The short answer
If you’re getting the nursery ready in Northern Virginia and wondering about the ducts, look before you pay. We’ll put a camera in your ducts and send you the photos, free. If they’re clean, skip it and spend the money on the crib. If there’s a layer of dust and construction debris in there, a whole home duct cleaning is $598, and when you book it from goswiftpro.com/followus, a box of six warm MOLTN cookies comes with the visit.
Why people ask about ducts before a baby
Your system moves all the air in the house through the same ducts, several times an hour, every day. Whatever sits in those ducts, drywall dust from a renovation, pet hair from the last owner, years of household dust, gets pushed past the filter’s edges and back out the registers. Parents notice it when they start wiping down a nursery and the dust comes back in a day.
We won’t tell you duct cleaning protects a baby’s health. Nobody can promise that, and a pediatrician is the person to ask about a baby’s breathing. What we can tell you is what’s in your ducts, with pictures, and what it takes to get it out.
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When it’s worth doing before the due date
| What we find | What we’d tell you |
|---|---|
| A recent renovation, including the nursery itself | Clean them. Drywall dust settles in the returns and blows out for months. |
| You bought the house in the last year or two | Look first. You don’t know what the last owner ran through them. |
| Pets in the house, now or before you | Look first. Hair collects at the returns. |
| Ducts cleaned in the last few years, no remodel | Usually skip it. Change the filter and move on. |
| Camera shows bare metal | Skip it. We’ll say so. |
Our post on how often air ducts should be cleaned goes deeper on timing, and is air duct cleaning worth it covers the cases where it isn’t.
Timing: four to six weeks out
Do it before the nursery furniture goes in and after any painting or flooring work is finished. Cleaning first and renovating after puts the dust right back. A whole home cleaning takes most of a day in a typical house (how long duct cleaning takes), the registers come off and get washed, and the house is usable the whole time. Nothing gets sprayed into the ducts unless you ask for it.
What it costs
Whole home air duct cleaning is $598, regularly $798: every supply and return line, register covers off, washed and put back. One system, a home up to 2,000 square feet. A bigger house or a second system is priced on the duct cleaning page. The camera look comes first and costs nothing, so the only way you pay is if the photos show it needs doing.
It’s our See us, snap us offer. Book any service from goswiftpro.com/followus and a box of six warm MOLTN cookies comes with your first visit booked that way, one box per household. Spot one of our vans around Chantilly or Ashburn? Snap it (never while you drive), tag @goswiftpro with #SeeUsSnapUs. The duct cleaning price doesn’t combine with other discounts, but the cookies aren’t a discount. They’re a thank you.
Three things to do this week, free
- Change the furnace filter, and put a date on it with a marker.
- Pull one return grille off and shine a phone light in. Gray fuzz on the walls of the duct means it’s time to have it looked at.
- Book the free camera look from the duct cleaning page and decide with photos.
Book it
Duct cleaning with cookies: goswiftpro.com/followus. The drain clearing, heating check, dryer vent or flush with cookies: goswiftpro.com/cookiesoffer. Or call (703) 997-9757. Rated 5.0 stars across 1,138 reviews on Google, Angi, Yelp, the BBB and Facebook, Virginia Class A license 2705192276.
Questions people ask
Should I clean my air ducts before the baby comes?
Look first. We’ll photograph the inside of your ducts free. If they’re clean, skip it. If there’s dust or renovation debris, a whole home cleaning is $598 for one system in a home up to 2,000 square feet.
How far before the due date should we clean the ducts?
Four to six weeks out, after painting and flooring are finished and before the nursery furniture goes in, so new dust doesn’t settle right back.
Does duct cleaning help a baby with allergies or asthma?
We can’t promise that, and a pediatrician is the right person to ask. We can show you what’s in your ducts with camera photos and take it out if it’s there.
Are chemicals used in duct cleaning?
No. We clean with brushes and vacuum. Nothing is sprayed into the ducts unless you ask for it.
Book from goswiftpro.com/followus and a box of six warm MOLTN cookies comes with your first visit booked that way, one box per household in our Northern Virginia service area.
