You should hire a professional to clean your gutters if you're not up to DIY-ing it
Like flossing your teeth, gutter maintenance needs to be done on a regular basis or the buildup can cause serious consequences. Who do you hire to clean your gutters? This guide shows you how to handle everything from collecting quotes to asking the right questions on appointment day. There are several options for hiring a professional if you’re not into cleaning your gutters yourself, including professional gutter cleaning services and handymen.
Gutters should be cleaned out semi-annually, once in the fall and once in the spring. This job involves getting up on a ladder, pulling the gunk out, and flushing the gutters and downspouts with water from a hose.
Installing gutter guards might be another project to look into if you’re worried about debris collecting in your gutters. Gutter guards are like screens with larger holes that prevent large sticks and other things from clogging up your gutters. The average cost to install gutter guards is between $610 and $2,275, with a national average of $1,300. Talk to your pro about whether or not they install gutter guards and how much the project might cost.
The cost of gutter cleaning depends on a few different factors, including:
Your location
How many feet of gutters
Whether or not there are trees or other obstructions
How high off the ground the gutters are
The steepness of the pitch of your roof
Age of the gutters
Gutter cleaning averages around $118 to $224, with a national average of $159. Before contacting a gutter cleaning professional, get a general sense for how many square feet of gutters you have, and be sure to tell them whether you live in a one or two story home, as that can affect the price.
Extra services such as downspout clearing and installing gutter guards will add onto your cost. Be sure to ask how much your pro charges for add-ons when you call to get quotes. Downspout clearing usually runs $50 to $100 per 200 square feet, while installing gutter guards typically costs between $6 and $8 per square foot.
A good rule of thumb is to contact at least three professionals to get quotes. Get exact pricing from them and talk to them about what factors might cause a change. Any repairs or maintenance could drive up the cost, so make sure to ask about extra services and what they charge when you call.
Your home is your largest asset, so you want to make sure it’s protected. Hiring a professional gutter cleaning service means that you get an added layer of safety since these companies have liability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance. If your gutter pro hires subcontractors, you’ll need to get insurance information for them as well.
Pros are also likely to have reviews posted online and will usually give you names of references you can call to ask about their work.
Other great reasons to hire a full-service professional gutter cleaning company is that they:
Have a tried and true method of what works
Will they notify you if they find problems that need to be fixed
Will not leave you with a mess to clean up
Once you’ve decided on a pro, get something in writing. This can be as formal as a contract with a company or as informal as an agreement written out on paper stating the project and the payment terms. Protect yourself and your home when any sort of maintenance is being done, and keep the contracts or agreements for your records.
Once your pro has finished, inspect the work. If there’s something you’re dissatisfied with, voice your concerns. If your pro did a great job, leave them a review wherever they prefer. You can even offer to be a reference for other homeowners who are just starting their process. Reviews and references can go a long way for a business, especially one that’s just starting out.
Although there are companies that devote themselves entirely to gutters and their maintenance, gutter cleaning doesn’t necessarily need to be done by one of these specialists. Landscapers often offer gutter cleaning services, and you can also hire a handyman. Just keep in mind that anytime you have someone going up on a ladder on your property, there’s risk involved that could result in injury and insurance claims.
Gutter cleaning is a project that you can do on your own if you feel comfortable being up on a ladder and getting your hands dirty. You’ll need either a step ladder or an extension ladder (depending on how many stories your home has), buckets for removing debris, gloves, a trowel or gutter scoop for compacted debris, and a hose to flush the gutters once you’ve removed debris. Since gutter cleaning should be done at least twice a year, DIY-ing might be a less costly option if you’re comfortable with heights and are sure you can do a thorough job.
Like all professionals, gutter pros are happy to answer questions about their services in order to give potential clients the information they need to make informed decisions. With companies offering different cleaning approaches, it's important to know what your quote entails. Here's a look at the questions to ask when collecting quotes for gutter cleaning:
How many years have you been in business?
Do you have customer testimonials I can read?
What type of equipment do you use?
What is the full list of services covered in a quote? Is cleanup of any debris that is recovered from the gutters covered?
Have you cleaned my type of gutter system before?
Can you clean all gutter sizes?
Do you use pet-safe and plant-safe cleaners?
Is there a guarantee on your work?
Is your company licensed and insured?
Do you provide free quotes?
Are you able to provide a roof inspection at the same time?
Once you've found a company that offers the services you need, it's still important to make sure you're on the same page when cleaning day arrives. Chat with the crew for a few minutes to set up expectations of how the visit will go. Here are the questions to ask after gutter cleaning pros arrive at your home:
Do you need access to my water spout or hose?
How long will the process take?
Can I inspect the finished work before the crew leaves?
How soon can I use my yard following gutter cleaning?
