How Much Does Gutter Cleaning Cost?

Gutter Cleaning Cost

The average cost of gutter cleaning is $150 with most homeowners spending between $110 and $185 or from $0.50 to $1.50 per linear foot. Gutter cleaning costs between $125 and $250 in a two-story home with 200 linear feet of gutters. A one-story house starts at $75 for a light cleaning and up to $200 for heavy cleaning.

Table Of Contents

1. Gutter Cleaning Cost
2. Rain Gutter Cleaning Prices
3. Gutter Cleaning Prices Per Foot
4. How Often To Clean Gutters
5. Gutter Guards Costs
6. Gutter Replacement Cost
7. DIY Or Hire A Professional?
8. How To Clean Gutters
9. Gutter Cleaning Near Me

Rain Gutter Cleaning Prices

On average, a gutter cleaning service will charge you anywhere from $75 to $300 depending on how much time, effort and equipment they will need to clean your gutters thoroughly. Expect to pay more if your gutters have not had a cleaning for a year or longer, especially if you have pine trees near your home or other additional damage to your gutters.

Two-story and three-story homes require special ladders and equipment to clean since the additional height brings with it more risk. The costs for rain gutter cleaning are significantly less if you clean them regularly and do not have trees near your home, especially if you live in a climate that does not experience severe weather conditions like flash flooding.

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Gutter Cleaning Prices Per Foot

The labor cost to clean gutters is around $0.50 to $1.50 per linear foot. A rough rule of thumb is that for every 100 square footage of a home, you can expect to have 10 linear feet of gutters. For example, a 1,500 sq. ft. house will have approximately 150 linear feet of gutters which will cost between $75 and $225 to clean.

Here are the cost factors that gutter cleaning companies take into account when estimating your total cost:

House Height

A single-story house is the cheapest in terms of gutter-cleaning costs. Additional stories require additional ladders and other safety gear that also drive up the price.

• One-story home – A one-story home that's about 1,500 square feet typically has about 160 linear feet of total gutter length. The labor cost to clean gutters is $75 for a light cleaning only without any complications and up to $200 at the most if the gutters are in very poor condition.
• Two-story home – Larger two-story homes about 2,500 square feet can easily have around 200 linear feet of total gutter length. You can expect costs to start at $95 for a quick cleaning only, but it may cost you up to $250 in cleaning fees depending on how much work you need them to do.
• Three-story home – For homes with up to 300 total linear feet of gutters, especially homes three stories high, prices will start at a minimum of around $140 and can get up to $350+. A three-story home will often cost an extra $100 to $150 more than 2-story homes for the special ladders and other tools they'll need.

Gutter Size

When you request gutter cleaning service, you'll first need to measure or estimate the length of your gutters. When talking to gutter cleaning companies, ask them how much per linear foot they charge to make comparisons. This way, you are more likely to get clear answers about the labor costs and avoid letting any company overcharge you. Always ask them about their specific cost-calculation models.

Common causes of a price hike:

It is normal for you to pay more for a gutter cleaning if any of these following points apply to your home:

• If no one has cleaned your gutters for more than one or two years, then it will take at least twice as long to clean them. The extra time will cost you more, but it's worth it to take care of your home. Having trees right next to your home that are hard to work around also requires more time from the cleaners.
• If the fasteners and supports holding up your gutter system are coming loose or broken, then you may need to pay a little extra for that company to fix them during the cleaning.
• If you have gutter guards, then the crew will often need to remove the gutter guards to clean out the debris underneath. It may take a little extra time to remove and reattach them, but the gutter guards should mean that you require less-frequent cleanings of your gutters.

Downspout Cleaning

Always make sure that your gutter cleaning includes flushing out your downspouts. They are the most important part of your gutter system since they move all the debris and water quickly away from your roof and your home's foundation. If you have clogged downspouts, then your gutters are almost useless since they will flood over fast. While it sometimes takes extra time and money to flush out the downspouts, it's still essential.

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How Often Should You Clean Your Gutters?

Most experts will recommend that you clean your rain gutters and downspouts twice a year. The ideal times to clean them are right before your rainiest seasons of the year or right before you start experiencing snowfall if you live in cold climates. However, if you have gutter guards or another type of system where fine mesh screens are covering your gutters, then you will need to check them only once a year or once every two years if you don't have many trees close to your roof.

Some gutter-cleaning companies may offer additional services beyond simply cleaning and repairing gutters. For better protection of your gutter system, consider installing gutter guards so that it requires less cleaning. These systems generally feature a fine mesh screen that automatically prevents larger debris from entering your gutter channels.

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Gutter Guards Costs

On average, gutter guards and covers cost between $4 and $12 per linear foot installed. The average home often has about 150-200 linear feet of gutters which most homeowners will pay around $570 to $1,529 for professional gutter guard installation.

Remember that you will get what you pay for. Even though you could buy cheap plastic or wire mesh screens yourself and install them on your own, it's a risky job and won't keep out the heavier weight of ice in the winter.

You will find gutter guards on the market in a variety of types. Some guards are only a simple screen, while other systems include foam, brushes, reverse curves, surface-tension features or micro-mesh gutter-guard options.

While the initial price of installing gutter guards will cost more than a standard gutter cleaning, keep in mind that they will also require you to clean your gutters much less often to save money in the long run. The only things that gutter guards cannot completely block out are dirt particles and tiny seeds, which is why they require light maintenance every year or two.

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Gutter Replacement Cost

The average cost to install new aluminum gutters is around $4 to $8 per linear foot and an additional $100 to remove and dispose of your old gutters. On the cheaper end, you could go with vinyl gutters at an average cost of $3 to $5 per linear foot. For a typical home with 150 to 200 feet of gutters, you can expect to pay around $600 to $1,600 for installation.

You could remove the old gutters yourself, but then you also run the risk of damaging your roof. Any damage you create can lead to more work for the installer who puts on your new gutter system, which will cost you more. Depending on the rules of trash and recycling collection in your city, you may also have to pay a fee to dispose of your old gutters if you bring them in yourself.

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DIY Or Hire A Professional?

If you think that cleaning your gutters is an easy do-it-yourself project, you may want to think again. People hire licensed gutter cleaners because they have lots of experience working on ladders so that you don't have to worry about falling.

They also have specialized equipment that makes it easier to fix unforeseen problems that come up during cleaning. For example, all sorts of things can wedge inside your gutters and cause clogs. They may need to take the gutters apart sometimes to clean them thoroughly. A qualified gutter-cleaning professional will make sure to remove every obstruction from your gutters, including insects, leaves, twigs, and parts of nests.

Once they have finished disposing of all this waste for you, they will flush out your gutters to make sure that the gutters are fully channeling run-off water away from your home. If you would like to give it a shot yourself, check out our gutter cleaning tips below.

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How To Clean Gutters

Here's how to clean your gutters safely and more efficiently:

1. Dress to avoid injuries. That means long-sleeved shirts and thick, waterproof gloves are a must.
2. Getting a sturdy ladder. Rent an extendable ladder so that you know you are using equipment that is easy to transport and less likely to wobble under your weight.
3. Lay out a plastic tarp beneath you while you work to avoid creating a time-consuming mess on your lawn. Then you can just roll it all up and get rid of it in minutes.
4. Get a plastic scoop that won't damage your gutters while removing leaves and debris and start cleaning the gutter near a downspout.
5. Remove the large debris, sticks, and leaves.
6. When the gutters are empty, use your garden hose to flush them out and clear out the downspouts. Watching the flow of water will also help you catch any gutter leaks you may need to patch up.

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