Gutter cleaning, repair and new gutters in Urbandale, IA

When to clean gutters in Urbandale

The first fall frost comes around October 18 in a typical year here, and the last spring frost around April 19 (median dates, NOAA normals). A fall cleaning set for the weeks after that frost, when the branches over the house are bare, gets the year’s leaves in one trip; a spring visit follows once the pollen and catkins have come down.

When to clean gutters explains how the trees over a roof change the schedule.

Gutter and downspout size for Urbandale rain

Gutters are sized for the worst few minutes of a storm, not for the year. In Urbandale the five-minute rain expected about once in ten years falls at 7.97 inches an hour (NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 8). At that rate one 2-by-3-inch downspout drains about 900 square feet of roof and one 3-by-4-inch downspout about 1,810, by the rule in the Copper Development Association’s design handbook. Try your own roof in the gutter and downspout calculator, which starts from this figure.

With about 38 inches of snow in a normal year here (NOAA normals), gutters carry ice as well as water. Ice dams start with heat from the house melting roof snow that refreezes at the edge (University of Minnesota Extension); the fix for the dam is in the attic, and the gutter’s part is to be hung strongly enough to take the weight.

The houses in Urbandale

Half the homes in Urbandale were built by 1992, 33% before 1980 (ACS 2020–2024). At that age a gutter has seen decades of leaves and storms, and the fascia it hangs from has too.

78% of households own their home, and 68% of homes are detached houses, 9% townhouses. Where an HOA governs the exterior, its rules on gutter color and style apply before any order is placed.

Hiring in Iowa

Before hiring in Urbandale, ask which Iowa license or registration the contractor holds and for a certificate of liability insurance. Hiring a gutter contractor