Whole-home duct cleaning
Dryer vent cleaning
Camera inspection
Sanitizing & deodorizingWhole-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.
Fast, Reliable Air Duct Cleaning Across Los Altos
Air duct cleaning in Los Altos costs between $390 and $690 for most single-family homes, and the work usually takes three to five hours. That price holds whether we’re cleaning a 1958 rancher near downtown or a 1962 Eichler off Foothill Expressway. Our crews know Los Altos streets, Los Altos homes, and Los Altos’s particular ductwork challenges. Call (669) 220-7869 and we’ll give you a written price before any work begins.
Why Kestrel Air Duct San Jose Is Los Altos’s Preferred Air Duct Cleaning Company
Los Altos homeowners call us because we answer the phone. Not a voicemail queue, not a call center script. A live person, any hour, ready to schedule a defined arrival window and confirm it in writing. Our Air Duct Cleaning team works under the Kingswell Guarantee, which means the price we quote before the job is the price you pay after the job. No door-step revisions.
The homes here are different from what you find in neighboring cities. Los Altos has one of the highest concentrations of Eichler and Eichler-inspired mid-century houses in the Bay Area. Those homes have under-slab ductwork, original metal runs, and radiant heating systems that don’t respond well to aggressive cleaning. We’ve seen what happens when a generic company treats an Eichler like a 1990s tract home. The results are expensive. Our technicians are trained specifically for these systems.
Dale Whitmore started this work in 2004 under the Kingswell Guarantee, and the standard hasn’t changed. Every technician is background-checked and uniformed. Every job gets a written price, a defined arrival window, a clean job site, and a written guarantee. If the work falls short within 365 days, we come back and make it right at no charge. Los Altos customers have pointed to that promise in writing more times than we can count, and we’ve honored it every time.
Styles & brands we work with
Ductwork Cleaning in Los Altos
Ductwork Cleaning in Los Altos means more than vacuuming out the vents you can see. Most Los Altos homes from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s have original metal ducts, and many of the Eichler-style houses run return air through channels formed in the concrete slab. Decades of dust, rust flakes, construction debris, and pollen settle into those runs. The job involves loosening that debris from the duct walls, pulling it out under negative pressure, and restoring proper airflow without stressing the original materials.
Supply and Return Runs
Supply ducts carry conditioned air from the furnace to each room. Return ducts pull air back to the air handler. In Los Altos Eichlers, return runs are often integrated into the slab, which means they’re shorter, harder to access, and far more susceptible to moisture than the overhead return flex ducts you see in newer construction. We clean both, and we treat the slab runs with particular care.
Full System Cleaning
A full system cleaning includes supply ducts, return ducts, the air handler, and the registers. It’s the right choice when a home has gone ten or more years without service, or when a camera inspection shows significant buildup. In Los Altos, full system cleaning for a typical three-bedroom home runs between $490 and $690.
Air Duct Inspection in Los Altos
Air Duct Inspection in Los Altos is the step that tells us what we’re actually dealing with before we disturb anything. We run a camera through the duct runs, including the hard-to-reach under-slab sections that are common in Eichler and Eichler-inspired homes. The footage shows rust, crushed sections, disconnected joints, and moisture intrusion. You see exactly what we see, and you get a written report before any cleaning begins.
Camera Inspection Before Cleaning
A camera inspection usually takes 45 to 60 minutes. It costs between $120 and $220 when booked on its own, and we apply that amount toward your cleaning if you schedule within 30 days. The point isn’t to upsell extras. It’s to avoid the failures we’ve seen too often in Los Altos: a cleaned system that still underperforms because a crushed return run was never found, or a slab run that gets damaged by aggressive brushing because nobody looked first.
What the Inspection Finds
Rust at the low points of under-slab runs. Dust-caked supply registers. Disconnected joints where a patio was poured decades ago and the duct got crushed in the process. In Los Altos specifically, wildfire ash from the Santa Cruz Mountains settles into ducts during fall even when windows stay closed, because the air handler pulls from outside. An inspection tells us how deep that contamination goes before we start.
Trusted Brands We Service in Los Altos
Kestrel technicians use Rotobrush rotary brush systems to dislodge debris at the duct wall, Nikro negative-pressure units to pull contaminants out, and Abatement Technologies HEPA filtration to keep loosened particles out of your living space. That equipment matters on Los Altos’s older systems. A Rotobrush with soft agitation tools at low negative pressure cleans an under-slab Eichler return without stressing the slab. A box-store shop vac can’t do that. For homeowners who want to maintain clean air between visits, we also offer Honeywell, Aprilaire, and Guardsman filtration products.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Air Duct Cleaning Problems We See in Los Altos Homes
- Under-slab return ducts with rust and moisture. Los Altos Eichlers have concrete-encased return runs that collect moisture from the surrounding soil. Rust flakes build up at the low points, and aggressive cleaning can crack the slab. We use soft agitation tools and low negative pressure for these runs specifically.
- Crushed or disconnected duct sections. Decades of landscaping, patio work, and foundation settling crush or separate original metal ducts. A camera inspection finds these failures. Cleaning alone won’t fix them; sealing and repair work is often the real answer.
- Wildfire ash and pollen infiltration. Homes closed up for long stretches in Los Altos’s mild climate still pull outside air through the air handler. Fall brings wildfire ash from the Santa Cruz Mountains, and spring brings heavy pollen. Both settle in ducts during off-seasons and circulate when the system kicks on.
- Debris driven into the blower motor. When a cleaning company doesn’t seal off the air handler before applying negative pressure, fine debris gets sucked into the blower and coats the evaporator coil. On older Los Altos systems, that can cause overheating. We seal the air handler before we begin, every time.
Pricing for Air Duct Cleaning in Los Altos, CA
A typical full system cleaning in Los Altos runs between $390 and $690, depending on the size of the home and the number of runs. Smaller homes with straightforward ductwork fall at the lower end. Eichlers and other mid-century homes with under-slab returns, difficult access points, or heavy rust accumulation fall at the higher end. Duct sealing, if needed after a cleaning, typically adds $180 to $350. Every job gets a written price before work starts, and that price doesn’t change at the door. Call (669) 220-7869 for a free estimate.
We Also Serve Cities Near Los Altos
Our crews handle Air Duct Cleaning in Los Altos and the surrounding communities, including Mountain View, Stanford, Palo Alto, and Menlo Park. The housing stock and ductwork vary from one city to the next, and our field experience across the mid-Peninsula means we show up already knowing what to look for.
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 in Los Altos
We clean under-slab ducts using a Rotobrush fitted with soft agitation tools, running at low negative pressure so the thin concrete slab isn’t stressed. The tool loosens debris from the duct walls without scraping or hammering. A camera inspection beforehand confirms the slab’s condition and shows us exactly where to be careful. This is the opposite of aggressive rotary brushing, which can crack the slab and lead to moisture leaks and foundation repair. Call (669) 220-7869 and we’ll walk you through what your specific system needs.
The rust comes from moisture in the under-slab return ducts common in Los Altos Eichler and Eichler-inspired homes. Concrete slabs draw moisture from the surrounding soil, and steel ducts encased in that slab corrode over time. Mountain View and Palo Alto have far fewer slab-integrated systems, so homeowners there rarely see the same rust buildup. The fix isn’t just cleaning; it’s sealing accessible joints and addressing any moisture intrusion before it worsens. Call us and we’ll do a camera inspection to see how much rust you’re dealing with.
In Los Altos homes with original metal ducts, sealing after cleaning is often the difference between a system that stays clean for years and one that’s dusty again within months. Disconnected joints, gaps around registers, and small cracks pull unfiltered air and debris back into the system. We apply mastic sealant to accessible supply and return joints after cleaning, which stops that dust intrusion at the source. Some jobs only need cleaning; a camera inspection tells us which situation you have.
Yes. Your air handler pulls outside air through the system regardless of whether windows are open, and fall wildfire ash from the Santa Cruz Mountains is fine enough to pass through standard filters. It settles in duct runs during the smoky season and recirculates when the HVAC runs again. A full system cleaning with HEPA filtration equipment removes that ash, and an upgraded filtration product helps catch more of it between cleanings.
A camera inspection shows you exactly what’s inside your ducts before any cleaning begins: rust, crushed runs, disconnected joints, moisture, and debris. For Los Altos Eichlers and other mid-century homes, that footage matters because the original under-slab ductwork often has failures that a standard cleaning would miss. You see the before and the after. You know the work was actually done. And we know exactly which sections need careful handling. Inspection costs between $120 and $220 and applies toward your cleaning if you book within 30 days. Call (669) 220-7869 to schedule.
Written by Dale Whitmore, Owner at Kestrel Air Duct San Jose, serving Los Altos since 2004.