The checklist for a full cleaning
- Every run cleared by hand, including the short runs over porches, garages and dormers that are easy to skip.
- Each downspout tested by running water through it, and cleared from the top or the outlet when it backs up.
- Debris bagged and taken away, not left in the beds or blown onto the lawn.
- A report of what was seen: loose hangers, leaking seams, standing water, a corner that spills, soft fascia.
The last item is worth as much as the cleaning. Someone working along the roof edge sees things a homeowner on the ground cannot.
How often
The weather sets how hard a clogged gutter gets tested; the trees set how fast it clogs. Your town's page gives its days a year with an inch of rain or more, from NOAA normals: in some places a handful, in others more than fifteen. Then count the trees whose branches reach over the roof:
- Needles (pines, firs, spruces) fall through the year and pack into downspout outlets.
- Broad leaves come down mostly in fall, with seeds, flowers and catkins in spring.
- No trees over the roof: roof grit, wind-blown leaves and nests are still enough for a yearly check.
Two cleanings a year, after the fall drop and after the spring debris, cover most houses with trees overhead. When to clean gutters uses your town's frost dates to time them.
Height changes the job
A single-story house with a low-slope roof is a reasonable do-it-yourself job for someone steady on a ladder with a helper. Second stories, steep roofs, and gutters over decks, stairs or slopes are where ladder falls happen, and where homeowners usually hire it out.
What changes the price
The length of the gutters, the height of the house, the roof material and pitch, how full the gutters are, guards that have to come off, underground downspouts, and hauling. See what sets the price.