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.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Duct Repair & Sealing Across Lombard
Duct repair and sealing in Lombard, IL typically runs $340-$780 for most residential jobs, with full-system mastic sealing on a mid-century ranch landing in the $520-$680 range. We’re usually on Lombard streets within 24-48 hours of scheduling, dispatching from our Chicago office with crews who know the difference between a Lombard ranch off Roosevelt Road and a split-level near Highland Avenue. Call (708) 683-3974 for a written estimate before any work starts.
Lombard’s housing stock tells its own story. The postwar ranches and split-levels that define this village, built mostly between 1950 and 1975, carry original galvanized sheet-metal duct systems that have never been properly sealed. Decades of thermal cycling have opened seams and pinholes you can’t see from the basement. We’ve found supply air dumping into joist cavities in homes where the owner just wanted a cleaning. That’s why our Duct Repair & Sealing team starts every Lombard job with a camera inspection, not a vacuum hose.
Why CleanRun Air Duct Cleaning Chicago Is Lombard’s Preferred Duct Repair & Sealing Company
We’ve served Lombard homeowners since 2013, and our records show something consistent: the homes that need sealing most urgently are the ones whose owners already paid for a “duct cleaning” that couldn’t hold negative pressure because the system leaked at every joint. Our 365-Day Done Right Promise, backed in writing on every job under Haven Standard Clause 1, means we return if the seal doesn’t hold. No manager approval needed. The guarantee is the document.
Our technicians are background-checked, uniformed, and identified by name before arrival, operating under Haven Standard Clause 3: Verified Crews. Every job concludes with a Documented Photo Record of every duct run, delivered as a standard deliverable, not an upsell. You see what we saw. We’ve completed this process in over 52,000 homes, every one with a written price agreed before a single panel came off.
Dispatch and scheduling are coordinated from our Chicago office, but Lombard crews carry local knowledge: which blocks near Lilac Park still have original 1950s metal trunks, where the 1980s flex retrofits tend to fail, and how the village’s hard DuPage water supply scales up humidifier plenums. That context changes what equipment we load and how we configure it.
We also offer a Free Second Opinion on any written estimate. Bring a competitor’s quote; we’ll put our number next to it in writing.
Our Duct Repair & Sealing Services in Lombard
Duct Sealing with Mastic Sealant
Mastic sealant is the standard for sealing original galvanized metal seams in Lombard’s mid-century homes. Unlike tape, which degrades in temperature swings, mastic remains flexible and bonds to metal at the molecular level. A typical mastic sealing job on a Lombard ranch with original trunk-and-branch ductwork runs $480-$640. We apply it to every accessible seam, collar, and register boot, then pressure-test to verify the seal holds. This is often the critical step that makes a subsequent cleaning actually effective, because negative-pressure extraction equipment from Rotobrush and Nikro can’t pull debris from a system that’s leaking 30% of its air into the basement.
Flex Duct Repair
The 1980s and 1990s renovations common in Lombard neighborhoods like those near Madison Street and Park Avenue added flexible duct branches onto original metal trunks. Those transitions trap debris and frequently separate. We’ve found flex ducts crushed by storage items in attics, disconnected at metal collars, and kinked where they were routed through tight joist bays. Flex duct repair in Lombard typically costs $180-$340 per run, including reattachment, support, and mastic sealing at the joint. We use Guardsman-supported installation methods to prevent sagging that creates new debris traps.
Metal Duct Repair
Original galvanized steel in Lombard’s 1950-1975 housing stock doesn’t tear often, but it rusts at seams, separates at drive connections, and develops pinhole leaks from decades of condensation cycling. Metal duct repair runs $260-$520 depending on access and extent, and includes patching, reseaming, or section replacement with matching gauge material. We photograph every defect before touching it. In one Lombard split-level near St. Charles Road, we found a trunk seam that had been leaking heated air into a wall cavity for fifteen years, visible only as a warm spot on the infrared image.
Duct Insulation
Uninsulated or degraded duct insulation in Lombard basements and crawl spaces creates condensation that feeds biological growth, especially where hard water scale already provides a mineral substrate. Duct insulation replacement costs $4-$7 per linear foot for standard R-6 flex-wrap, or $6-$10 for rigid fiberglass board in accessible locations. We specify materials based on what the camera shows, not a standard kit.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
BeforeAfterTrusted Brands We Service in Lombard
Our equipment roster includes Rotobrush rotary brush systems for mechanical agitation in debris-heavy flex ducts, Nikro negative-pressure extractors for source removal, and Honeywell media filters and electronic air cleaners for post-repair air quality protection. We don’t claim performance beyond manufacturer specifications, but we do name what we use so Lombard homeowners can verify independently. Parts for common Lombard HVAC configurations, including Aprilaire humidifier components and Guardsman duct access hardware, are stocked for same-return visits when a repair reveals a need we couldn’t predict from the initial inspection.
Common Duct Repair & Sealing Problems We See in Lombard Homes
- Original galvanized seams leaking 20-40% of conditioned air. The trunk-and-branch systems in Lombard ranches were never sealed at installation; they were assembled and left to gravity and friction. Fifty years of thermal expansion have opened gaps that pressure testing reveals immediately.
- 1980s flex branches disconnected at metal transitions. Homeowners call us complaining of weak upstairs cooling. The camera shows supply air dumping into a joist bay because a flex collar pulled free from the original galvanized tee. Cleaning doesn’t fix this. Reattachment and mastic sealing does.
- Hard water scale and biological growth in humidifier plenums. DuPage County’s water supply runs 7-10 grains per gallon. Whole-house bypass humidifiers attached to Lombard furnaces accumulate mineral scale that supports mold and bacterial growth in the adjacent ductwork. We find this most often in homes near Highland Avenue and in the older blocks west of Main Street.
- Lilac Time pollen loading during first AC use. Lombard’s deliberate tree planting creates a pollen pulse in late April through mid-May that coincides exactly with the first air conditioning cycle of the season. Return-air filter racks in homes with original ductwork often show a compressed mat of organic material that restricts flow and forces the blower to work against itself.
Pricing for Duct Repair & Sealing in Lombard, IL
Here’s what duct repair and sealing costs in Lombard’s market, based on jobs we’ve completed in the village:
| Service | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Mastic sealant, full system (ranch/split-level) | $480-$680 |
| Flex duct repair/replacement, per run | $180-$340 |
| Metal duct repair, localized | $260-$520 |
| Metal duct section replacement | $340-$780 |
| Duct insulation (R-6 flex-wrap) | $4-$7 per linear foot |
| Camera inspection with written report | $0 (included with repair estimate) |
Every price is written and agreed before work begins, per Haven Standard Clause 1. No per-vent pricing. No coupon that triples once we’re on site. The estimate you sign is the invoice you pay. Factors that move a job toward the higher end: limited basement headroom, asbestos-wrapped ducts requiring modified access, or multiple disconnected runs requiring full system pressure testing. Call (708) 683-3974 for an exact quote on your Lombard home - estimates are free, and we deliver them in writing.
We Also Serve Cities Near Lombard
Our crews work Lombard regularly and also serve Glen Ellyn, Elmhurst, Glendale Heights, and Downers Grove with the same written-price, documented-photo standard. Each community has distinct housing stock and duct configurations; we adjust our equipment and approach accordingly rather than running the same protocol everywhere.
Serving Lombard, IL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Lombard area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Duct Repair & Sealing in Lombard
Lombard’s community-engineered density of lilac and flowering trees creates a concentrated pollen release during Lilac Time, late April through mid-May, that coincides exactly with the first air conditioning use of the season. No neighboring community has this deliberate tree planting or this timing concentration. Homes with original ductwork and minimal sealing pull that airborne load directly into return plenums, often compressing into a dense mat at the filter rack. Call (708) 683-3974 if your system struggles after the festival weekend - we can inspect and seal before the next cycle.
In most cases, yes. Original galvanized trunk-and-branch duct in Lombard’s 1950-1975 housing stock is structurally durable; the failure mode is seam leakage, not metal fatigue. Mastic sealing of accessible seams, collar connections, and register boots typically restores system pressure integrity for $480-$680. We camera-inspect first to confirm no rust-through or structural damage that would require section replacement. Bring any competitor’s replacement quote; our Free Second Opinion puts our sealing number next to it in writing.
Uneven cooling after cleaning almost always indicates duct leakage, not residual debris. In Lombard split-levels, we commonly find 1980s-era flex branches disconnected from original metal trunks, or open seams in the horizontal trunk running through the middle level. The cleaning removed what it could reach, but 30% of your supply air is dumping into joist cavities or wall spaces. Sealing and reattachment fixes the pressure balance so conditioned air reaches the registers it was designed for. We document the leaks with photos before quoting repair.
Yes, indirectly but significantly. DuPage County’s 7-10 grain-per-gallon hardness scales up whole-house bypass humidifier media and wicks, creating a mineral substrate that supports biological growth in the plenum and adjacent ductwork. That growth recontaminates a freshly cleaned system within a season if the humidifier isn’t addressed. We inspect humidifier condition during every duct assessment and can include plenum cleaning and humidifier maintenance in the repair scope. The fix isn’t just cleaning; it’s removing the conditions that feed regrowth.
Three signs point to sealing as the primary need: rooms that never reach set temperature despite adequate HVAC capacity, dust accumulation at ceiling registers (indicating leakage behind the boot), or a previous cleaning that produced minimal debris and no perceptible improvement. We verify with pressure testing and camera inspection, both included in our free estimate. If the system won’t hold negative pressure, cleaning alone is wasted money; sealing comes first. Call (708) 683-3974 and we’ll show you what the camera sees before you decide.
Written by Tomas Reyes, Owner at CleanRun Duct Repair & Cleaning, serving Lombard since 2013.