Duct Odor Investigation
Trace musty, stale, or animal odors to their real source.
Learn moreA borescope camera goes into your supply and return runs and shows you exactly what's there: dust load, debris, moisture staining, suspect growth, crushed or disconnected runs leaking attic air into the system. We weigh what we see against EPA's published guidance — visible mold, vermin, or significant buildup — and give you a straight recommendation: clean now, clean these runs only, or don't clean at all. Either way you leave with photos, a written condition report, and a baseline to compare against in a few years. It's the honest starting point for every other service we offer.
Prices shown are starting estimates and may change with the condition, access, and scope we find on site. Only a written quote from an on-site visit is a price we commit to.
A duct inspection puts a camera where opinions usually go. We scope the supply and return runs, both plenums, and the filter arrangement, photographing dust depth, moisture staining, suspect microbial growth, crushed or torn flex duct, and connections that have pulled loose and are drawing attic air into the system. Findings are weighed against EPA's published guidance — cleaning earns a recommendation only when there's visible mold, vermin, or significant buildup. You get the photo set, a written condition report, and one of three honest verdicts: clean now, clean specific runs, or leave it alone and re-check in a couple of years.
A camera duct inspection & air-quality assessment isn't a matter of opinion — it's measured against published industry standards. Prime Air Duct does every job to the named standards below and documents it, so the work is provably right for you, an insurer, or a future buyer. These are the industry benchmarks our procedures follow on every job.
EPA's advice on duct cleaning is condition-based, not calendar-based: visible mold, vermin, or significant debris. Our inspection reports state plainly which of those conditions, if any, your system meets.
Standards cited are the established industry benchmarks (NADCA, EPA, ASHRAE, UL) that our procedures follow on this service — the same method and documentation on every job, whether it's a single register or a whole-home system.
We map the system room by room, then run the borescope through every accessible supply and return, capturing photos as we go.
Both plenums are opened and examined, and the current filter setup is checked for fit, rating, and whether your blower can support it.
You see the footage with us, register by register, while questions are fresh — no waiting around for a mystery verdict.
Within a day you have the photo set, condition notes, and a recommendation measured plainly against EPA's three conditions.
We've worked on 0+ DFW homes over 15+ years. Every job — a single register or a whole-home system — runs the same way: trained technicians, written quotes, before-and-after photos, warranty in writing.
The inspection is priced to stand on its own, so nothing rides on selling you a cleaning afterward
Photos of your actual ducts — not stock images of the worst system anyone ever found
Fifteen-plus years of combined field experience reading the difference between cosmetic dust and a real problem
A written report you keep: compare it against future inspections, or against any other company's pitch
Family-owned, NADCA ACR-standard, EPA-guided. We're the team you call when you want it done right the first time — no rotating subcontractors, no upsell pressure, no surprises. Same techs, same trucks, same standard.

Maybe not — and we'll be the ones to tell you. EPA guidance says duct cleaning is warranted in three situations: visible mold, vermin in the ducts, or significant dust and debris buildup. Not on a calendar, not automatically every few years. Our $99 camera inspection checks your system against those conditions and gives you a straight verdict with photos. A meaningful share of inspections end with 'not yet, re-check in a couple of years' — and that answer costs you $99, not $600.
A full-system source-removal cleaning starts at $349, targeted supply-and-return work at $199, and a camera inspection at $99. Those are honest starting points, not bait: your exact quote is confirmed after we look at the system on camera and before any work begins, and it doesn't change mid-job. Add-ons like sanitizing ($149) or a UV light ($399) are offered only when the footage shows a real indication — our technicians don't earn commissions.
Three to five hours for a typical single-system home. The honest variables are the number of runs, attic access, duct type, and how much debris the system is carrying — a two-system two-story takes longer than a compact ranch. We'd rather quote you a real window than promise a ninety-minute miracle, because whole-home source removal physically cannot be done in ninety minutes. You'll get a specific time estimate with your quote, and the system is back on the moment we finish.
There's no honest fixed schedule, and we won't invent one. Ducts need cleaning when their condition says so — after a renovation, a pest issue, a moisture event, or gradual buildup that's now visible on camera. Some systems go a decade staying respectable; others load up in three years because of construction next door or a heavy-shedding pet. The economical habit is an inexpensive camera inspection every few years: it either buys you peace of mind or catches the problem while it's a targeted cleaning instead of a full one.
Here's the careful answer. Cleaning removes the reservoir of settled dust, pollen, and dander that your system can re-circulate — in Texas, that reservoir includes cedar, oak, and ragweed seasons past. What it won't do is cure allergies or stop new pollen from entering the house, and EPA notes that duct cleaning has never been conclusively shown to prevent health problems. We treat it as hygiene, not medicine: empty the reservoir, then pair it with the right filter, which often matters just as much. Anyone promising more than that is selling.
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Other services in the Inspection & Diagnostics category.
Flat fee confirmed when you book. Same-week scheduling. A pass/fail verdict within 48 hours.
Water intrusion in the ducts, a musty smell that won't quit, or vermin in the system? We answer 7 AM to midnight and every visit ends with camera photos and a written verdict — including a straight "your ducts are fine" when that's what we find. After-hours dispatch runs subject to crew availability.
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