Cost & commercial
When two prices for the same kitchen come back miles apart, the usual reason is not one cleaner being greedy and the other generous - it is that they are quoting different scopes. Read the scope and the gap explains itself.
The short answer
A wide gap between two duct cleaning quotes almost always means they are not quoting the same work. One may cover the whole system from canopy to discharge point; the other may quietly stop at the canopy and filters. Both might hand you a certificate at the end. But only one has actually cleaned the ductwork where grease builds and fire spreads - and that difference is the price gap you are looking at.
Where the scope hides
The trap is that a canopy-and-filters clean and a full TR19 Grease clean can produce paperwork that looks alike. A TR19-compliant clean covers the whole system - canopy, filters, horizontal and vertical ductwork, the fan and motor, and the discharge point. Some providers clean only the easily reached parts and still issue a certificate that implies more. The cheaper quote is cheaper because it is doing less, not because it found a way to do the same job for less.
Access is the other big variable. If your ductwork is concealed above ceilings or runs up risers, reaching it properly takes time and equipment - and a quote that assumes easy access will come in lower and then either fall short or grow once work starts. A survey-based quote prices the access it can actually see.
How to read two quotes fairly
The way to make sense of a spread is to line the quotes up against scope rather than headline number. Ask each provider to state, in writing, exactly which parts of the system they will clean, whether the certificate will read full or partial, how they will verify the result, and whether the price allows for the access your system needs. Once the scopes match, a fair comparison is possible - and often the gap narrows sharply or reverses.
The certificate wording is a quiet tell. TR19 lets a clean be recorded as a full clean or a partial clean, and a scrupulous contractor will say which yours will be and why. A quote that promises a certificate but will not commit to full-system scope is telling you something - listen to it.
The cheapest quote is not always the cheapest job
A quote that undercuts the field usually does so by narrowing the scope, assuming easy access, or skipping the verification and register work that makes a certificate defensible. If the shortfall surfaces later - at an inspection, an insurance review, or a fire - the work gets redone properly at full price, and the cheap clean becomes the expensive one. The number to trust is the one attached to a clearly stated, full-system scope, not the smallest figure on the page.
Questions
Almost always because they cover different scopes. One may clean the whole system canopy to discharge; the other may stop at the canopy and filters while still issuing a certificate. The gap is the difference in work, not just margin.
Because some providers clean only the easily reached parts and issue a certificate that implies more. A TR19-compliant clean covers the full system; a partial clean does less, so it costs less.
Ask each provider to state, in writing, which parts of the system they will clean, whether the certificate will read full or partial, how they verify the result, and whether the price allows for your access. Compare scope first, then price.
It can be. The lowest number often narrows scope, assumes easy access, or skips verification and register work. If that surfaces later at an inspection or claim, the job is redone at full price and the cheap clean becomes the dear one.
TR19 lets a clean be recorded as full or partial depending on what was reachable and cleaned. A good contractor will tell you which yours will be and why, rather than issuing wording that overstates the scope.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
Send us what you have. We will quote the whole system, canopy to discharge, with the scope written out - so you can see exactly what each price does and does not include before you decide.