Air Duct Cleaning in Marina del Rey, CA

It depends on what the salt air has done to the metal and the liner. On a lot of the 1960s–70s harbor buildings here, the duct runs are short and internal, so the sheet metal is often still sound and a proper cleaning plus sanitizing of the liner gets you years more out of it. What we can't clean back is fiberglass liner that has gone soft, crumbly, or carries visible microbial growth all the way through, or supply boots that have rusted thin from years of condensation. In those cases we'll tell you straight that the section needs replacement rather than take your money for cleaning it. We look at the liner and the boots before we quote anything, and in a shared chase we check what's actually accessible from your unit versus what belongs to the building.

A few things, over and over. First, condensation on supply boots: marine humidity plus cold supply air means the metal sweats, and that damp spot feeds growth on the surrounding liner and stains the ceiling or wall around the register. Second, corrosion. Salt air reaches closet-mounted and rooftop air handlers alike, and we regularly find rusted cabinet panels, pitted boots, and seized dampers. Third, loading from outside air. This stretch sits under the LAX approach and near the Lincoln and Admiralty traffic, so fine particulate and road dust come in through returns and settle in the runs and on the coil. Damp mechanical closets, common here given how close the water table and harbor are, make all three worse.

Sometimes, for townhomes and ground-level units where we can park and carry equipment in directly. High-rise and mid-rise condos usually can't be same day, because most buildings here require advance notice for freight elevator use, a certificate of insurance on file, and in some cases a loading dock or garage access time slot. If your air handler is on the roof, we also need the building to arrange roof access. Call us and tell us the building and where the unit sits; we'll tell you honestly whether today is realistic or whether we're booking you for later in the week.

Less time than you'd expect, because the duct runs in these buildings are short and mostly internal. A typical one- or two-bedroom condo with a closet-mounted air handler is usually a half day, including pulling and cleaning the registers and boots, the return, the blower, and the coil face. It runs longer if the mechanical closet is tight or damp and we have to work around standing moisture, if we're cleaning a rooftop unit and have to stage equipment up there, or if we find liner damage and need to stop and show you what we're looking at before going further.