Our own crew cleans gutters in Palo Alto CA. Every downspout is flushed and flow-tested, the leaves and grit are hauled away, and you get photos of every run once it is clean, before we leave.
The price comes from your stories, the size of the house and how much tree cover sits over the roof. The number we give on the phone is the number on the invoice.
Most of our customers book in spring and fall, and we have run that schedule long enough to know which runs need the second visit.
Quoted from stories, size and tree cover, over the phone, with nothing added once the crew is on the roof.
The price depends on how many stories the house has, its square footage and what is sitting in the gutters. We give an estimate over the phone or by text from those three things, and the number we give is the number we charge. Companies that price by the linear foot land in a similar place once you count the same runs, but the per-foot figure hides the height, the access and the drainage problems, which is where the real time goes.
On our jobs the things that move the price are the same every time. A third story, or a roof too steep to walk, means the crew works from a boom or scissor lift instead of a ladder. A walk-out basement or a sloped landscape raises the effective height of the roofline. Gutters nobody has opened in years come out packed with buildup of leaves and debris, with sagging runs that hold standing water, and with a clog that has been building since the last visit and cutting the water flow. Gutter guards on the system that we have to lift and reseat add time on the other end. Downspout flushing, flow testing and debris removal are included and never billed as extras. If anything we find changes the job, you hear about it before work starts, never on the invoice.
Palo Alto homes we clean show the same pattern: a clogged run over the back patio drops water right against the foundation, and a sag where the rain gutter pulled from the fascia lets rainwater pool until it spills over the front edge. Those are the cases where a cleaning does structural damage prevention, not cosmetic work. Our crew photographs what it finds before and after it makes the run clean, and tells you what it saw, so you can plan the next step with the real condition in hand. We do the same for residential and commercial properties, and the price comes from the building, not a template. For a house with heavy tree cover, we check the gutters and downspouts after the first visit, since clogged downspouts are where the water backs up, and keep the water away from the foundation through the season.
Text a photo of the front of the house and tell us the number of stories, and we will give you an estimate before we book a date. Call (866) 435-6328 if you want to talk it through first.
| One story | Two stories | Three stories or steep | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1,500 sq ft | from $150 | from $225 | from $295 |
| 1,500 to 2,500 sq ft | from $200 | from $260 | from $335 |
| Over 2,500 sq ft | from $235 | from $305 | from $395 |
For context, nationally: Angi 2026, US average $168, most $119 to $234, $0.95 to $2.25 per linear foot.
Downspouts flushed and flow-tested, debris hauled, photos of every run. The quote already has all of it in.
Our crew clears every gutter run by hand, not just the stretch you can see from the driveway. Roof valleys and the area above the gutter line are blown clear first, so the next rain does not refill what was just emptied. Every downspout is flushed with water and watched until it runs clear at the bottom; one that will not clear is worked from the top where it can be reached. Where a downspout feeds an underground drain line, the crew checks that water is leaving at the outlet and tells you if it is not; clearing a buried line is a separate job and is quoted before anyone touches it.
Debris goes into bags and leaves with the truck. It is not blown onto the lawn, the deck or next door. The ground is left as it was found.
Before the crew leaves you get photos of every run and every downspout, before and after, on your phone, whether or not you were home. Anything the crew sees that is not a cleaning problem, a hanger pulled loose, a seam dripping, a run sitting flat, is photographed and reported, not repaired and not sold on the spot.
What can change the number, and you hear it before work starts, never on the invoice: a third story or a roof too steep to walk; gutters that have not been touched in years; guards that have to come off and go back on.
Twice a year for most houses: once after the spring seed and pollen drop, once after the last leaves fall.
On our residential properties, most customers book two cleanings a year, once in spring and once in fall, and the question we hear most is how often to clean your gutters. Across California the spring visit falls in mid to late June, after the seed and pollen drop. The fall visit runs December to early January, after the last leaves come down. When we open a gutter on the spring visit we find seed casings and pollen paste packed into the elbows of the runs. In the fall it is the wet leaf mat, and on houses that skipped the fall visit we have seen runs sag and pull loose through the wet months.
Under heavy tree cover, every three to four months, because needles, a twig or two and grit pack the outlets between visits. Near a busy road or a construction site the grit comes faster, so the same schedule applies. With few or no trees, once a year on the fall visit is enough for most lots. Guards cut the frequency, but we still clear what settles on top of them.
A clog that sits through heavy rainfall becomes a blockage that has to be cut out, and the water it holds makes the rot start earlier than you would expect. The wettest months here are December, January and February, and across California atmospheric rivers deliver most of the year's rain in a handful of days, so a trough that was not clean going in can overflow in a single storm. A small leak at a seam is usually the first sign, and by then the rot has started.
Gutters that stay clean keep rainwater moving away from the foundation and out through the downspouts. The schedule is what makes gutter cleaning services worth the call, and it is the cheapest way to avoid the bigger repair that follows a season of standing water. Regular gutter cleaning on a set calendar means we are not chasing a clog after the first storm.
After the first visit we tell you which tier your lot actually needs, and how clean the runs should stay between visits. Call (866) 435-6328 or text a photo of the house and we will set the date.
Water over the edge rots the board behind the gutter first. Everything after that is slow, and slow is what a policy excludes.
The three signs. Water pouring over the front edge in rain instead of out of the downspout. A run that sags, sits low or has pulled away from the fascia. Plants growing out of the trough. Any one of them means the gutter is full.
What happens next. Water that cannot drain sits in the trough and spills behind it. The fascia board rots, then the soffit. Water backs up under the first course of shingles and shows up as a ceiling stain. Siding stains and swells. Below, the overflow cuts a channel at the foundation and finds the basement. The wet debris itself weighs enough to pull the gutter off the house. Standing water breeds mosquitoes; dry debris houses wasps. Where winters freeze, the trapped water becomes an ice dam at the eave and lifts the shingles from underneath.
Why your policy will not pay. Homeowners insurance generally does not cover water damage traced to clogged gutters. Carriers class gutter cleaning as routine maintenance, and damage from skipped maintenance as preventable neglect, which a standard policy excludes. A limb that tears a gutter off in a storm is sudden and accidental and is usually covered; a fascia board that rotted over two years is not. This is general information, not insurance advice; read your policy or ask your agent.
Guards stop leaves. They do not stop needles, seeds, grit or the paste they turn into. The job gets shorter, not gone.
Yes, guarded gutters still need cleaning, less often, and it is a different job: clearing what sits on top of the guard and checking that water is actually getting in, rather than scooping out the trough. Mesh and screen guards hold whole leaves off. Pine needles thread through, seed casings and pollen mat on top, roof grit settles underneath, and once that mat is wet, rain runs over it and off the front edge. The gutter is empty and the water never went in.
Guards earn their keep under big leafy trees and on roofs too high to want to climb. They do not end maintenance, whatever the installer said. Our crew lifts the panels, clears underneath, flushes the downspouts and reseats the guards; tell us what is on the house when you get the quote and it is priced as a guarded system, which usually runs shorter than an open one.
Under an hour on most houses. Nobody has to be there, and the photos arrive either way.
The crew calls the day before with an arrival window and again when they are on the way. This Old House puts a professional gutter cleaning at 30 minutes to an hour on a typical home; bigger houses, steep roofs and gutters left for years run longer. Nobody needs to be home for exterior work; the crew does not come inside. Before they arrive: side gate unlocked, cars off the driveway if runs face it, pets inside while ladders are up. Ladder stand-offs keep the ladder off the gutter lip and the siding. After: photos of every run and downspout before the truck leaves, and an invoice that matches the quote.
Send us a photo or a short video in the rain. You hear what it is before anyone talks about money.
Still overflowing. A gutter that is clean and still sheets water over the edge in rain has a slope, capacity or downspout-size problem, not a debris problem. If that happens after a cleaning, send us a photo or a short video of it in the rain and we tell you what it actually is; we do not sell a second cleaning for a slope problem.
The number. The price quoted on the phone is the price on the invoice. If the crew finds something that changes the job, you hear it and agree to it before they start, never after.
Your house. Stand-offs on every ladder so nothing rests on the gutter lip, and screens and downspout extensions go back where they were.
Payment. The balance is charged when the job is finished and the photos are on your phone. Some dates take a small booking fee to hold the slot, and you hear about it before you book.
The whole city and the towns around it, booked by phone or text from the nearest crew.
Our gutter cleaning service runs across Palo Alto from our nearest crew base, and the crew works the whole city and the surrounding areas rather than a single block. The gutter cleaning process starts with a quote by phone or text, from your stories, the size of the house and how much tree cover shades it. A photo of the front of the house helps us see the access before we arrive. Lead time varies with the season, and we confirm the date when you call.
Our calendar fills in two busy windows: the spring rush after the seed drop, and December to early January, after the leaves. Book in those weeks and you may wait a little longer for a slot, so it pays to call early and get your gutters on the calendar. We call before we come, and nobody needs to be home for the visit. Each visit ends with every run clean after we flush every downspout, and the photos on your phone; between visits we keep the water away from your home. Our cleaning and maintenance visits run on the schedule you agree to, and that is how you keep your gutters clear between storms.
A homeowner who wants to protect your home from water damage usually starts with a single visit and moves to a set schedule once they see what is in the runs. If you have a question about the rest of our gutter services, the crew can walk you through it on the phone. Palo Alto gutter cleaning starts with a quote, not a sales call.
Our cleaning services in Palo Alto are priced from the stories and the size of the house, and we give an estimate by phone or text. We do not give a range here because the house decides it.
Most of our customers book one of two windows: the spring visit after the seed and pollen drop, and the fall visit in December to early January, after the leaves come down. Waiting past the fall visit is where we have seen sags and ice damage on the front runs.
Most slots come up within the week, and we confirm a date when you call. Same-day depends on the day, so ask us when you book.
No. Our crew works outside, does not come inside, and sends photos of every run and downspout to your phone before the truck leaves. Leave the side gate unlocked and keep pets inside while the ladders are up.
Yes, we flush every downspout and check that water is leaving at the outlet, and a run only counts as clean when the water runs out the bottom. Clearing a buried line is a separate job and is quoted before anyone touches it.
Yes. Under guards we find needles threaded through, seed casings on top and grit underneath, and the wet mat turns to paste that lets rain run off the front edge. Guards reduce the work on the gutter system, but they are still gutter maintenance you cannot skip.
A clean gutter that still sheets water over the edge has a slope or downspout-size problem, not a cleaning problem. Send us a photo or short video taken in heavy rainfall and we tell you what it is.
Only if we find something that changes the job, and you hear it before work starts. The quote on the phone is the invoice.
Stories, size and a photo of the front by text. That is a real number, not an appointment.
