Our own crew cleans gutters here, flushing every downspout and flow-testing it before we leave. Debris is hauled away, and every homeowner gets photos of each run before we pack up. The price comes from your stories, roof size and tree cover, and the number we quote on the phone is the number on your invoice. We keep the schedule tight, so a clean gutter is easy to book.
Quoted from stories, size and tree cover, over the phone, with nothing added once the crew is on the roof.
The price depends on stories, square footage and what is sitting in the gutters. We quote it over the phone or by text from those three things, and the number we give is the number we charge. Our gutter cleaning process is the same for every homeowner we serve, and some companies price per linear foot, which lands in a similar place, but the total is what matters to you.
On our jobs, a third story or a steep roof we cannot walk is what moves the quote most. A walk-out basement that puts the back run far up the wall adds time, and so do gutters nobody has opened in years. When the rain gutter is packed with compacted leaves, the crew has to pull it out by hand before flushing, and guards we have to lift and reseat take extra care on the ladder. Downspout flushing, flow testing and haul-off are included and never billed as extras, so the invoice stays clean. If anything changes the job, we raise it before work starts, never on the invoice.
Here is what we find in San Mateo homes that drives a clog in the gutter system. Leaves and debris settle in the trough, then a sag forms where the leaves gather. Buildup in the elbows stops water flow, and water away from your home depends on the downspout being clear. A twig or a wad of wet leaves wedged in the elbow is enough to start a clog. Clogged downspouts push water back up the run, which is how structural damage and rot start at the fascia board and the rafter tails. We see this on houses of every age, and the fix is the same: clean the run, flush every downspout and confirm the drainage at the outlet is clear.
Commercial properties follow the same logic, but with more runs and more square footage per building. We price those per building after a walk-through. The same goes for residential properties with heavy tree cover, where we plan the visit around the leaf load. Our gutter cleaning services in San Mateo are priced the same way every time: stories, size and what we find, quoted before we start.
| 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.
Good gutter maintenance here means two cleanings a year, in spring and fall. Across California the spring visit lands in mid to late June, after the seed and pollen drop, and the fall visit lands in late November to December, after the last leaves. On our jobs, when we open a gutter in spring we find seeds and pollen paste packed into the elbows. In fall it is the wet leaf mat, and on houses that skipped that visit we often see runs that have sagged or pulled loose by winter, even when the trough looked clean in spring.
Under heavy tree cover, needles and grit pack the trough and the outlets between visits, so those lots need cleaning more often than twice a year. Houses with few or no trees are usually fine with one cleaning a year in late fall. Gutters with guards still need the surface kept clean, and that visit comes less often. Watch for a rainwater overflow along the roofline, a blockage at the downspout, or a gutter that looks full after a dry week; each is a sign to book sooner. Heavy rainfall across California comes in atmospheric rivers that deliver most of the year's rain in a handful of days, so a gutter that is full after one storm needs clearing soon.
When we arrive for a gutter cleaning service, we check the eave first, then clean out the trough and flush each downspout. The estimate we give depends on what we see. Residential and commercial jobs follow the same tiers, and debris removal is included on both. If you are unsure how often your lot needs regular gutter cleaning, call (866) 435-6328 and we will tell you after the first visit which tier fits. San Mateo CA homes vary a lot by tree cover, so the first visit sets the schedule.
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.
San Mateo gutter cleaning runs reach the surrounding areas too, and we clean gutters from the nearest base to keep travel short. To book, we give you a quote by phone or text from your stories, roof size and tree cover. A photo of the front of the house helps us plan the visit, but it is optional. If you have gutter guards, tell us when you call, since we lift them to clean underneath and reseat them. Our crew works around the landscape and leaves beds and lawn as they found them. Lead time depends on the season, so call early in the busy months. The two busiest windows are late spring and late fall, when our calendar fills fastest.
We call before we come, and nobody needs to be home for the visit. You can book your cleanings this year on our schedule and keep your gutters clean between visits if you want to protect your home from water damage. A small leak at a seam or a joint is easier to fix than the rot it causes, so we check for one on every visit. Our crew handles the whole job as one of our gutter services, and we flush the gutters and downspouts so water moves away from the foundation. Call (866) 435-6328 to get your gutters on the calendar.
The number comes from stories and size, and we quote it across San Mateo by phone or text before we book. Give us your address and roughly how many feet of gutter run your house has, and we will quote the job on the call.
Across California, the spring visit lands in mid to late June and the fall visit in late November to December. If you wait past the leaf drop, the wet mat is harder to clear, and the runs can sag before winter.
Most slots come up within the week, and we confirm a date when you call. Same-day depends on our route that day, so ask when you book.
No, you do not need to be home. 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 leaves at the outlet. Clearing a buried drain line is a separate job, and we quote it before we touch it.
Yes, guards still need cleaning and maintenance: they stop leaves but not needles, seeds or grit, which settle on top and under the panels. We lift the guards, clean underneath, flush the downspout and reseat them.
If a clean gutter still spills over the edge in rain, the problem is usually slope or downspout size rather than debris. Send us a photo or short video in the rain and we will tell you what it is, without selling a second cleaning.
It should not. If we find something that changes the job, you hear about it and agree before any work starts, so no homeowner gets a surprise on the invoice.
Stories, size and a photo of the front by text. That is a real number, not an appointment.
