Whole-system duct and dryer vent check with before-and-after photos - you see exactly what came out of your vents
That "$99 whole-house special" is a bait ad - the real number appears once they are in your hallway, or the "clean" is a shop-vac at the register. We photograph the inside of your ducts before and after instead.
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Before
AfterVideo Inspection in Round Rock, TX
Duct video inspection is a diagnostic service where a small, flexible camera is run through your duct runs, plenum box, and branch lines to document exactly what’s inside – on video and in photographs – before any cleaning or repair work begins. In Round Rock, most homes built between 1995 and 2015 have flex-duct systems tucked into attics that regularly hit 140°F in July and August, which accelerates liner degradation, joint separation, and debris buildup in ways that no visual check from a register opening can catch. At CleanRun Duct Repair & Cleaning, every inspection produces a written scope and a documented photo record you keep – not a verbal summary you have to take on faith.
If you have questions about what’s in your ductwork right now, call us at (737) 259-5752. A live person answers, and a written price comes before any camera goes into your system. This service pairs directly with our Air Duct Cleaning in Round Rock work, though inspection is available as a standalone service when you simply need a documented second opinion.
When You Need Video Inspection
Some situations call for a camera run before anything else. Guessing at what’s inside a duct system – and then billing for cleaning based on that guess – is how a lot of $79 coupon jobs end up costing far more than expected. Here’s when inspection makes sense before any other work:
- You’re buying or recently bought a home in Round Rock. Sellers disclose what they know, not what they haven’t looked at. A camera run through the duct system gives you a dated, photographic record of condition at the time of purchase – useful both for negotiation and for your own baseline going forward.
- A previous cleaner used a shop vac and left. Negative-pressure extraction using equipment like Nikro portable extraction units pulls debris from the full length of a duct run. A shop vac at the register face doesn’t. If you’re not sure what was actually done, the camera tells you.
- You’ve had persistent allergy or respiratory symptoms that don’t track with pollen season. Round Rock’s limestone geography and cedar season get blamed for a lot of airborne irritation. But debris, mold growth inside the duct liner, or pest intrusion are interior sources a camera can confirm or rule out.
- Your system is in a slab-on-grade home built before 1988. Older Round Rock and Brushy Creek-area homes sometimes have under-slab ducts – sheet metal runs poured beneath the concrete floor. These corrode, crack, and collect standing water. A camera is the only way to assess them without excavation.
- You smell something musty or chemical from one or more registers. A single affected duct run – rather than the full system – points to a localized problem. The camera locates it precisely rather than treating the whole system and hoping.
- You’re planning a duct repair or resealing job. Before a technician applies mastic sealant or re-wraps a damaged flex-duct section, knowing the full extent of liner collapse or joint separation prevents doing the repair in the wrong location.
Our Video Inspection Process
The process is methodical. We don’t run a camera through two runs, declare the system “dirty,” and hand you a cleaning quote. Every step produces something documented that you can hold onto.
- Written price before anything is touched. Under Haven Standard Clause 1, the price for inspection is written and presented before a single panel comes off your system. You know the number. You approve it. Then we start. There are no line items that appear after the fact.
- System mapping. We locate every supply and return register, the air handler, and the plenum – the central distribution box the air handler connects to. On multi-story Round Rock homes, that often means a separate system for each floor. We document the layout before the camera run so the footage is labeled by location, not just recorded in sequence.
- Camera introduction at the air handler. The inspection camera enters the system at the air handler and travels outward through each main trunk line and branch duct run to the register termination. We record continuously and capture still photographs at any point of interest: debris accumulation, liner separation, mold growth, pest intrusion, or mechanical damage. “Debris build-up at the first elbow on the north return trunk, approximately 2 inches thick” is the kind of finding we write down – not “your ducts were dirty.”
- Return-side inspection. Return ducts – the ones that pull air back to the air handler – are inspected separately. In many Round Rock tract homes built in the early 2000s, return plenums are framed directly into wall cavities rather than constructed from sealed duct board. These are high-risk areas for infiltration from insulation, drywall dust, and pest debris, and they look different from the supply side.
- Written findings summary. After the camera run, we produce a written summary that identifies every finding by location and describes it specifically. You receive this document the same day. It includes the still photographs and, where relevant, a video file.
- Scope and price for any follow-on work – if needed. If the inspection finds something that warrants cleaning, repair, or sanitizing, we write a separate scope with a line-item price for each item before recommending anything. If the system is clean, we tell you that. The inspection result doesn’t automatically become a cleaning recommendation.
BeforeAfterWhat the Camera Actually Finds in Round Rock Homes
Round Rock’s climate creates specific conditions inside duct systems that we see repeatedly. The attic temperature differential – often 60°F or more between the attic space and the conditioned air inside the ducts – causes flex-duct outer jackets to expand and contract daily through most of the year. Over time, that cycling loosens the clamps that hold flex-duct to sheet-metal collars at each branch takeoff. The camera regularly finds gaps at those connections, which means conditioned air is leaking into the attic rather than reaching the register. That’s both an energy loss and a path for attic insulation fibers to enter the duct system.
In homes near Brushy Creek, Old Settlers Boulevard, and the La Frontera corridor that were built on clay-heavy soil, we’ve found that foundation movement over time shifts duct supports enough to kink flex-duct runs. A kinked flex duct restricts airflow and traps debris at the kink point. Without a camera, that restriction looks like a dirty filter or an undersized system.
Pest intrusion is another common finding. Rodents enter attic-mounted duct systems through gaps at the air handler cabinet or at unsealed collar connections. The camera documents nesting material and entry points precisely, which determines whether the job is a cleaning plus sealing or something that requires pest control before we touch the ducts.
We also work with Honeywell ventilation components on homes that have whole-house ventilation or ERV setups – those systems have inspection ports and fresh-air intake runs that need separate camera access and are easy to overlook.
Video Inspection Pricing in Round Rock
Duct video inspection in Round Rock typically runs $95 to $225 for a standard single-story home, depending on duct system size and access complexity – a fraction of what full air duct cleaning near me in Round Rock, TX would run. Here’s how the cost breaks down:
- Single-story home, up to 10 duct runs: $95 – $140
- Two-story home or dual-system setup (common in Round Rock homes above 2,500 sq. ft.): $140 – $185
- Homes with under-slab duct runs or non-standard access points: $175 – $225
- Standalone second-opinion inspection on a competitor’s written estimate: $0 – CleanRun provides a free second opinion on any written quote, which includes our own written scope alongside theirs.
A few things that affect where your job lands in that range: the number of duct runs that need individual camera passes, whether the air handler is in a finished closet or an open attic (attic access is faster), and whether the return system is separately ducted or built into wall cavities. All of that is assessed before we quote the job – not after.
If inspection is performed on the same visit as a full Air Duct Cleaning service, the inspection cost is typically applied toward the cleaning quote rather than added on top. The written price you receive at the start of the job reflects that – it’s not a credit applied after the fact.
Call (737) 259-5752 and we’ll walk through your home’s layout and give you a written number before scheduling anything.
What You Receive When the Job Is Done
The documented photo record is a standard deliverable on every CleanRun job – not an upgrade, not something you have to ask for. After a video inspection, you receive:
- Still photographs from inside each duct run, labeled by location
- A written findings summary identifying every observed condition by location and description
- A written scope for any recommended follow-on work, with line-item pricing
- The inspection report itself, dated and tied to your specific system – useful if you’re selling the home or coordinating with an HVAC contractor
The 365-Day Done Right Promise covers the inspection as part of the overall job. If a finding was missed or a scope item wasn’t addressed correctly, we make it right – in writing, not at manager discretion.
Why Documentation Matters More Than the Cleaning Visit
The duct cleaning industry has a specific credibility problem: it’s easy to say the ducts are clean after the truck leaves, and almost impossible for a homeowner to verify it without a camera. CleanRun has taken before-and-after photographs on every job since Tomas Reyes started the company in 2013, because the alternative – asking a customer to take your word for what happened inside their walls – isn’t a model that holds up.
That’s not an unusual standard in industries where the work is hidden. A plumber shows you the corroded fitting they pulled out. A roofer sends you photos of the damaged decking. Duct cleaning should work the same way, and for most of the 52,000-plus homes CleanRun has served, it has.
Tomas Reyes leads every job under the H.A.V.E.N. Standard – background-checked technicians, uniformed, identified by name before arrival – because the person standing in your mechanical room carrying a camera needs to be someone you can verify before they get there.
FAQs – Video Inspection in Round Rock
How long does a duct video inspection take in a typical Round Rock home?
A standard inspection for a single-story Round Rock home with 8-12 duct runs takes 60 to 90 minutes, start to finish. Two-story homes or dual-system setups typically run 90 to 120 minutes. That time includes the camera runs, documentation, and the written findings summary – we don’t leave until the report is prepared. Call (737) 259-5752 and we can give you a more specific estimate based on your home’s layout before you book.
Can you do a video inspection without cleaning the ducts?
Yes – inspection is available as a standalone service. We run the camera, document what’s there, give you a written findings summary, and write a scope for any follow-on work only if it’s warranted. If the system is clean, we tell you that and the job is done. There’s no obligation to proceed to commercial duct cleaning or residential service, and the inspection price is written before we start.
What if a previous company told me my ducts were clean?
A camera run confirms or contradicts a previous assessment. If a prior company vacuumed the register faces and called the job complete, the camera will show what’s 8 to 15 feet into each duct run – which is where most debris accumulates near elbows and branch connections. We offer a free second opinion on any written estimate; if you have documentation from a previous inspection, bring it and we’ll put our own findings next to theirs in writing.
Do you find mold during video inspections?
The camera documents any visible growth inside the duct liner. Mold in ductwork typically appears at condensation points – near the air handler, at poorly insulated sections of duct, or where a liner has been breached. Visual confirmation via camera is the first step; if growth is observed, the written findings summary describes location and extent, and any remediation scope is quoted separately in writing before work begins. We don’t test air samples as part of this service, but the photographic record can be shared with an industrial hygienist if you want independent confirmation.
Written by Tomas Reyes, Owner at CleanRun Air Duct Cleaning Round Rock, serving Round Rock.