How Much Does Gutter Cleaning Cost in 2024?

Although gutter cleaning is mostly straightforward, there are a handful of factors that determine how much it will cost to clean your gutters.

• Gutter length: The main factor affecting the cost of gutter cleaning is how much gutter there is to clean. While some contractors charge an hourly rate, others price out jobs by the number of linear feet of gutters that need cleaning. Less commonly, some contractors may measure your home’s square footage rather than the length of the gutters to determine cost of a bid. Either way, the bottom line is if you have more gutters, you can expect to pay more to get them clean.
• Roof slope: The angle, or slope, of your roof helps determine the difficulty of the job due to increased risk and time needed to carefully and competently do the job. According to LeafFilter, owning a steep roof can increase your gutter cleaning cost by 15%.
• Roof accessibility and height: If there are obstacles to safely cleaning your gutters, such as lumpy ground that makes ladder placement difficult or overgrown trees that encumber the work crew, the job will take longer and cost more. This also applies to the number of stories your home has. One-story homes cost less than multiple story houses, not just because of the added length of gutters, but also because of the added risk and reduced accessibility.
• Gutter condition and cleaning frequency: If you haven’t kept up with cleaning your gutters two to three times per year, expect to pay a higher fee to have a pro deep clean them and return them to top performance. They may also recommend additional services, such as replacing downspouts, leaking caps or rotting fascia, if your gutters are in a state of disrepair.
• Labor, materials and equipment: Labor makes up the largest portion of gutter cleaning cost, so expect to pay more if labor costs are higher in your area. Professionals also use equipment and expend materials, totaling somewhere between $20 and $50 for the average job.
• Location: Where you live impacts the cost of labor, typical weather conditions and debris types that are commonly found in local gutters. Those in rural areas often pay less than urban dwellers. For example, the average cost is just below $150 in Durham, N.C., but over $200 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Gutter cleaning costs an average of 40 cents per linear foot on a single story and 80 cents per linear foot on a multi-story home. That leads to an average cost of $163 in the United States for a residential property with 150 to 200 linear feet of gutter runs.

Depending on the condition of your gutter system, contractors may recommend additional services to get your gutters in top performing condition. This may include downspout cleaning, which adds $50 to $100 to your total cost, straightening your gutters or replacing a sagging section. If your downspouts are in actual disrepair, downspout installation will run you up to $20 per linear foot on average.

You may be thinking, how hard can it be to clear leaves out of your gutters? Surely you could save some money by doing the job yourself. While you can save a significant amount on labor with appropriate knowhow and equipment, there are cons to consider when it comes to the DIY approach.

DIY Gutter Cleaning

You don’t need much to get started cleaning your own gutters. A pair of durable work gloves, a tall ladder and several hours of free time should be enough. If you have a multiple story home, you may need an extension ladder, which is an added expense.

However, if you’re not totally comfortable and confident maneuvering around your roof on a ladder, consider enlisting professional help. It’s easy to damage your roof or yourself, which ends up costing you more than hiring a professional gutter cleaner.

Professional Gutter Cleaning

Professional contractors bring more than just the convenience of not having to trudge up a ladder yourself and dedicate your weekend to cleaning gutters. Not only do they have superior tools and experience to net better results, they can easily spot small issues with your gutter system and fix them before they become expensive headaches.

If you still want to clean your own gutters, there are a few tips and tricks to reduce the frequency of gutter maintenance.

• Since you’ll be cleaning rain gutters at least semi-annually, invest in quality hand tools and leaf blowers to make the job easier on yourself. While you can remove large debris by hand, it’s helpful to have a trowel for compact debris and a garden hose to flush the full system.
• While flushing your gutter system, you can check for clogs by comparing the amount of water going in to the amount exiting the downspout.
• Place plastic sheets on the ground in your work area to catch debris and make clean up a breeze.

If you’d prefer to hire a professional gutter cleaning service, here are some tips to keep in mind that can keep cost estimates low.

• Do your research before negotiating with gutter cleaning companies. This will help you understand which services you want and what your budget will be. Then, get multiple estimates from local contractors. If one bid is on the high end of your cost range and another is on the low end, ask the sales representative to explain the additional cost.
• You can save money by finding a contractor in your immediate area. Chances are if a provider has to travel far distances for a gutter cleaning job, you will face additional costs for the inconvenience.
• Consider cleaning your gutters outside of the peak season — during autumn, when the leaves are falling, and spring, when snow melts. You’ll likely find that many providers put in lower bids due to seasonal discounts or offers to attract business during slower periods of the year.
• If you have a home with deteriorating gutters, then the cost of replacing your gutters may be worth it. Depending on the type of gutters you have, if they are over 20 years old, they may need to be replaced.

While gutter cleaning may sound arduous, it’s nothing compared to the expense and damage that could result from neglecting to do it. When left unattended, gutters attract leaves, moss, twigs, shingle grit and even pests. Eventually, they begin to hold water and fail at their main objective — guiding water out of a downspout and away from your home’s foundation.

There are multiple reasons why this is undesirable. When water backs up in your gutters, it eventually seeps into the roof structure, softening your shingles and rotting your fascia boards. It can also spill over the side of your gutters, pooling at the base of your home. This is likely to lead to expensive water damage to your home’s foundation or basement and a host of other soggy problems. In the winter, standing water can freeze and cause detrimental ice dams in your gutters.

While not as problematic as the danger posed to your home’s roof and foundation, clogged gutters can also destroy landscaping and flowerbeds and reduce the lifespan of your gutters themselves.

Hiring professionals to clean your gutters is a worthwhile expense for most homeowners, as it eliminates the extra time needed to do it yourself and the space for storing bulky equipment like an extension ladder. Additionally, professional gutter cleaners have the knowledge and experience to anticipate flaws in your gutter system and fix them before major damage occurs.