the full list.
Pricing for Air Duct Cleaning Company in Los Altos, CA
| Service | Typical range in Los Altos |
|---|---|
| Air duct cleaning, single furnace system | $395 - $650 |
| Air duct cleaning, dual system or large ranch with addition | $650 - $850 |
| Dryer vent cleaning, standard single-story run | $125 - $195 |
| Dryer vent cleaning, long or multi-story run | $175 - $285 |
| Dryer vent re-route or damaged section replacement | $285 - $485 |
| Whole-home filter upgrade to a Honeywell or Aprilaire media cabinet | $295 - $625 |
| HEPA filtration add-on for heavy smoke conditions | $150 - $350 |
| Access panel cut for a crawlspace duct | $95 - $175 |
What pushes a Los Altos quote toward the higher end is almost always the age and condition of the original ductwork. Unlined sheet-metal runs in hot attics hold more particulate, renovation splices create leak points that pull in attic dust, and longer-than-code dryer vents take more time to clean properly. Whatever the number, it is written down before the job starts, and it is the price you pay. No surprises on the invoice, no per-vent add-ons, no bait-and-switch.
Neighborhoods We Serve in Los Altos
We work across Los Altos and the surrounding foothill communities. Most calls come from the ranch-home neighborhoods south of Foothill Expressway, where the original 1950s and 1960s subdivisions cluster, but we also see plenty of newer construction on the larger lots toward the hills. Response time varies with the calendar, but most Los Altos calls get scheduled within a week.
- North Los Altos (the original downtown grid)
- South Los Altos (post-war ranch subdivisions)
- Loyola Corners
- Los Altos Hills
- The Country Club area
Service Area – Cities Near Los Altos
Beyond Los Altos itself, our crews work regularly in the neighboring Peninsula cities. If you are in Mountain View, CA, Stanford, CA, Palo Alto, CA, or Portola Valley, CA, the same written-price-before-work rule applies, and the same shoe covers and drop cloths come out of the truck.
Serving Los Altos, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Los Altos 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 Company in Los Altos
Most Los Altos jobs are scheduled within three to five business days. Peak fall fire-season months fill faster, so late-summer calls are worth making early. We do not promise emergency dispatch, but a live person answers the phone 24/7 to find the soonest workable slot.
For interior duct cleaning and dryer vent cleaning, no Los Altos or Los Altos Hills HOA we have encountered requires prior approval. The work is entirely inside the home or terminates at an existing exterior vent. If a re-route changes an exterior appearance, that is a conversation worth having with your HOA first.
Yes. We serve Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and Loyola Corners regularly. Hills homes with long driveway access or steep attic stairs may need a quick site note on the schedule, but there is no surcharge for being in the hills. Call (323) 918-4345 and we will confirm coverage for your street.
What happens when you call
- 1A real person answersNo phone trees - talk to a local air duct cleaning pro.
- 2You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched. No surprises.
- 3We come out and measureLicensed & insured, at a time that suits you - the visit and the quote are both free.
- 4You get the price in writingLine-itemed, yours to keep, and nothing starts until you say go.
What Los Altos Customers Say
"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"Spotless work. They laid drop cloths everywhere and I was honestly impressed there was zero mess at the end. Showed me the dirt they pulled out so I could see it was worth it."
- Shelby Dunham