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
AfterFull System Cleaning in Marietta, GA
Full system cleaning is a complete cleaning of every component in your home’s forced-air system: every supply duct run, every return line, the main trunk lines, the plenum (the central distribution box your HVAC air flows through first), registers, grilles, and the air handler cabinet itself. In Marietta, a thorough full system cleaning typically runs $349 to $649 for most single-family homes, depending on square footage, the number of duct runs, and system configuration. Most jobs are completed the same day.
This is the page for homeowners who want to understand what actually happens during a proper cleaning – not a shop-vac pass at a duct opening, but a documented, negative-pressure extraction of an entire duct system from supply to return. If you’ve already looked into what this service covers, our Air Duct Cleaning in Marietta parent page has the full scope. Call (470) 516-9337 for a written price before we ever schedule a truck.
CleanRun has been doing this since 2013, and we’ve photographed the inside of duct systems in more than 52,000 homes. Tomas Reyes built the company around one principle: a homeowner should be able to see exactly what was inside their ducts before the crew left. That’s not a sales point – it’s what we hand you at the end of every job.
When You Need Full System Cleaning
Not every Air Duct Cleaning services call in Marietta needs a full system service. A targeted cleaning might be enough if one section of a run has been disturbed by a recent repair. But full system cleaning is the right call in several situations we see regularly in this area:
- You’ve owned the home for more than five years and the ducts have never been cleaned. Marietta’s humid summers drive HVAC systems hard from May through September, and systems that run constantly accumulate dust, biological debris, and pollen at a faster rate than homes in drier climates. By year five, the debris load at the first and second elbow of most runs we photograph here is measurable in inches, not fractions.
- You bought a resale home built between 1980 and 2005. Homes in East Cobb, Smyrna, and the older Marietta in-town neighborhoods frequently have original fiberglass duct board that has degraded over time. Camera inspection in these homes routinely shows liner separation and debris accumulation that a single-register clean won’t address.
- There’s been recent renovation work – drywall, flooring, or insulation. Construction dust bypasses most return filters and settles through the entire duct network. We’ve pulled consistent 2-to-4-inch debris plugs from homes in West Marietta after major kitchen or bathroom renovations.
- You’re noticing uneven airflow or higher energy bills without an HVAC explanation. When a technician can’t find a mechanical reason for poor distribution, the duct runs are often the answer. Debris accumulation increases resistance and reduces static pressure at the registers farthest from the air handler.
- A previous cleaning company left without showing you documentation. If a prior service couldn’t produce before-and-after photos of the duct interiors, there’s a reasonable chance the job wasn’t done past the register opening. Full system cleaning with a camera record gives you a verifiable baseline going forward.
- Someone in the household has respiratory sensitivities or allergies. This is particularly relevant in Marietta during oak pollen season – March through May – when outdoor allergen loads are high and HVAC systems running in recirculation mode can pull pollen that has settled in duct runs back into living space repeatedly.
Our Full System Cleaning Process
Every full system cleaning CleanRun performs in Marietta follows the same documented sequence. Nothing is skipped because the job is small or the schedule is tight. Here’s what that looks like from the time the truck arrives to the time the photo record is in your hands:
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Pre-cleaning inspection and camera documentation.
Before any equipment enters a duct, a technician photographs the interior of each duct run using a camera scope. These are the before photos – the ones that show you what the debris load actually looks like at the first bend, at the mid-run, and near the register boot. You’ll see the difference between a duct that needs cleaning and one that doesn’t, in actual images, not in a technician’s verbal description. This step is how CleanRun has operated since 2013 and it’s what separates a documented job from a performed one. -
System isolation and negative-pressure setup.
A Nikro or Abatement Technologies collection unit is connected to the trunk line or a central access point and creates negative pressure across the duct system – essentially turning the entire duct network into a controlled vacuum environment. This prevents loosened debris from migrating into the living space during the agitation phase. Registers are temporarily sealed with covers to maintain that pressure differential across the entire system. -
Mechanical agitation of every duct run.
A rotary brush system – typically Rotobrush equipment – works through each individual supply and return duct run from register boot back toward the plenum. The brush physically dislodges debris that has bonded to duct walls, liner surfaces, or duct board, while the negative-pressure extraction pulls that debris toward the collection unit rather than back into the home. This step is repeated for every run in the system, not sampled. -
Plenum, trunk line, and air handler cabinet cleaning.
The plenum is the section directly upstream of the supply trunk – it’s where air from the HVAC system enters the duct network, and it’s where microbial growth and debris accumulation tends to concentrate because of temperature and moisture conditions. We clean the plenum, the main trunk lines in both directions, and the interior of the air handler cabinet, including the evaporator coil area access if the configuration allows. This is the part of a full system clean that a register-only service never touches. -
Register and grille cleaning.
All supply and return registers and grilles are removed, cleaned of surface debris and any biological buildup, and reinstalled. The register boots – the metal collars that connect the grille to the duct – are also wiped down. This step matters because a cleaned duct that terminates at a clogged register boot loses airflow efficiency at the last inch. -
Post-cleaning camera documentation and written job record delivery.
After cleaning, the same camera scope passes through each duct run again. The after photos are placed alongside the before photos in a documented job record that you receive before the truck leaves. The written scope, the written price you approved at the start, and the 365-Day Done Right Promise are all included in that record. If the camera shows a section that wasn’t cleaned to standard – which is rare, but it has happened – we go back in before closing out the job.
BeforeAfterFull System Cleaning Pricing in Marietta
Full system cleaning in Marietta runs $349 to $649 for most single-family homes. That range reflects the actual variation we see across the homes we service in this market – not a bait figure meant to get a truck in your driveway before the real number appears. Here’s what moves the price within that range:
- Number of duct runs: Each supply and return run requires individual agitation and extraction. A 1,400-square-foot ranch-style home in Kennesaw Road might have 10 supply runs and 3 returns. A 3,200-square-foot two-story in East Cobb can have 22 supply runs and 6 returns. More runs mean more time and more equipment passes.
- System configuration: Homes with a single air handler are faster to set up than homes with dual-zone systems, which require two separate negative-pressure setups and full cleaning of two independent duct networks. Multi-unit homes are quoted at the high end or beyond the range above.
- Duct material and condition: Flexible duct and rigid sheet metal clean at comparable speeds. Deteriorated fiberglass duct board – common in Marietta homes built before 1995 – requires a slower, more controlled brush pass to avoid liner damage. If camera inspection shows duct board that is beyond cleaning and needs replacement, that’s a separate scope quoted separately in writing before any additional work begins.
- Debris load: A home that has never had duct cleaning in 15 years takes longer than a home cleaned three years ago. We don’t charge by the pound, but we do account for job time honestly when pricing.
- Add-on services: Sanitizing application with an EPA-registered antimicrobial product, or installation of a UV air purification system from Honeywell or Aprilaire, is quoted as a separate line item if the customer wants it. It’s never bundled into the base price without disclosure.
Every price is delivered in writing before any work begins. That’s Haven Standard Clause 1, and it applies to every job without exception. There is no “call for a quote” here – call (470) 516-9337 and a live person will walk through your home’s configuration and give you a written number before you decide anything.
CleanRun also offers a free second opinion on any written estimate from a competitor. Bring the quote, and we’ll put our number next to it in writing. You can look them up side by side and decide.
FAQs – Full System Cleaning
How is full system cleaning different from a standard duct cleaning?
Full system cleaning covers every component in your forced-air system: every supply run, every return run, the plenum, the main trunk lines, the air handler cabinet, and all registers and grilles. A standard duct cleaning – particularly the discounted-coupon variety common in the Marietta market – typically means a shop-vac or portable vacuum applied at each register opening, which cleans approximately the first 12 inches of each run and nothing upstream of it. The debris that causes airflow problems and air-quality concerns sits at the first elbow and beyond, which is the section a register-only service never reaches. The before-and-after camera photos CleanRun provides on every job make this difference visible in a way that’s hard to argue with. Call (470) 516-9337 if you’d like to understand what scope is right for your home before committing to anything.
How much does full system cleaning cost in Marietta?
Full system cleaning in Marietta typically costs $349 to $649 for a single-family home, depending on the number of duct runs, system configuration, and debris load. Homes with dual-zone systems or severely deteriorated duct board may fall above that range – in which case, you’ll see the exact number in writing before any work starts. There are no estimates given verbally and then revised on-site. Written price, before work begins, every time. Call (470) 516-9337 for a written quote specific to your home’s layout.
How long does a full system cleaning take?
Most single-family homes in Marietta take three to five hours from camera inspection through to final photo documentation. A smaller home with a single air handler and fewer than 14 duct runs can come in under three hours. Larger East Cobb homes with dual-zone systems and 20-plus runs regularly run five to six hours when done correctly. Any cleaning quoted at 60 to 90 minutes for a full-size home is almost certainly not a full system clean – it’s a register-only pass. The camera record at the end of a CleanRun job shows what was actually cleaned, so the timeline is accountable in a way that a quick visit isn’t.
Does full system cleaning disturb the ductwork or risk damage?
Done correctly, no. The negative-pressure extraction method keeps loosened debris moving toward the collection unit rather than back into living space or into adjacent duct sections. The rotary brush passes are controlled and adjusted for duct material – a fiberglass duct board liner gets a slower, lower-pressure pass than rigid sheet metal. That said, camera inspection before cleaning sometimes reveals duct board or flexible duct in a condition where cleaning would cause more damage than it prevents. When that happens, we stop, show you the photos, and quote duct repair or replacement as a separate written scope. We don’t clean ductwork that shouldn’t be cleaned. The 365-Day Done Right Promise is in writing on every job record, and it covers the work we performed.
Why Marietta Homes Benefit from Documented Full System Cleaning
Marietta’s climate creates conditions that accelerate debris accumulation in duct systems faster than most homeowners expect. Humidity levels from June through August regularly push HVAC systems to run eight to twelve hours a day. That runtime draws more air across more surfaces and deposits more particulate inside duct walls than a system running four hours a day in a drier climate would. Homes in the Roswell Road corridor, in the subdivisions east of Whitlock Avenue, and in the older neighborhoods around Marietta Square tend to have systems that are working hard enough that five years between cleanings is a long time.
The documentation piece matters in Marietta specifically because the local market has a history of discount duct cleaning services that have trained homeowners to be skeptical – and reasonably so. A $79 coupon doesn’t pay for the equipment, the technician’s time, and the overhead to clean a full duct system. It pays for a truck visit and some noise. CleanRun’s before-and-after camera record exists precisely so that you don’t have to take anyone’s word for what was done inside your ducts. The photos are part of the standard job record – not an upgrade, not an option.
Tomas Reyes has operated CleanRun under that standard since 2013. Every technician on every job is background-checked, uniformed, and identified by name before arrival – Haven Standard Clause 3. The equipment used on full system cleaning jobs in Marietta includes Nikro and Abatement Technologies collection systems and Rotobrush agitation equipment. These are brands you can look up before agreeing to a price. That’s the point.
If you want to understand more about what goes into a complete air duct service for your home, the CleanRun home page covers the full range of services we provide across the metro area.
Schedule Full System Cleaning in Marietta
If your home is in Marietta and the ducts haven’t been properly cleaned and documented, call (470) 516-9337. A live person answers every call. You’ll get a written price before any work is scheduled, and a documented photo record of every duct run before the truck leaves. The 365-Day Done Right Promise is in writing on every job. There’s no quote to “call for” – just a number, in writing, before you decide anything.
Written by Tomas Reyes, Owner at CleanRun Air Duct Cleaning Marietta, serving Marietta.