Escrow closed, the boxes are inside, and somewhere in that stack of disclosure paperwork is everything the sellers were required to tell you. Here's what almost certainly isn't in there: when the air ducts were last cleaned, whether the dryer vent has ever been serviced, and what shape the chimney flue is really in.
For those systems, no records means one safe assumption — they're overdue. Here's the checklist we'd give any new Bay Area homeowner for the first 90 days.
1. Air Ducts: Clear Out the Previous Owners' Dust
Every home's ductwork slowly accumulates dust, pet dander, and debris — and when you buy the house, you inherit all of it. If the previous owners had pets, smoked, or renovated (drywall dust loves ductwork), the system is carrying years of buildup that your family now breathes every time the furnace kicks on.
A professional air duct cleaning is $399 for up to 10 vents ($24.99 per additional vent, counted with you before work begins) and takes a typical home 2 to 4 hours. It's one of the most satisfying services to do before the furniture placement is final — and if you're wondering how often it needs repeating afterward, our guide on how often to clean air ducts covers it.
2. Dryer Vent: The One With Real Fire Stakes
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), clogged dryer vents cause approximately 2,900 house fires every year in the United States. You have no idea how much lint the previous owners left in that vent line — and lint ignites easily at dryer operating temperatures.
Dryer vent cleaning is $149 and covers the full line from the dryer connection to the exterior cap, with an airflow test and safety inspection. Moving in with a new dryer? If the old transition hose or wall vent needs replacing, dryer vent installation starts at $49. If you want to know the warning signs of a clog you can spot yourself, read the five signs your dryer vent is clogged.
3. Chimney: Inspect Before the First Fire
A fireplace is a selling feature; a flue full of last-owner creosote is what sometimes comes with it. With unknown service history, the rule is simple: inspect before you light the first fire. NFPA 211 recommends annual chimney inspections, and that goes double for a chimney you've never seen serviced.
A chimney sweep is $169 and includes a Level 1 visual inspection of the flue, firebox, and damper, plus a written safety report. Prefer to start with just the look? A standalone Level 1 inspection is $139, credited toward a sweep on the same visit.
Moving In With Allergies, Pets, or a Baby on the Way?
The first-90-days logic gets stronger if anyone in the household has allergies or asthma, if you're bringing pets into a home that previously had them (or vice versa — your pets' dander meeting their pets' dander), or if you're setting up a nursery. A home's ductwork redistributes whatever it holds every time the system runs, and starting from clean ducts means starting from a known baseline. Cleaning removes the accumulated dust and dander and can noticeably improve airflow in older systems — and you'll know exactly what your home's air has been passing through, because before-and-after photos are available on request.
What the Disclosures Actually Told You
California sellers disclose a lot — known defects, repairs, permits, insurance claims. But routine maintenance history is a different story. There's no standard disclosure line for "ducts last cleaned," no record requirement for dryer vent service, and chimney condition usually surfaces only if a general home inspector happened to flag something visible. A general inspection is not a Level 1 chimney inspection, and it says nothing about what's inside the ductwork.
That's not a criticism of sellers or inspectors — it's just where the paperwork ends. The three systems in this checklist live in the gap.
If the sellers did leave records, use them: a duct cleaning receipt from within the last few years, a chimney sweep report from last season, or a dryer vent service note all buy you time. Match what you find against our guides — for ducts, how often cleaning is actually needed depends on pets, renovation, and system age more than any fixed calendar.
Worth Adding While You're At It
Two smaller systems tend to be just as neglected in a home sale: bathroom exhaust fans (cleaning is $149) that have quietly collected dust for years, and the residential kitchen exhaust ($199) if the previous owners cooked a lot. Neither is urgent the way the dryer vent and chimney are — but both are easy to bundle.
A Sensible Order for the First 90 Days
If you're sequencing it: dryer vent first (fire risk, and you're using it from day one), air ducts second (ideally before or right after move-in while the disruption doesn't matter), and the chimney any time before your first fire — which in the Bay Area usually means you have until the first cold snap of fall.
One practical note on the duct cleaning: it's genuinely easier in an emptier house. Technicians need access to every register and the main trunk line, so the week between getting keys and moving furniture is the single best window most homeowners ever get. If that window has already passed, don't worry — we work around furniture every day. It's simply the one item on this list where earlier is noticeably more convenient.
Renovating before you move in? Schedule the duct cleaning for after the contractors finish. Drywall sanding and demolition send fine dust straight into open registers, and cleaning before the work is done just means paying for it twice.
We do all three in a single visit for homes across the Bay Area, from San Jose to San Rafael. Book online or call (408) 655-0609 — pricing is flat and agreed before any work starts.