How Much Does It Cost to Clean an Attic? (2024 Update)

People don’t keep up with their attics as well as the other parts of the house, and it’s easy to see why. They are out of the way, uncomfortable, and often difficult to access. As a result, it’s easy for attics to get overrun with clutter, mice, and all kinds of stuff. Having your attic cleaned can boost your quality of life and help organize your stuff, but how much does it cost? Let’s see how much you can expect to pay to have your attic cleaned, and what might affect the price. You can expect to pay between $100–$200.

Why Is It Important to Keep Your Attic Clean?

Attics can easily grow mold and attract mice, which are health hazards to your home. By removing biowaste like rat droppings and mold, you improve the quality of the air circulating in your house. Sealing cracks helps keep your home energy efficient and keeps away mice, plus keeps rain from leaking in and causing water damage. By minimizing clutter, you can gain more storage space or even create a loft bedroom in your attic.

How Much Does It Cost to Clean an Attic?

Attic cleanings typically cost between $100–$200, but prices can rise to $600 or more if you need additional services. Cleaning usually includes dust removal, junk removal, and an inspection to see if other services are necessary. Generally, more clutter, dust, and mess will make your cleaning bill rise. You can save some money by cleaning up yourself, but that may be easier said than done. Also, larger attics will cost more to clean than smaller ones for obvious reasons.

Junk removal, insulation replacement, storage, and transport can all contribute to your cleaning bill, but we’ll talk about that in a bit. Depending on the service, insulation replacement may be part of the service, but you’ll have to verify this with your cleaning service. Many tack on more charges for miscellaneous services rendered, so be sure to check before hiring a service to clean your attic.

Additional Costs to Anticipate

Every attic is different. Some accumulate a ton of dust, attract rodents, grow mold, or grow extremely cluttered. Depending on the condition of your attic, you can expect to pay several hundred dollars more than you estimated. Let’s see how much other cleaning services can cost you.

Decontamination

In attics with live or dead rodents, animal waste, or mold, cleaning professionals will charge more to decontaminate the area. This is because they have to wear biohazard suits and take precautions to not spread disease. Prices for this service are about $1.00–$1.50 per square foot.

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Storage & Transport

If you want to keep items from your attic, you’ll need to arrange transportation and storage. This means renting a storage unit and accounting for gas. Sadly, we can’t offer a price estimate because storage units and the price of gas widely vary.

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Insulation Repair

Old or damaged insulation is less effective at maintaining your home’s temperature, making your HVAC system work harder and resulting in expensive power bills. Depending on the severity of your insulation’s condition, you may pay between $1–$7 per square foot to have new insulation installed. The biggest variable is how big the space is and the type of insulation you use.

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Pest Control

Attics with rodent problems like mice or squirrels can expect their cleaning costs to rise by $200–$600, if not more. Heavier infestations are more difficult to deal with, and larger attics will make costs go up too. Many cleaning services aren’t licensed to provide pest control services but can refer you to a local pest control company.

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Air Sealing

If cracks or gaps are identified in your attic, you may need to have it air-sealed. Air sealing will prevent outside air from entering your home as well as keep pests out. Air sealing can run from $500–$3,000, depending on the size of your attic and the type of sealant used. Typically, higher-quality sealants will cost more.

When to Clean Out Your Attic

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how often you should be cleaning out your attic, especially because you probably don’t see it very often. However, there are some telltale signs that you should watch for which signal it’s time to clean out your attic. Let’s take a look at some of those below.

How Often Should I Clean My Attic?

There’s no hard and fast rule as to how often you should clean out your attic, but doing it regularly can help keep your house cleaner and more comfortable, plus keep your energy bill low. We’d recommend at least checking your attic every month or two, keeping an eye out for the signs listed above. If you don’t notice any of those, thoroughly clean your attic (or hire a service) every six months, or every year if you simply can’t be bothered.

Conclusion

Attics can be an unpleasant place if you let them get too messy, and even affect your health or home’s structural integrity. It also helps get rid of pests! To prevent these from happening, have your attic regularly cleaned every six months or whenever you see one of the signs we listed earlier.

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Featured Image Credit: Procreators, Shutterstock