The short answer
If the house you just moved into in Northern Virginia gets dusty again a day after you clean, the ducts are the first place to look. You don’t know what the last owner ran through them: a remodel, three dogs, a filter that hadn’t been changed since the listing photos. Change the filter today, then get camera photos of the ducts, free, from our duct cleaning page. If they need it, a whole home cleaning is $598, and booked from goswiftpro.com/followus, a box of six warm MOLTN cookies comes with it.
Why a new house gets so dusty
- The filter. Sellers rarely change it. A clogged filter lets air slip around its edges, and that air carries dust straight to the registers.
- Renovation dust. A flip or a fresh coat of paint before the sale leaves fine drywall dust in the return ducts, and the system blows it out for months.
- Leaky return ducts. A return that’s open to an attic or crawlspace pulls in insulation and dirt. Our post on leaky ducts in Northern Virginia covers that one.
- The last owner’s pets. Hair and dander sit in the returns. That’s often why allergies show up in a new house when they never did in the old one.
The $67 Heating Check
We check your furnace, heat pump or boiler before winter. Through December 31. See the offer
Allergies started after the move?
It’s one of the most common things new homeowners tell us. We can’t diagnose allergies and we won’t promise duct cleaning fixes them. What we can do is find out whether the last owner’s dust, hair and renovation debris is sitting in your ducts, show you the photos, and take it out. If the ducts are clean, we’ll tell you to save the money.
Duct cleaning in a new house: do it or skip it
| Your situation | Our call |
|---|---|
| Flipped or renovated before the sale | Clean them, before you unpack if you can. |
| Sellers had pets and you don’t | Look first. Usually worth it. |
| New construction, first year | Look first. Builders leave sawdust and drywall dust behind. |
| Ducts cleaned in the disclosure, no remodel since | Skip it. Change the filter. |
| Camera shows clean metal | Skip it. |
Our 40-pound story (what came out of one Northern Virginia house) shows what a bad case looks like. Most aren’t that bad, which is why the photos come first.
What to do in your first week
- Find the filter (in the furnace, or behind a big return grille), change it, write the date on it.
- Run the fan for a day with a fresh filter and see whether the dust slows down.
- Get the free duct camera look, and while we’re there, have the system itself checked. The heating check is $67 per system through December 31.
- Find out how old the water heater is with our water heater age lookup.
The full first-month list is in our new homeowner HVAC and plumbing checklist.
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. Book it from goswiftpro.com/followus and a box of six warm MOLTN cookies comes with your first visit, one box per household. A good way to meet the neighbors, too.
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
Why is my new house so dusty after moving in?
Usually a clogged filter the sellers never changed, renovation dust in the return ducts, or a leaky return pulling from the attic. Change the filter first, then have the ducts looked at.
Should I get duct cleaning when I move into a new house?
If it was renovated, or the sellers had pets, usually yes. Otherwise look first. We photograph your ducts free, and a whole home cleaning is $598 if they need it.
Can a new house make my allergies worse?
People tell us it happens a lot. We can’t diagnose allergies, but we can show you whether the last owner’s dust and pet hair is sitting in your ducts and take it out.
Do new construction homes need duct cleaning?
Often in the first year. Builders leave sawdust and drywall dust in the ducts. Look first with the free camera photos.
Book from goswiftpro.com/followus and a box of six warm MOLTN cookies comes with your first visit booked that way.
