Washington County, Iowa
Gutter cleaning, repair and new gutters in Washington, IA
Washington gets about 38 inches of rain in a normal year, and on about 10 days a year an inch or more falls in a single day. The wettest season is summer (June to August), with about 13.5 inches; the driest is winter (December to February), with 4.5. Every 1,000 square feet of roof sheds about 23,500 gallons a year, and all of it goes through the gutters.
Call (866) 228-6229 free call to a gutter contractor serving WashingtonWashington: rain and roofs
NOAA station USC00138688, 1 miBars to one scale; the longest is summer (June to August).
For days with an inch of rain or more, Washington ranks 47th for heavy-rain days of the 290 places in Iowa on this site (9.8 a year). Its housing ranks 47th oldest by median year built of the 290 places in Iowa on this site (half built by 1953). By its first fall frost it sits near the middle of the 290 places in Iowa on this site (October 11).
When to clean gutters in Washington
The first fall frost comes around October 11 in a typical year here, and the last spring frost around April 28 (median dates, NOAA normals). Plan the fall visit for after the frost, when the trees over the roof have finished dropping, and the spring visit for after the pollen and catkins.
When to clean gutters explains how the trees over a roof change the schedule.
Gutter and downspout size for Washington rain
What overwhelms a gutter is a burst, not a season. In Washington the five-minute rain expected about once in ten years falls at 7.60 inches an hour (NOAA Atlas 14 Volume 8). At that rate one 2-by-3-inch downspout drains about 950 square feet of roof and one 3-by-4-inch downspout about 1,890, 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.
The houses in Washington
Half the homes in Washington were built by 1953, 80% before 1980 (ACS 2020–2024). In a neighborhood that age, many houses are on their second set of gutters or due for one, and the fascia board behind them is worth checking at the same visit. On a house built before 1978, replacing more than 20 square feet of painted fascia or trim falls under the EPA’s lead-safe rule, so ask whether the crew is certified.
60% of households own their home, and 73% of homes are detached houses, 3% townhouses. In a townhouse or HOA community, check who owns the gutters and what colors are allowed before booking.
Hiring in Iowa
Ask any contractor working in Washington what Iowa requires of them for gutter work, and to show proof of insurance. Hiring a gutter contractor
Gutter work in Washington
With half the homes built by 1953, replacement gutters and the fascia behind them come up more often here than in newer suburbs. The line takes all of it: