SolvedDuct Cleaning
What would you ask before approving duct cleaning work in Los Angeles?
Asked by Ruben Russellin Los Angeles, California· 4/14/2026· 1152 views
I'm in Los Angeles, California and dealing with a 14-year-old duct system in our single-family home. Over the past two weeks, it has been pushing weak airflow to the upstairs rooms and we're now noticing the technician who came out last time did not leave any actual readings behind.
One contractor quoted $1,875 for repair, while another jumped straight to a $6,547 replacement because of the age. The weather here has been dealing us cold morning startup, so I do not want to wait too long, but I also do not want to approve the wrong scope.
If you were comparing bids on this, what would you want checked first? I especially want to know how much weight you would give to duct leakage, balancing, blower performance, and filter pressure drop.
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9 Answers
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✓ Accepted Answer
From a contractor side, I would not approve a major repair or replacement without test results that line up with the symptoms. For a duct system that is pushing weak airflow to the upstairs rooms, the first things I would ask for are duct leakage, balancing, blower performance, and filter pressure drop. If the contractor is recommending bigger work, ask them to explain which measurement supports that recommendation and whether they ruled out airflow or controls first. In Los Angeles, California, pricing can move around, but the diagnostic process should still be clear.
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I would compare how clearly each contractor explains the diagnosis, not just the price. The clearer company ended up being the better hire for us. We had a related issue with our duct system in Los Angeles. Once we forced every quote into the same format, the decision got much easier because the weak recommendations stood out immediately.
Noah Miller·4/15/2026
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I would compare how clearly each contractor explains the diagnosis, not just the price. The clearer company ended up being the better hire for us. We had a related issue with our duct system in Los Angeles. Once we forced every quote into the same format, the decision got much easier because the weak recommendations stood out immediately.
Olivia Patel·4/14/2026
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What helped us most was breaking the quote into labour, parts, warranty, and optional upgrades. The expensive bid looked very different once it was itemized. We had a related issue with our duct system in Los Angeles. Once we forced every quote into the same format, the decision got much easier because the weak recommendations stood out immediately.
Chloe Kelly·4/15/2026
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The recommendation should be tied to measurements, not just the age of the equipment. Age matters, but it is not a diagnosis on its own. For a duct system that is pushing weak airflow to the upstairs rooms, the first things I would ask for are duct leakage, balancing, blower performance, and filter pressure drop. If the contractor is recommending bigger work, ask them to explain which measurement supports that recommendation and whether they ruled out airflow or controls first. In Los Angeles, California, pricing can move around, but the diagnostic process should still be clear.
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We used the directory reviews to filter out firms that were vague about what they had actually tested. That saved us a lot of time. We had a related issue with our duct system in Los Angeles. Once we forced every quote into the same format, the decision got much easier because the weak recommendations stood out immediately.
Laura Carter·4/16/2026
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I would compare how clearly each contractor explains the diagnosis, not just the price. The clearer company ended up being the better hire for us. We had a related issue with our duct system in Los Angeles. Once we forced every quote into the same format, the decision got much easier because the weak recommendations stood out immediately.
Michelle Brooks·4/16/2026
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We had something similar and the turning point was asking each company for the actual readings in writing instead of a verbal explanation. We had a related issue with our duct system in Los Angeles. Once we forced every quote into the same format, the decision got much easier because the weak recommendations stood out immediately.
Avery Hughes·4/14/2026
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I would compare how clearly each contractor explains the diagnosis, not just the price. The clearer company ended up being the better hire for us. We had a related issue with our duct system in Los Angeles. Once we forced every quote into the same format, the decision got much easier because the weak recommendations stood out immediately.
Lucas Mitchell·4/15/2026