University Place, Pierce County
Air duct cleaning in University Place starts at $535 for one forced-air system in an ordinary house. Every extra register, a long crawl space run or a second furnace pushes the figure up. It is worth doing for specific reasons, and we look at the ducts before recommending it, not after.
Typical investment
From $535
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Book your $99 inspection
$99 plus tax, deducted when you approve the repair
Not sure where to start
Pick what you're seeing at your University Place home — we'll point you to the right fix.
What we do
The same crew, the same written quote — for University Place homes.
Level 1 or Level 2 as needed; Level 2 includes a camera run through the entire flue
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Top-to-bottom brushing of flue and firebox under drop cloths, with a HEPA vacuum pulling the dust
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Loose or damaged brick, open joints and firebox panels repaired
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A full-length stainless-steel or cast liner, firebox to chimney top
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A stainless cap sized to your actual flue dimensions
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Burner, pilot assembly and valve cleaned and adjusted
Learn moreRanges shown for orientation — the exact figure is written up on-site, after the inspection.
The median home in University Place was built in 1981, so a lot of forced-air systems in town have ductwork that is forty years old or more, running through crawl spaces, attics or garages. Furnaces have been replaced along the way; the ducts usually have not. Some have not been opened since the house went up.
University Place has waterfront on Puget Sound, around Chambers Bay and the golf course opened there in 2007, and much of its housing predates the city itself: the median home dates from 1981, and close to half of them were built before 1980.
In houses of that age, supply ducts often run through a vented crawl space, which breathes the same damp air as the outdoors. Through a wet winter that air stays damp, and a crawl space duct with a loose joint or torn insulation is where a musty smell usually starts.
Where ducts run through the attic, the roof above them is their only protection. OSU Extension explains that moss on a Northwest roof holds wet soil and debris, and over time can lift shingles enough for water to get into the layers below.
Water that finds its way through a moss-damaged patch can drip onto ductwork long before it stains a ceiling. With the Tacoma #1 station, the nearest long record, averaging just under 40 inches of precipitation a year, a slow roof leak has plenty of chances. A duct that got wet is one of the clear cases for cleaning, once the roof is fixed.
Every air duct cleaning we do in University Place includes:
Smoke coming back into the room, or a smell that won't go? Book the inspection first.
Book nowCleaning earns its price here in a handful of situations: a remodel that sent drywall dust and sawdust into the returns, a roof or crawl space leak that wet a duct run, growth visible at a register, rodents nesting in crawl space ducts, or years of indoor smoking by a previous owner. Outside those cases, spending the money on better filters is the smarter move.
A camera goes into two or three supply runs and the main return. If they are only lightly dusty, we say so and leave.
A truck- or cart-mounted collector is tied into the trunk line, and every register is taped over so dust can only travel one way.
Rotating brushes and compressed-air whips go down each branch in turn, from the farthest register back toward the furnace.
Grilles go back on washed, the blower door is checked, and you get the photos plus a filter recommendation.
Over 1982 to 2016, the Tacoma #1 station logged its heaviest precipitation in November and January, and the heating season runs through the same months. Furnaces run hard while crawl spaces and attics stay damp, which is when a duct problem becomes a smell.
Outdoor air is a separate question. Of the days in 2023, the clean air agency rated 272 good across Pierce County; 90 came in moderate and only 3 unhealthy. On the moderate and unhealthy days, cleaning the ducts does little; a well-fitted filter, changed on time, is what helps.
What this work is quoted at for University Place homes — the exact figure comes from the $99 on-site inspection, credited toward the work.
| Service | Price in University Place | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Air Duct Cleaning | From $535 | Whole HVAC system — trunks, branches and every register |
| Chimney Sweep | $189–$449 | Full flue swept, Level 1 inspection included |
| Chimney Inspection | $99 plus tax | Level 1 visual; Level 2 adds a full camera scan |
| Chimney Relining | From $1,900 | Full-length stainless liner, sized to the appliance |
| Chimney Repair | From $375 | Masonry repair — brick and mortar, scoped after diagnosis |
Ranges are what these jobs are quoted at in University Place. The exact figure is set on site after a $99 inspection (credited toward the job if you go ahead), and you approve it before any work starts.
University Place is a city incorporated in 1995 and named for a university campus planned in the 1890s but never built there, on Puget Sound, with homes with a median build year of 1981, about half of them built before 1980.
University PlacePierce County, WA · 47.250, -122.552
Before and after
Illustrations of what each repair changes on a typical chimney — not photos of a specific job.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
After
Four steps, each one on paper — so you always know what happens next.
Choose a genuine opening on the crew's calendar. Confirmation is immediate.
Liner, crown, cap, flashing and masonry examined in order — each finding photographed.
One document, plain numbers, covering only the work your chimney genuinely needs.
The repair is completed, then handed over with before-and-after photos of every item.
It begins at $535 for a single system in an ordinary house. Extra registers, long runs or a second furnace raise it; the number is fixed once we have seen how the ducts are laid out.
Very little. Smoke from wood stoves or summer fires arrives with outside air, not from inside the ductwork. A properly rated furnace filter, swapped on schedule, is the better tool on those days.
Not necessarily. If there has been no remodel dust, no water, no growth and no animals, cleaning may change nothing you can notice, and we will tell you that up front.
A $99 on-site inspection, a written quote before any work, and photos of every item we touch.
