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.
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AfterFast, Reliable HVAC Cleaning Across Medford
HVAC cleaning in Medford means working on systems that were never designed to be cleaned easily. Most homes here predate 1940, and their forced-air ductwork is a retrofit: sheet metal threaded through plaster walls, around stairwell chases, and into basement runs with sharp bends no standard brush can follow. That’s the job we do. CleanRun Air Duct Cleaning serves Medford homeowners with full-system HVAC Cleaning, including evaporator coils, blowers, air handlers, and heat exchangers. If you want to know what’s actually inside your ducts before anyone touches them, call (806) 606-6902. Every job starts with a written price, and every duct run is photographed before and after.
Why CleanRun Air Duct Cleaning Is Medford’s Preferred HVAC Cleaning Company
We’re not the company that hands you a $79 coupon and then finds “unexpected complications” once the van is in your driveway. CleanRun has operated under the Haven Standard since 2013, and Haven Standard Clause 1 is simple: a written price before any work begins, every time, with no exceptions. That’s the entire point. Medford homeowners who call us get a number in writing before a single panel comes off. No “call for a quote” runaround. No per-vent pricing games. One flat price per system, agreed to before work starts.
Tomas Reyes, our owner, built CleanRun around a practice most of this industry avoids: documented proof. Every job includes a photo record of the inside of every duct run, before and after. When a Medford homeowner asks “how do I know the work was actually done?”, we hand them photographs of their own ductwork. That practice has been standard since our first job in 2013, and we’ve carried it through 52,000+ homes. All technicians are background-checked and uniformed under Haven Standard Clause 3: Verified Crews.
Our crews work throughout Medford regularly. We know the housing stock. We know what a Hillside triple-decker’s retrofit ductwork looks like versus a West Medford Victorian’s basement plenum. That local familiarity means we arrive prepared for what your specific house will present, not surprised by it. Dispatch is coordinated from our Boston office; crews serve Medford locally.
Key Takeaways
- Written price before any work starts, every time, under Haven Standard Clause 1
- Documented photo record of every duct run, before and after, included on every job
- 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it’s not right, we make it right, in writing
- Professional-grade equipment from Rotobrush, Nikro, and Guardsman
- Free second opinion on any written estimate from a competitor
Our HVAC Cleaning Services in Medford
Evaporator Coil Cleaning
A dirty evaporator coil in a Medford home doesn’t just reduce cooling efficiency. In retrofit systems with unsealed sheet-metal joints, coil cleaning is often where we discover the real problem: moisture and dust combining into a paste that coats the coil fins and restricts airflow. We clean the coil itself, but we also inspect the surrounding duct connections. In older Medford systems, the coil is frequently mounted in an improvised plenum that was never sealed properly. Cleaning the coil without sealing the joints means the problem returns within months.
Blower Cleaning
The blower motor in a Medford retrofit system pulls air through decades of accumulated debris. Horsehair plaster dust from original walls, fine particles that settled during 1970s renovations, and general household dust all pass over the blower wheel. That buildup throws the wheel out of balance, strains the motor, and reduces airflow to every register. Blower cleaning in Medford typically runs $220 to $380 as part of a full-system clean, depending on access. We remove the blower assembly, clean the wheel and housing, and inspect the motor windings. If the blower is in a tight basement corner of a South Medford triple-decker, expect the higher end of that range.
Condenser Cleaning
Your outdoor condenser works hard through Medford’s summers, and it collects everything the Mystic River valley can throw at it: cottonwood seed, pollen, lawn clippings, road dust from I-93 and Mystic Valley Parkway. A clogged condenser coil forces the compressor to run hotter and longer. Condenser cleaning in Medford runs $120 to $190 as a standalone service. This includes pulling the fan and cleaning both sides of the coil. We use coil treatment products from trade-recognized brands and document the condition before and after with photographs.
Air Handler Cleaning
Air handlers in Medford’s retrofit systems are often crammed into spaces that were never meant to house mechanical equipment: attic crawl spaces, closet corners, basement soffits. That makes access awkward, but it also means the air handler accumulates debris from every direction. We clean the blower, coil, drain pan, and interior surfaces, then photograph the inside of the unit. For Medford homes near the Mystic River, air handler cleaning is especially important. The elevated humidity in lower-lying sections of South Medford accelerates mold growth on damp interior surfaces, and the air handler is where that moisture concentrates. Air handler cleaning in Medford typically runs $280 to $410.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
BeforeAfterTrusted Brands We Service in Medford
We maintain stock and training on systems from Honeywell, Aprilaire, and Guardsman, and our cleaning equipment comes from Rotobrush and Nikro. That matters in Medford because many older retrofit systems were pieced together with whatever components were available at the time. Our techs know the quirks of mixed-brand installations. We can identify a Honeywell control board paired with an aftermarket coil, or an Aprilaire filter housing grafted onto a sheet-metal plenum that was never sized correctly. If replacement parts are needed, we tell you the brand and the part number in writing before ordering. No mystery parts, no upcharging.
Common HVAC Cleaning Problems We See in Medford Homes
- Horsehair plaster dust in every run. Medford’s pre-1940 Victorians and triple-deckers were built with horsehair plaster walls. When retrofitted forced-air systems were installed decades later, contractors disturbed that plaster, and the fine dust settled into duct runs. Standard vacuum cleaning won’t remove it because it’s embedded in flex-duct liners and trapped behind sharp bends. We use negative-pressure extraction and camera inspection to reach what brushes miss.
- Crushed or disconnected duct runs from old renovations. In a South Medford triple-decker near the Mystic River, our crew found a supply duct run installed through an original kitchen closet with two inaccessible 90-degree bends. Using negative pressure and camera inspection, we located a crushed section from a 1970s renovation, removed the dead-leg branch, and sealed the sheet-metal joints to stop mold growth from the river valley’s year-round humidity. This is not an unusual find in Medford. It’s routine.
- Mold returning within months of a previous cleaning. This is the complaint we hear most from Medford homeowners who hired a budget duct cleaning service. The airflow problem was never addressed. Improvised plenums with unsealed joints pull damp air from humid basements into the system. A surface cleaning removes visible mold but leaves the moisture source intact. We seal the joints as part of the job and document the work with before-and-after photos.
- Dead-leg branches that trap debris. Retrofit ductwork in older Medford homes often includes capped-off branches from abandoned renovations. Those dead legs become debris reservoirs that release dust every time the blower kicks on. Standard rotary brushes can’t reach the end of a capped run. Our camera inspection identifies these branches so we can either clean them properly or flag them for removal.
Pricing for HVAC Cleaning in Medford, MA
A full HVAC cleaning for a typical Medford single-family home runs between $450 and $850. That range covers the entire system: supply and return runs, plenum, air handler, blower, evaporator coil, and registers. A triple-decker owner in Hillside or West Medford with a retrofitted system and difficult access should expect to pay toward the higher end. If your system hasn’t been cleaned in five years or more, debris loading will be heavier, and the job will take longer. We quote one flat price per system before work starts. That’s the written price you agree to, and that’s the price you pay. No per-vent charges, no surprise line items. If you have a competitor’s written estimate, bring it to us. We’ll put our number next to it in writing, free, under our Second Opinion policy. Call (806) 606-6902 for an exact quote. Estimates are free.
We Also Serve Cities Near Medford
Our crews work throughout the Mystic River valley. In addition to Medford, we serve homeowners in Malden, Somerville, Arlington, and Everett. If you’re in one of those communities and need HVAC Cleaning, the same written pricing and photo documentation apply. Call (806) 606-6902 and we’ll schedule a visit at a time that works for you.
Serving Medford, MA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Medford 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 - HVAC Cleaning in Medford
We start with a camera inspection to map the runs and identify what’s actually inside, then use negative-pressure extraction with specialized agitation tools that can follow flex duct around bends that standard rotary brushes can’t navigate. In Medford’s retrofit systems, this often means working around stairwell chases and closet soffits. We clean what the camera shows us, photograph it, and show you the images. If a run is crushed or disconnected, we tell you what the fix will cost before doing anything.
The moisture isn’t coming from the ducts. It’s coming from unsealed sheet-metal joints and improvised plenums pulling damp air from the basement into the system. Cleaning removes the mold that’s already there, but it doesn’t stop new moisture from entering. The fix is sealing the joints. We do that as part of the job when we find unsealed connections. A previous cleaning that skipped sealing left the moisture source intact, which is why mold returned. Call (806) 606-6902 if you want someone to look at the whole system, not just the visible surfaces.
That fine, gray-white dust is almost certainly horsehair plaster particles disturbed during the original forced-air retrofit. In West Medford’s late-Victorian homes, the plaster was already decades old when the ductwork was installed, and the fine dust settled into flex-duct liners and behind sharp bends. A standard shop vacuum doesn’t generate enough negative pressure at the register to pull embedded particles out of the liner. We use professional-grade negative-pressure equipment from Rotobrush and Nikro, plus camera verification to confirm the runs are actually clear.
Yes. Blower cleaning and heat exchanger cleaning are both standard parts of a full HVAC cleaning. In Medford triple-deckers, blower assemblies are often squeezed into tight basement corners or closet soffits, so access takes time. We remove the blower, clean the wheel and housing, and inspect the motor. For the heat exchanger, we clean accessible surfaces and document the condition with photographs. If we find cracks or damage, we tell you. We don’t repair heat exchangers, but we’ll show you what we found so you can make an informed decision.
Every two to three years is reasonable for most Medford homes. If you live in a lower-lying section of South Medford near the Mystic River where humidity is higher year-round, or if your system has unsealed joints pulling damp basement air, you may need cleaning more often until the sealing work is done. Homes with pets, recent renovations, or occupants with respiratory conditions should also lean toward the shorter interval. The best way to know is to have the system camera-inspected. Once you see what’s actually inside your ducts, the interval becomes obvious.
It covers the work we performed. If you find that a duct run we cleaned and photographed is not actually clean, or that a joint we sealed has reopened, we come back and fix it. The guarantee is written on every job, not subject to manager approval. In Medford, where retrofit systems have hidden complications, this matters because some problems only become apparent after the system runs for a few weeks. We’d rather come back and make it right than leave a customer with a system that isn’t performing.
Call CleanRun Air Duct Cleaning in Medford
If you own a home in Medford with retrofitted forced-air ductwork, you already know the system wasn’t designed for easy access. That’s the system we clean. We photograph every duct run before and after, we quote one written price per system before work starts, and every job is backed by the 365-Day Done Right Promise. Call us at (806) 606-6902 to schedule an HVAC cleaning. A live person answers, and we’ll tell you exactly what to expect before we arrive.
Written by Tomas Reyes, Owner at CleanRun Air Duct Cleaning, serving Medford since 2013.