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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Before
AfterAir Duct Cleaning Company in Kensington, CA
Air duct cleaning in Kensington, CA means working inside homes built into steep hillsides, many of them mid-century originals with duct runs that have not been opened since they were installed. We’re Cardinal Air Duct Cleaning, and we handle the three jobs Kensington homeowners call about most: full air duct cleaning, HVAC system cleaning, and dryer vent cleaning. Each has its own Kensington page linked just below, so you can get into the specific details fast. If you’d rather just talk to a person, call us at (737) 727-2314 and we’ll walk you through what makes sense for your house.
Why Kensington Homes Are Different
Kensington sits in the hills above Berkeley and Albany, which means the terrain does most of the talking before we even arrive. Homes on streets like Beverly Place, Windsor Avenue, and Westminster Avenue are built into slopes, and that affects everything about how ducts are laid out. In many Kensington homes, the furnace and main trunk line live in a crawlspace carved into the hillside, not a flat concrete basement. Crawlspace ductwork picks up damp, gritty Bay Area dust faster than ductwork in a conditioned interior space, and access panels are often tighter than builders would get away with today.
The housing stock here runs heavily to homes built between the 1940s and 1960s, and the original sheet-metal ducts in those houses are still in service in a lot of cases. Metal ducts from that era have seams that loosen over decades of thermal expansion, and when gaps open, the system starts pulling in whatever the crawlspace has to offer. Coastal fog rolling into the hills keeps things damp enough that what collects in the ducts gets stuck there rather than staying loose. That combination of old metal, hillside crawlspaces, and marine-layer moisture is what makes a Kensington duct job different from the same job in the flats.
Our Main Kensington Services
Each of the three services below has its own dedicated Kensington page with pricing specifics, process details, and FAQs. Here’s the quick version of what each job involves when it happens in this part of the East Bay hills.
Dryer Vent Cleaning in Kensington
Dryer vents in Kensington run longer than average because of how hillside homes route exhaust to an outside wall. That extra length is exactly where lint builds up into a layered, compressed blockage, and the bends and elbows required by sloped lots make clogs more likely. Our technician runs a rotating brush through the full vent run and pulls the loosened lint out with a HEPA vacuum, then verifies airflow at the exterior vent cap. We also check for bird screens and foil-tape sloppiness from previous work, both common on older Kensington homes. Read the full breakdown on our Dryer Vent Cleaning in Kensington page.
Air Duct Cleaning in Kensington
Whole-home air duct cleaning in Kensington starts with a camera look at what’s actually inside your ducts, because in homes with original 1950s and 1960s trunk lines the answer is almost never “nothing.” We use a Rotobrush rotary brush system to knock dust and debris off interior duct walls while a Nikro negative-air vacuum extracts it at the source. No debris goes back into your living space. Access limitations in Kensington crawlspaces can stretch the job, but the flat-rate price we hand you before work starts does not change because of it. Details are on the Air Duct Cleaning in Kensington page.
HVAC Cleaning in Kensington
HVAC cleaning in Kensington means going beyond ducts to the equipment itself: evaporator coils, blower motor, housing, and condensate lines. Hillside properties tend to have horizontal furnace installations, and those pack coils and blowers into spaces that collect dust differently than vertical units in modern conditioned basements. We clean the coil with professional-grade methods that restore heat exchange, clear the blower wheel, and flush the condensate drain so it does not back up into the unit. Filters get inspected and replaced with brands we stock. See the full scope on the HVAC Cleaning in Kensington page.
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 Kensington
We stock and service filters and components from Aprilaire, Honeywell, and Guardsman, and we run Abatement Technologies containment units on larger jobs where dust control matters. We do not push one brand as the answer; the right filter depends on what your Kensington system actually is. Need a specific part? Our our brands page lists what we keep on the truck.
Pricing for Air Duct Cleaning Company in Kensington, CA
| Service | Typical range in Kensington |
|---|---|
| Standard air duct cleaning | $450 to $800 for a typical single system |
| Dryer vent cleaning | $125 to $250 |
| HVAC cleaning (coils, blower, housing) | $250 to $550 |
| Crawlspace or attic access (single system) | Adds $100 to $250 |
| Second system or zoned ductwork | Adds $200 to $450 |
| Filter replacement (per unit) | $30 to $90 |
| Visual camera inspection add-on | $75 to $150 |
| HEPA vacuum extraction | Included with standard cleaning |
What pushes a Kensington price toward the top of a range is usually the hillside crawlspace factor: tighter access, longer tool setup, and duct runs that snake in ways flat-land homes’ systems do not. Whatever the final number, you get it in writing before a single vent cover comes off. The price we hand you is the price on the invoice.
Neighborhoods We Serve in Kensington
We work throughout Kensington’s hillside neighborhoods, from the streets winding above Colusa Avenue up to the ridges near Tilden Park. Here are the areas where our vans are most often parked:
- Upper Kensington above Arlington Avenue
- Kensington Park near the community center
- The east hillside toward Tilden Regional Park
- West Kensington along the Berkeley border
Most Kensington jobs are scheduled within a few business days, and our trackable arrival window means you see when we are actually on the way, not an estimate from a dispatcher.
Service Area – Cities Near Kensington
Kensington sits within our broader Bay Area service footprint. We run crews throughout the East Bay and across the state, including San Francisco, CA and San Jose, CA to the south, plus Los Angeles, CA and San Diego, CA for larger projects. Scheduling is coordinated from our San Francisco Bay Area office, with local crews dispatched to Kensington.
Serving Kensington, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Kensington 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 Kensington
Most Kensington jobs are scheduled within two to five business days. The hillside location does not add dispatch time, since our crews serve the East Bay directly. When you book, you get a live trackable arrival window through The Relay Standard, so you know the tech is actually close before you open the door. Call (737) 727-2314 to check current openings.
Kensington is largely unincorporated with single-family homes, so HOAs are uncommon compared to planned communities. For the few homes in shared developments, interior duct work does not need HOA approval. We’ve never had a Kensington job delayed by association rules, and we do not need special permits for interior duct, HVAC, or dryer vent cleaning. Call (737) 727-2314 with questions about your specific property.
It can. Kensington’s sloped lots often add crawlspace or attic access time, and some homes need longer hose runs or extra containment setup. Those factors are included in the written price you get before work starts, not tacked on later. Every quote is flat-rate per system, and it does not change at the door. Call (737) 727-2314 for an exact figure.
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 Kensington Customers Say
"Booked a slot in the app, got a reminder text, and watched the crew's van on the map as it came. Cleaned all the vents and the main trunk. Easy from start to finish."
- Rob J."Cleaning plus HVAC coil clean. Tech texted when he was ten minutes away. No surprises on the price."
- Evan S."Dryer vent fix fixed the burning smell. The clog was behind the elbow and the whole laundry room smells normal now."
- Dennis K.