Gutter cleaning cost at WashLabs is typically $2 per linear foot to clean out the gutters. A house with 150 feet of gutter comes to about $300. Two add-ons are priced on top: downspout flushing at $10 per downspout, and tiger stripe removal on the outside face of the gutter at $2 per linear foot. The length of the gutter sets the price, not the size of the house.
How much does gutter cleaning cost for a house?
This is an example, not a quote. It uses the typical rate of $2 per linear foot to clean out the gutters and three sample houses. The add-ons are not in the table.
| Sample house | Gutter length | At $2 per linear foot |
|---|---|---|
| One-story ranch | 120 feet | about $240 |
| Two-story colonial | 150 feet | about $300 |
| Large house with an addition and a garage | 220 feet | about $440 |
Two houses with the same floor area can have very different gutter lengths. A hip roof has gutters on all four sides. A gable roof often has gutters on two sides only, because the gable ends slope away from the gutter line. An addition, a garage or a porch roof adds a separate run with its own downspout.
To estimate your own house, walk around it and add up each run of gutter you see along a roof edge. Count the porch and the garage. Leave the downspouts out of the length, because they hang down the wall and are not part of the run. Count them on their own if you want them flushed. If a quote is far from your number at $2 per foot, ask how the company measured.
For example, take the two-story colonial with 150 feet of gutter and four downspouts. Cleaning out the gutters is $300. Flushing the four downspouts adds $40, for $340. Tiger stripe removal on all 150 feet adds $300 more at $2 per linear foot, for $640 in total.
What moves the price
Stories and roof pitch
A one-story gutter is at eye level from a short ladder. A second-story gutter takes a taller ladder and more moves along the wall. A third-story gutter, or a gutter above a steep slate roof, takes more setup again. The gutter length stays the same, but the time on the job goes up.
Gutter guards
Guards keep whole leaves out. Fine debris, such as oak catkins, pollen, maple seeds and shingle grit, still goes through the mesh and settles under it. To clean under a guard, the guard comes off and goes back on. That takes more time per foot than an open gutter. For the full trade-off, read do gutter guards reduce the need for cleaning.
Downspouts
The $2 per linear foot rate cleans out the troughs. It does not include the downspouts. Downspout flushing is an add-on at $10 per downspout. A downspout is where most gutter overflows start. The trough can look clear from the ground while the elbow at the bottom is packed with wet leaves. A downspout that ties into an underground drain is harder again, because the clog can be below the ground.
Tiger stripes
Tiger stripes are the dark streaks that run down the outside face of a gutter. They are a film on the face of the gutter, not debris in the trough, so cleaning out the gutter does not remove them. Streak removal on the outside of the gutter is an add-on at $2 per linear foot.
Access and what sits under the gutter
A ladder needs firm, flat ground under its feet. A gutter above a deck, a stone wall, a steep bank or dense shrubs is slower to reach than a gutter above a lawn. A gutter above a conservatory roof or a skylight is slower too, because nothing can lean on the glass.
How full the gutters are
Dry leaves from the last few weeks come out quickly. Leaves that sat in the trough all summer turn into a wet black sludge that holds seedlings and roots. On the Main Line, oak and tulip poplar canopy over the roof is the most common cause of this. Gutters with plants growing in them took a season or more to get that way, and they take longer to clear.
How often should you clean gutters?
Clean gutters twice a year if trees hang over the roof or stand within about 30 feet of it. Do one cleaning in late spring and one in late fall. A house on an open lot with no canopy nearby can do one cleaning a year, in late fall.
Between cleanings, check the gutters from the ground. Look for water that spills over the front edge during rain, plants in the trough, and a downspout that stays dry in a heavy rain. For a full routine, read how often to check gutters between cleanings.
Guards can move a house from two cleanings a year to one. They do not stop the need for cleaning, because the fine debris still gets through.
When to book a fall gutter cleaning on the Main Line
The trees on the Main Line do not drop their leaves at the same time. Tulip poplar and many maples drop early and mid fall. Oaks drop last. Many oaks hold brown leaves into late November or December, and some young oaks hold them through the winter.
A cleaning in mid-October can thus be full again before the oaks finish. If your roof is under oak canopy, book the fall cleaning for after most of the oak leaves are down. That is usually late November or early December. If the gutters overflow before then, do an early cleaning and plan a second one.
The spring cleaning is for a different load. Oaks drop catkins and pollen in spring, and maples drop seeds. That fine material packs the downspout elbows during the summer storms. A cleaning in late spring, after the catkins and seeds drop, clears it before it turns to sludge.
What a gutter cleaning quote must show
Two quotes are easy to compare when each one shows the same items. Before you agree to one, check for these:
- The linear feet of gutter, and how the company measured them.
- The downspouts: flushed, or only the trough. At WashLabs the base rate covers the trough, and downspout flushing is $10 per downspout.
- The debris: taken away, or left in bags at the house.
- Tiger stripes on the outside face: in the price, or a separate line. At WashLabs, streak removal is $2 per linear foot.
- Guards: taken off and put back, or cleaned from the top only.
- The roof: does anyone walk on it, and what is the roof material.
If a downspout is packed, add the flush. A clean trough still overflows at a clogged downspout.
When DIY is fine, and when to hire
DIY is fine on a one-story house with open gutters and firm, flat ground under them. Wear gloves, scoop the debris into a bucket, then run a garden hose into each downspout to make sure the water comes out at the bottom.
Stop at these points:
- Do not lean a ladder on the gutter. The gutter bends under the load, and the hangers pull out of the fascia.
- Do not stand on the top two rungs of a ladder. You lose your balance when you reach into the trough.
- Do not walk on a wet roof, a slate roof or a moss-covered roof. Wet shingles are slippery, and slate cracks under your weight.
- Do not use a pressure washer to clear a gutter from below. The water drives the debris under the shingle edge and into the fascia.
Hire when the gutters are on the second story or above, when guards must come off, or when a downspout stays packed after a hose flush. If water stains the fascia or the siding below a gutter, read signs gutters are damaging your home exterior before you book.
For gutters above the first story, see how gutter cleaning works at WashLabs. Text a photo of the house to (610) 665-3995. We reply with a quote within 24 hours.