Exterior
Gutter cleaning cost
Gutter cleaning is about $263 for the 150 ft of gutter on a typical two-storey house — $1.75 a foot, downspouts flushed — $175 on one storey and $400 on three, because the ladder is the job. With trees nearby that is twice a year, $525. Gutters left two years with clogged downspouts run $430. And guards, at about $1,050, do not end the cleaning: they cut it to a yearly check, which pays back in about 7 years if you were cleaning twice a year, and never if once was enough.
Written and edited by Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Last reviewed 2026-09-25 · Nothing you type leaves your browser
Gutter cleaning cost calculator
Feet of gutter, and how high
Gutter cleaning is priced by the foot and by the storey, because the ladder is the job. A 2,000 sq ft house has roughly 130 to 160 ft of gutter.
Every run along the eaves.
A 28 ft extension ladder with a standoff, moved every few feet.
Trees nearby. Late spring after the seeds and blossoms, late fall after the leaves.
Walkable pitch.
Within the year.
Open gutters.
Water backs up or overflows.
Drips at seams or corners.
Inside only.
A gutter company or handyman.
Used only to pick a regional labour rate. It stays in your browser.
150 ft of gutter, two storeys, one cleaning
$263
$1.75 a foot · twice a year · $525 a year
Guards would pay back
Mid-range guards, about $1,050, would cut this to one check a year and pay back in about 7 years.
What a clogged gutter costs
The water goes over the front.
A full gutter spills at the foundation, rots the fascia board behind it, and in winter builds ice dams at the eaves. A cleaning is a couple of hundred dollars; the fascia, the foundation drainage or the basement are the bills it prevents.
Ten years: cleaning or guards
150 ft, two storeys, hired.
What the cleaner charges for
- 150 ft cleaned and flushed
Two storeys: A 28 ft extension ladder with a standoff, moved every few feet.$263
What it costs
National average. One cleaning of 150 ft of gutter at two storeys, debris bagged or hauled and downspouts flushed. Not included: re-hanging sagging runs, fascia repair or new gutters.
New gutters and guards installed, on the gutter installation page; the rotted board behind a gutter, on the fascia page; the water once it leaves the downspout, on the French drain page.
Worth knowing
- 150 ft of gutter at two storeys: $1.75 a foot. Flushing the downspouts is part of it.
- Twice a year: Trees nearby. Late spring after the seeds and blossoms, late fall after the leaves. That is about $525 a year.
- Mid-range guards would be about $1,050 and cut the cleaning to a check once a year: they pay for themselves in about 7 years at your frequency.
On this page — 4 sections
By the foot, and by the ladder
The short version
- Two storeys, 150 ft: $263. $1.75 a foot.
- One storey: $175; three: $400. The ladder is the price.
- Twice a year: $525. The usual plan with trees nearby.
- Guards pay back only above once a year.
Gutter cleaning is priced by the linear foot of gutter and by the height it has to be worked from, because the time goes on the ladder: set it, climb, scoop six feet, climb down, move it. A one-storey house is worked from a stepladder; two storeys need a 28 ft extension ladder and a standoff; three need a 40 ft ladder or roof anchors. Every company also has a visit minimum, which is what a short run costs. The price should include bagging or hauling the debris and flushing every downspout.
$175
One storey
140 ft
$263
Two storeys
150 ft
$400
Three storeys
160 ft
$150
Visit minimum
Short runs
MaterialsEstimator, Gutter cleaning price survey · checked 2026-09-25
| Routine | Neglected | |
|---|---|---|
| 150 ft, two storeys | $263 | $430 |
| On a steep roof | $328 | More again |
| Downspouts | Flushed | Two cleared |
| Afterwards | Nothing | Hangers and fascia checked |
Cleaning or guards, over ten years
Guards are sold as the end of gutter cleaning. They are not: seeds, needles and shingle grit get through or sit on top, and a guard that is never looked at can hide a blockage for years. What they do is spread the cleaning out — to a check once a year, slower round the guards. So the arithmetic is simple: they pay where the trees would otherwise mean cleaning twice a year or more, and never where once a year was enough.
| 150 ft, two storeys | Ten years |
|---|---|
| Cleaned once a year | $2,625 |
| Cleaned twice a year | $5,250 |
| Cleaned four times a year | $10,500 |
| Mid-range guards, checked yearly | $4,725 |
| Micro-mesh guards, checked yearly | $6,375 |
Hired, national average, guards installed at the gutter page’s prices.
MaterialsEstimator, Gutter price survey · checked 2026-09-16
Doing it yourself
A one-storey gutter is an easy morning with a scoop, a bucket and a hose. Two storeys is a different job, and the risk is the ladder, not the gutter: ladder falls send more than half a million people a year to the emergency room. If you do it, use a standoff so the ladder bears on the roof and not the gutter, keep three points of contact, stay off the top rungs, move the ladder rather than reaching, and have someone foot it. At two storeys and up, most of what a pro charges is the ladder work — which is the part worth paying for.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Ladder safety — injuries treated in emergency departments · checked 2026-09-25
What goes wrong
After a cleaning
- Every downspout flushed and draining freely.
- No standing water in the runs: a sag means a hanger to reset.
- Joints and end caps dry in the next rain.
- The fascia behind any overflow checked for soft wood.
- Downspouts discharging away from the foundation.
01Cleaning only in the fall
Spring seeds and blossoms fill them by summer storms.
Instead — Twice a year where there are trees.
02Leaning the ladder on the gutter
It dents the gutter and the ladder can slide.
Instead — A standoff against the roof.
03Blowing debris onto the roof or lawn
It washes straight back in.
Instead — Scooped and bagged.
04Not flushing the downspouts
A clean gutter over a blocked downspout still overflows.
Instead — A hose down each one.
05Guards as never-clean-again
Debris builds on and under them unseen.
Instead — A check once a year.
06Pressure-washing from the roof edge
It lifts shingles and throws the washer.
Instead — Scoop, then a low-pressure flush.
- 01Measure the guttersWalk the house and add up every run along the eaves; the perimeter is a good first figure for a simple house.
- 02Count the storeysThe highest gutter decides the ladder, and the ladder decides the price per foot.
- 03Look at the roofA steep, tile or slate roof is slower and costs more to work from.
- 04Check how full they arePlants in the gutter or water over the front in rain means two years' worth, and clogged downspouts.
- 05Count the treesNo trees: once a year. Trees nearby: twice. Pines overhead: four times, and guards start to pay.
- 06Book it with neighboursSome companies discount several houses on one street on one day.
When the gutters sag, leak at every joint or are too small for the roof, new seamless gutters — with guards if the trees call for them — are priced by the foot on the gutter page.
New gutters, or guards- Linear foot
- A foot of gutter along the eave. Cleaning is priced per foot, then by the height it is worked from.
- Downspout
- The vertical pipe that carries the water from the gutter to the ground. The top elbow is where it clogs.
- Flushing
- Running a hose through the cleaned gutter and down each downspout, to prove they drain.
- Ladder standoff
- A bracket that holds an extension ladder off the gutter, against the roof, so the ladder does not crush or bear on it.
- Gutter guard
- A screen, mesh, cover or insert over or in the gutter that keeps leaves out. Reduces cleaning; does not end it.
- Micro-mesh
- The finest guard: stainless mesh that stops needles and seeds, and the dearest.
- Fascia
- The board along the eaves the gutter hangs on. Rots behind an overflowing gutter.
- Ice dam
- A ridge of ice at the eave, fed by snow melting on the roof; full gutters make it worse.
- Gutter brightening
- Washing the black streaks — tiger stripes — off the outside face of the gutter.
Common questions
- How much does gutter cleaning cost?
- About $263 for 150 ft of gutter on a two-storey house — $1.75 a foot — and $175 for 140 ft on one storey, $400 for 160 ft on three. Short runs hit the visit minimum, about $150: a 60 ft garage and porch is $150.
- How much does gutter cleaning cost per foot?
- About $1.25 a foot at one storey, $1.75 at two and $2.50 at three, flushing included. A steep or fragile roof adds about 25%; gutters left two years or more, about 50%.
- How often should gutters be cleaned?
- Once a year with no trees over the roof, in late fall. Twice a year with trees nearby — late spring and late fall — which is $525 a year for a two-storey house. Four times with pines or big trees overhead: $1,050 a year, which is where guards start to pay.
- Are gutter guards worth it?
- Only where you would otherwise clean more than once a year. Mid-range guards on 150 ft are about $1,050 and still want a check once a year, slower round the guards. Against cleaning twice a year they pay back in about 7 years; against four times, in 2; against once a year, never.
- How much does it cost to clean gutters with guards?
- More a visit than open gutters — about $368 for 150 ft at two storeys, because the guards are lifted or cleaned round — but once a year instead of twice.
- How much does it cost to clean gutters myself?
- About $60 for a scoop, gloves and a hose wand on a one-storey house. At two storeys, $310 with a 28 ft extension ladder and a standoff. The cost that matters is the ladder: more than half a million people a year are treated for ladder falls, and a two-storey eave is where it becomes serious.
- What if the gutters have not been cleaned in years?
- Expect about 50% more for the compacted debris, plus clogged downspouts at about $18 each: 150 ft with two blocked downspouts is $430. Check the hangers and the fascia afterwards — the weight and the overflow damage both.
- Does gutter cleaning include the downspouts?
- Flushing each downspout with a hose to prove it drains is part of a proper cleaning. A packed downspout that has to be snaked or taken apart is an extra, usually $10 to $30 each.
- How much does it cost to clean the outside of gutters?
- Brightening — washing the black streaks off the outside face — is about $1.25 a foot on top of the cleaning: 150 ft cleaned and brightened is $450.
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About the author
Pablo Ruiz Quintero — Editor
Editor of MaterialsEstimator. Decides which documents count as a source, what every default value is, and where the line sits between what the reader parses and what the engines compute.
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