Air Duct Cleaning and Sanitizing in Broward & Palm Beach County
Duct cleaning is one of the most oversold services in this market. Done properly on a system that needs it, it makes a measurable difference. Sold as a $79 coupon and performed with a shop vac at the register, it is theater.
The interior face of a fiberglass duct board plenum. Porous, fibrous, and not restorable by cleaning.
- ACRThe NADCA Assessment, Cleaning & Restoration standard. Source removal under continuous negative pressure.
- Every runBranch by branch, not just the trunk and the first few feet visible from the register.
- 0 ozoneWe do not use ozone generators in occupied buildings. They are a respiratory irritant and they do not remediate.
The honest version of this service starts with when not to buy it. If your ducts are clean, cleaning them again will not improve your air, will not lower your power bill by a meaningful amount, and will not fix a mold problem that lives at the coil.
What duct cleaning does do, on a system that genuinely needs it, is remove the accumulated reservoir of dust, debris, construction residue, and microbial growth that the blower is otherwise recirculating through the house every cycle.
What source removal actually means
The NADCA standard is built on a simple principle: the entire system is held under continuous negative pressure while the interior surfaces are mechanically agitated, so the debris that gets loosened has nowhere to go except into the collection unit. We duct that unit to the exterior as well, which is a step beyond what the standard asks for.
That is the whole distinction. Agitation without negative pressure moves the debris somewhere else in the system. Negative pressure without agitation collects only what was already loose. Doing both, run by run, is the job.
- Whole-system containmentRegisters sealed, collection unit connected at the plenum, system held under negative pressure for the duration.
- Mechanical agitationRotary brushes and compressed-air whips sized to the duct, chosen for the material — a flex duct liner and a sheet metal trunk do not get the same tool.
- Coil, blower, and cabinetIncluded, because cleaning the ducts and skipping the equipment they connect to is the most common shortcut in the trade.
- Register and grille cleaningRemoved and cleaned off the wall, not wiped in place.
- Before and after documentationCamera footage inside the runs. You should not have to take our word for it.
When your ducts are not the problem
We turn down duct cleaning work regularly, and it is usually for one of these reasons.
- The growth is at the coilCleaning the ducts leaves the source running upstream of everything you just paid to clean.
- The plenum is colonized duct boardIt has to be replaced. Cleaning porous fiberglass does not restore it, so a clean is money spent on a component that is coming out anyway.
- The flex duct liner has growth through the interior surfaceThat run gets replaced rather than scrubbed. Agitating a colonized liner sheds it into the airstream.
- There is simply nothing in the ductsSome systems are genuinely clean, particularly newer construction with good filtration. We will tell you so, and charge you for the inspection rather than the cleaning.
What the day actually looks like
Nobody publishes this, and it is most of what people want to know before they book.
- We need access to every register in the house Supply and return, including the ones behind furniture, inside closets, and in the garage. Moving a sofa is fine; what slows a job down is a bedroom nobody can get into or a register under a fitted wardrobe. How to checkWalk the house the night before and count your vents. If you cannot reach one, we cannot either.
- Three to five hours for a typical single-family house Longer for a larger house, a second system, or a plenum that has to come apart. A crew promising ninety minutes is doing a register-level vacuum, not a source-removal clean.
- It is loud, and the system is off The collection unit runs continuously for the duration. The air conditioning is off while we work, which in August is worth planning around — most people go out.
- Pets somewhere else Doors open, hoses running through the house, and a compressor. It is not dangerous, it is just a bad afternoon for an anxious animal.
- Drop cloths, and registers cleaned off the wall Grilles come off and get washed rather than wiped in place. The mess is contained but it is not invisible — there will be equipment through your hallway for the afternoon.
- Before and after footage of the runs Camera into the ducts at the start and at the end. You should not have to take anyone’s word for what was in there, and you should ask for it if it is not offered. How to checkAsk which specific runs the footage is from. Two clips of the easiest branch is not documentation of a whole system.
The upsells you will be offered
Duct cleaning is sold with a menu attached, and the honest position on each item is different. Here is ours.
- A UV-C lamp at the coil — sometimes worth itA correctly placed, correctly sized lamp aimed at the coil surface does inhibit growth on that coil, and there is real evidence behind it. It does not clean a coil that is already colonized, it does not sterilize ductwork, and the lamps need replacing annually to do anything at all. Reasonable as maintenance after remediation; not a substitute for it.
- Electrostatic or high-MERV filters — depends on the systemA better filter catches more, and also restricts more airflow. Fitted to a system that was already marginal on static pressure, it makes the coil colder and the run times worse. Worth doing on equipment that can take it, worth checking first.
- Antimicrobial fogging as an add-on — usually notOn porous duct board, it is a deodorizer rather than a remediation.
- Ozone generators — noThey will remove an odor. Ozone is also a lung irritant, is not approved for use in occupied spaces, and degrades rubber and elastomeric components in the system while it works. We do not use them and we would question anyone who does.
- Dryer vent cleaning — yes, but for a different reasonNot an air quality measure. A lint-packed dryer duct is a genuine fire risk and it is cheap to clear while a crew is already in the house with the equipment. Worth taking; just understand what you are buying.
On sanitizing and antimicrobial fogging
We apply EPA-registered antimicrobials in ductwork only after cleaning, only on non-porous surfaces, and only when there is a reason to. Applied to a clean metal duct as a final step, it is a reasonable belt-and-suspenders measure. Applied to a dirty duct as the whole service, it is a deodorizer.
Air Duct Cleaning & Sanitizing: what people ask
How often should air ducts be cleaned in South Florida?
There is no calendar answer, and any company that gives you one is selling a schedule rather than assessing a system. The honest triggers are: visible debris or growth at the registers or in the plenum, a musty smell that tracks with the AC cycle, after a renovation or a re-roof, after a water loss involving the system, and when you move into a house whose history you do not know. In our climate, a system that has never been cleaned in fifteen years is usually worth looking at.
Will duct cleaning help my allergies?
It can, if there is a genuine reservoir in the system that the blower is recirculating. It will not help if your issue is outdoor pollen, dust mites in bedding, or a pet. We would rather tell you that up front than take the job and have you conclude that duct cleaning is a scam.
How long does it take, and do I need to be home?
Three to five hours for a typical single-family house with one system, longer for a second system or a plenum that has to come apart. Somebody needs to let us in and be reachable, but most people go out — the collection unit runs the whole time and the air conditioning is off while we work, which in summer is worth planning around. We need access to every supply and return register, including the awkward ones.
Should we add a UV light while you are in there?
A fair thing to consider and a poor thing to be sold in a panic. The limits are set out above; what decides it for you is sequence. A lamp is maintenance for a coil that is already clean, so on a coil that is currently colonized it is the last step rather than the first, and anyone offering one instead of the cleaning has the order backwards. Budget for the annual lamp replacement or do not fit it at all.
Why are the $99 duct cleaning coupons so cheap?
Because the price is a lead cost, not a service cost. Real source-removal cleaning takes a crew several hours with a truck-mounted or portable negative-air collection unit and per-run agitation. The coupon version is a register-level vacuum and an upsell conversation in your living room. Neither of those is a moral judgment — just know which one you are buying.
The air conditioning and ductwork section of our FAQ goes further, and there are 17 questions answered there in all.
Where people go from here
Serving Broward County and Palm Beach County — see every city we cover.
Not convinced the ducts are the problem?
Neither are we, most of the time. Describe the smell and when it happens and we will tell you whether this is a duct job, a coil job, or nothing at all.