How much does gutter cleaning costs
Your home’s gutter system is crucial to protecting your home from water-related damages caused by clogged gutters. Unfortunately, if you’re cleaning your home’s gutters less than annually, you may be setting yourself up for problems. It only takes one substantial storm to blow enough debris inside your home’s gutters, where it creates a clog and causes water to flow up and over the gutter’s sides.
Over time, gutter clogs will cause serious damage to your home’s foundation and the soil surrounding it, costing you thousands of dollars in unnecessary repairs.
Before this problem worsens, your best bet is to hire a professional for help. We recommend companies like Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning or All American Window & Gutter Cleaning to rid your home of gutter debris. Reputable companies with expertly trained professionals can clean and inspect your gutters to ensure they are free of clogs and functioning properly.
Should You Hire a Professional Gutter Cleaning Service?
Depending on the design of your home, gutters can be dangerous to clean on your own. However, spending a weekend lugging the ladder, garden hose, and pressure washing machine around is enough to deter most people.
Rather than ignore your gutters, your best option is to hire a professional gutter cleaning service that is fully licensed and insured. This will save you precious time and money spent on repairs from water-related damages.
Why Make the Call?
Rain gutters and downspouts are more important than many people may realize. Though they add a subtle decorative element, their main purpose is to prevent the growth of mold, mildew, and other water-related damages.
Gutters are channels that keep your home safe by diverting water away from your home’s roof, siding, foundation, and landscaping. Without a properly functioning gutter system, rainwater will collect on your roof, eventually leading to mold growth, rot, and deterioration. When this occurs, aspects of your home will become weak, including your fascia, shingles, and soffit.
By nature, gravity pulls water off your roof, where it comes into contact with your siding, windows, and foundation. Moisture accumulation around windows leads to condensation, damaging your interior walls and sills. And let’s not forget that this also inhibits the growth of grime and mold.
If this water is left pooling against the foundation of your home, it will cause erosion that can weaken the integrity of your structure or flood the basement.
Maintaining your home’s gutter system can prevent all of this. However, if you neglect your gutters, debris will build up and cause clogs that prevent the drainage system from working. Not to mention, high winds and strong storms can affect the alignment of your system, which can lead to a weakening of the gutters that will eventually break away from your home.
You should call a professional gutter cleaning company to keep them clean and functional.
When to Call for a Gutter Cleaning Professional
The good news is that there are several things you can watch for that signify your gutters and downspouts need to be cleaned. Remember that dealing with water intrusion is a race against time, so act quickly.
Schedule an appointment with a professional gutter cleaning service if you notice any of the following signs: the gutters are sagging, overflowing, or filled with critters and pests. Yet, you may also notice clogged gutters by the stains on the side of your home, waiting to stand near the foundation, or you have plants growing in the gutters.
Can I do it myself?
Though it may sound like an easy task, cleaning your gutters, regardless of the size of your home, is challenging. Though some people successfully clean and maintain their gutters, it’s not typically considered a job that can be done effectively or safely without the right experience and training.
If you are thinking about a DIY gutter cleaning project, there are some things you should keep in mind. Did you know that nearly nine million ER visits are due to falls each year? As we mentioned, cleaning your home’s gutters can be dangerous. This is especially true because you must use a ladder to complete this task. While you may save some money, it’s not worth the risk. Not to mention, your time is not free. Professional gutter cleaners train to complete these jobs quickly and effectively.
Hiring a professional gutter cleaning company comes with its benefits. Primarily, you can enjoy the fact that it prevents you from suffering an injury and ensures that your job is done correctly.
How bad does it have to get?
Clogged or broken gutters are a serious threat to your home and should be dealt with as soon as you discover issues. So, you will need to monitor this because it’s too easy to forget about your gutters, allowing clogs to go on for extended periods and causing substantial home damage.
It doesn’t take much debris accumulation for a clog to develop in your gutters or downspouts. And while it will cause various types of water damage, clogged gutters can also become a home for unwanted pests, including mice, snakes, mosquitoes, and more.
However, it’s never too late to have your gutter system cleaned. Whether they are overflowing into your fascia, sagging, or broken, a professional gutter company can help get your system back on track.
How much does a gutter cleaning cost?
When you need gutter cleaning services, the best option is to hire an expert company. It may not be as expensive as you would think to hire one.
Inspection Cost
Inspecting a home’s gutter system can be tricky. You have to know what to look for when it comes to weak spots or loose fasteners, as making small repairs is a big part of gutter cleaning. The truth is that no matter how clean the gutters are, if there are loose or weak spots, it can affect the overall integrity of the drainage system.
The good news is that most gutter companies do not charge an inspection cost. Nearly all of the gutter cleaning companies we review here on Best Gutter Reviews offer a free consultation where you can discuss your home’s needs and learn more about their various packages.
Cleaning Cost
The national average gutter cleaning cost is around $0.80 per linear foot, which calculates to about $160 for an average home with under 200 feet of gutters and downspouts. Depending on where you live, you may find that some gutter cleaning companies charge as little as $0.40 per linear foot. However, if your home is large or has multiple stories, gutter cleaning costs can be as high as $2.00 per linear foot. Remember that these prices don’t include downspouts, which add between $50 and $100 total to the cost.
Though these are average costs, your actual price will depend on many factors. As we mentioned, oversized homes with more than one story will cost more than a single-story home with only 200 feet of gutters. That said, the average cost range for gutter cleaning is between $70 to $225, but the cost can reach as much as $425.
Other factors to consider include where you live and if your home has gutter guards installed that must be removed during the cleaning. We suggest you partner with a company, such as Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning, which offers an annual gutter protection plan. Enrolling in these programs ensures that you receive regular cleanings and inspections, so your home is never left unprotected from water.
What to Tell Your Gutter Cleaning Company
When hiring a gutter cleaning company, you will want to provide them with any detail you can. Ensuring that they understand your unique situation and needs helps you save time and effort.
Gutter Condition
You will first want to tell them which service you require. Usually, the number one question the company will ask is when the last time your cleaning was. This detail gives them a good idea of how much debris may be inside your gutters and downspouts. Knowing this not only helps them quote you a cost, but also tells them what equipment they will need to do the job.
Another thing to keep in mind is if there is any existing damage, such as sags or loose gutters. Most expert gutter cleaners are skilled at on-site repair. So, any insight you can provide regarding the current condition of your gutters is essential.
How long have you experienced problems?
Did a strong storm travel through your area last week and tear your gutters off your home? Or have your gutters been overflowing for months? Again, this informs the pros of the severity of your problem.
Do you have gutter guards installed?
Gutter guards add extra work to the cleaning process. So, when the experts come to your home to clean your gutters, they will need to remove the guards and reinstall them. Telling your gutter company about this allows them to properly account for it in your quote. If you fail to tell them up-front, you will incur additional charges.
How large is your home?
Do you own a single-family home, or do you live in a two-story townhouse? The more gutters and downspouts your home has, the more expensive the service will be. Also, this tells the crew if they need any other special equipment because some gutters are hard to access.
Questions to Ask in Picking the Right Gutter Cleaning Service
Clogged gutters are a serious issue that can lead to extensive home damage and cost you thousands in repair bills. That’s why this is one issue you don’t want to forget about.
The biggest problem with clogged gutters is that they often go unnoticed or are detected only after the clog leads to serious issues. So, when you determine that your gutters are clogged and need to be cleaned, you must hire a professional gutter cleaning company that will ensure your gutters are in true working order the first time.
Credentials
Gutter cleaning is a dangerous task with several risk factors and requires specialized tools. This is why hiring a fully licensed and insured company is imperative. The last thing you want is to allow an uninsured company on your property where they get hurt and potentially sue you.
Yet, you also want someone who is experienced and has the know-how to perform the work without inflicting damage on your home. After all, some people may have their gutters cleaned to improve their home’s appearance, so a company that leaves behind filth or damage is not desirable.
References
Next, research to see what past customers are saying about the company. This can be done using many platforms, such as HomeAdvisor, Google, Facebook, and Best Gutter Reviews.
The other thing that many potential customers do is ask for recommendations directly from the company. In this case, the company should have no problem providing you with at least a few previous client testimonials.
Skipping this step is not recommended, as this is the best way to get a feel for the company and see how they treat customers.
Length of Service
The company’s trustworthiness is a crucial factor that many homeowners consider before choosing the perfect gutter cleaning company. One great way to gauge this is by determining how many years the company has been operational. Comparing this with the number of satisfied customers should tell you everything you need to know.
Cleaning Method
Gutter cleaning can be approached in a few ways. The first is the traditional method which includes high-pressure water and tools to scrape the junk. However, there is another less invasive method that can be used in certain cases, which is called “dry cleaning.” During this process, no water is used in the gutters, but it’s not available for every job.
Guarantee
Any gutter company offering a money-back service guarantee believes in its work. So, before hiring a provider, ask for a guarantee on the work. This guarantee ensures they are confident in their skills, and you can rest easy knowing you made the most well-informed decision.
Make sure to clarify the company policy, as some will re-do the service, while others provide your money-back in certain situations. The key here is to investigate different company policies to choose the one that aligns with your needs.
In the end, gutter cleaning may cost you money, but the benefits outweigh the cost in this case. So, take your time, read reviews, and ask lots of questions before choosing the right gutter company. These steps will save you that much more on home maintenance costs in the long run.