$99 duct cleaning in Toronto: how the price grows once the crew is inside

A $99 duct cleaning in Toronto and the GTA is a price to get a crew through your door, not the price of the job. The cleaning it pays for is too short to reach the main trunks, and the rest of the money comes from add-ons sold once the crew is inside: the vents the $99 "doesn't cover", a sanitizer, "mould", sometimes a new furnace. With Air Force Shield, the price you are quoted on the phone or on our website is the price on the invoice. A house with one furnace is $399 to $499 before HST, depending on its size, and a condo suite is $449 flat. This guide shows how a $99 bill grows, what Ontario law says about charging more than a quote, and the questions that tell the two kinds of company apart before anyone comes to your house.

Key takeaways

• $99 cannot pay for the work. A whole-house cleaning takes two technicians, a truck-mounted vacuum and about an hour and a half. The low price has to be made up on the day.
• The bill grows in the house. Per-vent charges, a return side or trunk "not included", a furnace fee, a sanitizer, a mould treatment, a furnace replacement.
• Ontario limits charges above an estimate. A business that gives you an estimate cannot bill more than 10% over it unless you agree to the extra in writing, which is why the pitch ends with a signature.
• A fixed price is written down before anyone arrives. Ours is set by the size of the home, includes the furnace and the sanitizer, and does not change on the day.

Why a duct cleaning cannot be done for $99

Count what the job needs. Two technicians for about an hour and a half in a house, a truck-mounted vacuum that pulls on the main supply and return trunks, compressed-air tools and brushes for every branch, floor mats and corner guards, and the drive to your street in Scarborough, Vaughan or Oakville and back. A $99 price is about $112 with HST, which has to cover all of that and the call centre that booked the visit.

A CBC Marketplace investigation hired Toronto duct cleaners through cheap phone offers. In two homes, "the cleaners completed the job in approximately one hour and charged $115 and $99 before tax". The industry expert CBC brought in called that a red flag, "since a proper job should take at least two hours and cost more than $300, depending on the size of the home." For comparison, the US Environmental Protection Agency puts these services at "$450 to $1,000 per heating and cooling system" in its guide Should You Have the Air Ducts in Your Home Cleaned?. Those are US figures, but the gap is the point.

So a $99 visit is either too short to clean anything, or it is the first line of a longer bill. The same CBC report says the dodgier duct cleaners "sometimes pull another scam: upselling," and that homeowners in Canada and the US "have reported duct cleaners who do the work, then claim to discover problems that will cost more money to fix — including full furnace replacement."

How the $99 bill grows once the crew is inside

The add-ons arrive in a familiar order, each one sold as something the technician has just discovered. Here is what you are likely to hear, what it means, and how the same thing is handled in a fixed-price cleaning.

If you are told there is mould

Ask to see it. The EPA tells homeowners to "ask the service provider to show you any mold they say exists," and adds that "although a substance may look like mold, a positive determination of whether it is mold or not can be made only by an expert and may require laboratory analysis for final confirmation." Before a provider uses a chemical biocide in your ducts, the EPA says they should "demonstrate visible evidence of microbial growth in your duct work." And the plainest line in the guide: "Do not allow the use of chemical biocides or chemical treatments unless you fully understand the pros and the cons." A diagnosis made in the first ten minutes of a $99 visit is not an expert finding. If mould is real, the moisture that caused it has to be fixed too, or in the EPA's words, "mold growth will recur."

If you are told the furnace is dangerous

Do not sign anything that day. Ask for the problem in writing with photos, turn the furnace off if you are genuinely worried, and have a heating contractor you choose yourself look at it. A real fault will still be there tomorrow. A sales pitch usually will not.

Your rights in Ontario

Ontario's consumer law covers more of this than most people know.

• A business cannot bill much more than its estimate. Ontario's business guide to the Consumer Protection Act tells companies that give an estimate that they "cannot bill a consumer more than 10% above the estimated price, unless the consumer agrees to the additional charges in writing." That last part is why the upsell ends with a clipboard. You do not have to sign it.
• Duct cleaning cannot be sold to you at the door. Ontario's page on door-to-door sales and home service contracts lists "duct cleaning services" among the things businesses cannot sell or lease through uninvited door-to-door contracts. If a contract is signed that way, it "will be considered void and you can keep the goods or services without obligation."
• You can cancel what you sign at home. For contracts made at your door or in your home, the same page says you have the right to cancel "without any reason within a 10-day cooling-off period, beginning the day you receive a written copy of the agreement." That includes an add-on you were talked into in the basement.
• You can complain. Consumer Protection Ontario takes calls at 1-800-889-9768, or 416-326-8800 in the Toronto area, and complaints online through filing a consumer complaint.

Most $99 offers arrive by phone rather than at the door. For who is behind those calls, what the CRTC found and how to stop them, see duct cleaning calls in Ontario.

How Air Force Shield prices duct cleaning in Toronto and the GTA

The price you are quoted on the phone or on our website is the price you pay. It is set by the type and size of your home, written down before you book, and the same on the invoice.

Every house price includes:

• Every supply and return vent, sealed and pressure-cleaned
• Both main trunks, brushed and vacuumed with the truck-mounted system
• The furnace J-channel, blower fan and furnace base
• Benefect botanical sanitizer through the system
• Floor mats, corner guards and shoe covers
• Before-and-after photos emailed to you

The work follows the same 12-step process on every house. A condo suite's flat fee covers the vents, the fan coil or wall unit, one bathroom exhaust fan and the dryer vent, so there is nothing to add; see condo duct cleaning.

The add-ons are four services on the price list: the dryer vent, the heat recovery ventilator, the humidifier, and a set of three bathroom or laundry exhaust fans. They are $90 each, and with every three you book, one is free. They are on the quote only if you choose them. Nothing is priced on the doorstep, and nothing goes on the invoice that you did not ask for.

Three things do not change the price: how many vents you have, the day of the week, and where you live in the GTA. A house in North York costs the same as the same house in Scarborough, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill or Oakville. We never cold-call, every cleaning carries our "Love it or don't pay" guarantee, and you can check us before you book: Air Force Shield is a CNADCA certified company, ID CA-00153, at 855 Alness St #13 in North York. The full price list, with the reasons behind it, is on the duct cleaning cost page.

Six questions to ask before anyone comes to your house

1. What is the total for my whole house, in writing? Not a price per vent and not a price "from".
2. What exactly does that include? Each supply and return run, the main trunks, the blower and the furnace base should all be named. The EPA says the provider should agree "to clean all components of the system".
3. Is the sanitizer included, or extra? If it is extra, ask the price now, not in your basement.
4. What could be added on the day, and for how much? A company with a fixed price can answer this in one sentence.
5. Who is coming? The legal business name, a street address and a certification you can look up. The guide to certified duct cleaners in Canada explains what a listing proves.
6. What happens if I am not happy? Ours is simple: love it or don't pay.

The EPA also suggests talking to "at least three different service providers" and getting "written estimates before deciding whether to have your ducts cleaned." That is easy to do in an afternoon, and it ends the $99 conversation quickly.

Already booked a $99 cleaning?

You can cancel. If you decide to let them come, get the total for the whole house in writing before any work starts, decide in advance that you will not buy extras on the spot, take your own photos of anything they say they found, and do not sign for additional charges you have not had time to check. If something sounds serious, a second opinion costs you a day. For the full list of warning signs, read air duct cleaning in the GTA: when it is worth it, costs and scams, and to see what an honest visit looks like hour by hour, read what happens on duct cleaning day.

Get a price that stays the price

The online quote asks for your type of home, its size, the number of furnaces and any add-ons, and shows the total on the screen in about 20 seconds. That number is what you pay. To pick a date, use the booking page or call (416) 548-7833. We are open seven days a week, 6:00 AM to midnight, across Toronto and the GTA.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a $99 duct cleaning in Toronto a scam?

Usually it is a bait price. A whole-house cleaning takes two technicians and a truck-mounted vacuum about an hour and a half, which $99 cannot pay for, so the money comes from add-ons sold once the crew is inside, or the visit is too short to clean the trunks. CBC Marketplace found crews booked this way finishing in about an hour.

How much should duct cleaning cost in Toronto and the GTA?

With Air Force Shield, a house with one furnace is $399 under 2,000 sq ft, $449 from 2,001 to 3,000 sq ft and $499 from 3,001 to 4,000 sq ft, before HST. A condo suite is $449 flat for a single unit. Each extra furnace adds $150.

Can a duct cleaning company charge more than its quote in Ontario?

Ontario's consumer protection guide says a business that gives an estimate cannot bill more than 10% above it unless the consumer agrees to the additional charges in writing. Do not sign for extra charges on the spot if you have not had time to check them.

Do I need a sanitizer or mould treatment after duct cleaning?

Not as a routine add-on. The EPA says a provider should show visible evidence of microbial growth before using a chemical biocide, and that only an expert, sometimes with a lab test, can confirm mould. Our cleanings include Benefect botanical sanitizer at no extra charge.

Does Air Force Shield add charges on the day?

No. The price you are quoted on the phone or on our website is the price on the invoice. The only extras are four listed add-ons at $90 each, and they are on the quote only if you choose them.

Do you charge per vent?

No. The price is for the whole home by size, and every supply and return vent, the main trunks, the blower and the furnace base are included.

Is the price different in Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan or Markham?

No. The price depends on the home, not the city, and there is no separate travel charge anywhere in Toronto and the GTA.