Before & After Gallery - CleanRun Air Duct Cleaning Northbrook

Air Duct Cleaning Before & After in Northbrook, IL

We’ve cleaned ducts in Northbrook since 2013, and we’ve learned one thing: homeowners don’t trust what they can’t see. That’s why every job ends with a Documented Photo Record, included as a standard deliverable. The gallery below shows what our crews actually found, what we did about it, and what the customer received in their job file.

Call (224) 351-9772

Recent Transformations

Heavy Debris Build-Up in Glenview-Northbrook Split-Level Return System

The camera showed a 3-inch debris build-up at the first elbow of the main return, choking airflow to a 1980s Carrier furnace in a home near the intersection of Waukegan and Willow. We used negative-pressure extraction (a sealed vacuum system that pulls contaminants out without releasing them into the house) combined with Rotobrush contact cleaning on the flex duct sections. The after photos showed bare metal at every access point, and the homeowner’s written job record included 23 images with timestamps.

Post-Renovation Dust Load in Techny Estates HVAC System

A Techny Estates homeowner called after three months of post-renovation dust settling on furniture faster than she could wipe it. The camera showed drywall compound and fiberglass insulation packed into the supply duct run (the branch that delivers heated or cooled air to a specific room) serving the renovated zone. We sealed the registers, ran Nikro HEPA-filtered negative-pressure extraction on the full system, and brushed the trunk lines with Abatement Technologies power whips. The photo record showed gray slurry in the collection drum and clean metal in the after shots. She told us the dusting frequency dropped by half inside two weeks.

Pet Dander and Hair Accumulation in Northbrook East Ranch

Two golden retrievers and a long-haired cat had filled a Northbrook East ranch’s 6-inch supply branches with compacted hair that the homeowner’s vacuum attachments couldn’t reach. We removed each register, photographed the blockage, and used Rotobrush mechanical agitation with simultaneous vacuum extraction. The plenum (the central distribution box on top of the furnace where all ducts connect) contained a 2-inch mat of hair and dander that wasn’t visible from any register. The written scope, agreed before we started, covered the full system at one flat price. No per-vent add-ons, no surprises.

Mold-Prone Flex Duct in Northbrook West Crawl Space

Northbrook West sits low enough that crawl spaces stay damp through July and August. A homeowner near Shermer and Voltz noticed a musty pulse when the AC cycled on. We found organic growth on the interior of a 12-inch flex duct run (the insulated, flexible tubing used in tight spaces) that had sagged against the foundation wall, trapping condensation. We cleaned with contact agitation and HEPA extraction, then applied a Guardsman EPA-registered sanitizer to the full system. The photo record showed the growth pattern before, the cleaned surface after, and the sanitizer application log. We also noted the sag in the written report so their HVAC contractor could address the drainage issue.

Construction Debris in New Northbrook Build Near Meadow Ridge Park

A 2023 build near Meadow Ridge Park had never had its ducts cleaned. The builder’s rough-in phase left drywall dust, wood shavings, and a discarded coffee cup lid in the main trunk. We found it during a pre-occupancy cleaning the buyers had negotiated into their closing. The 14×8 main trunk (the largest rectangular duct that distributes air from the plenum to branch lines) contained enough debris to fill a 5-gallon bucket. We documented every section with before photos, ran the full system under negative pressure with Honeywell portable HEPA filtration running in the living space as backup, and delivered 34 after photos showing bare metal. The buyers moved in with a written price they’d received before we started, a 365-Day Done Right Promise, and a photo record they could reference if anything seemed off later.

Decades of Neglect in Northbrook Highlands Cape Cod

A Northbrook Highlands Cape Cod still had its original 1950s galvanized ductwork, never cleaned in 70 years. The camera showed stratified layers: gray dust at the bottom, brown nicotine residue in the middle, and a fresh gray cap on top. We used progressive agitation, starting with soft-bristle contact brushes and stepping up only where the metal could handle it. The duct runs were 6-inch round with riveted seams, common in that era’s Northbrook construction, and we photographed each seam for integrity. The photo record became part of the homeowner’s maintenance file, and the written scope noted areas where the galvanized had thinned enough that duct repair and sealing might be worth considering in the next five years.

What Every Customer Receives

These aren’t marketing photos. They’re evidence, delivered to you as concrete deliverables on every job:

• Documented Photo Record - before and after images from inside every duct run, timestamped and included in your job file
• Written Price Before Any Work Starts - Haven Standard Clause 1; the number you agree to is the number you pay
• Written Scope of Work - what we found, what we did, and what equipment we used
• 365-Day Done Right Promise - backed in writing, not subject to manager approval

We’ve held this practice since our first job in 2013. Tomas Reyes, Owner, still reviews photo records from jobs weekly. If the documentation doesn’t meet the standard, the crew hears about it.

Before

After

Want Results Like These?

Call (224) 351-9772 for a free estimate. We’ll inspect your system, show you what the camera sees, and give you a written price before any work starts. Every job includes the full Documented Photo Record and the 365-Day Done Right Promise. No per-vent pricing. No bait-and-switch. Just what we found, what we did, and proof you can see.

Written by Tomas Reyes, Owner at CleanRun Air Duct Cleaning Northbrook, serving Northbrook since 2013.