Our own crew cleans gutters in McHenry, every run flushed and flow-tested, leaves hauled away, and photos of each run before we leave. The price comes from your stories, your home's size and how much tree cover hangs over the roof, and the number we give on the phone is the number on your invoice. Most of our customers book in spring and fall, and that rhythm has held across our jobs.
Quoted from stories, size and tree cover, over the phone, with nothing added once the crew is on the roof.
The price for McHenry homes depends on how many stories the house has, its 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 quote is the number we charge. Some gutter cleaning services price by the linear foot, which lands in a similar place once the run is measured, but the three things above are what we actually look at when we size a job.
What moves the quote on our jobs is usually a third story or a roof too steep to walk, which means more time on a boom or scissor lift. A walk-out basement or a sloped lot can put the back run far higher than the front, so the effective height of the roofline changes the work. Gutters nobody has opened in years come out packed with buildup that can make a run sag, and that takes longer than a regular gutter cleaning. Guards we have to lift, clean underneath and reseat add time as well. Flushing, flow testing and debris removal are included and never billed as extras. Anything that changes the job gets raised before work starts, never on the invoice.
On our jobs we have cleaned homes where the gutter was buried under a season of leaves and a clog had started at the elbow. The crew found a leak behind the fascia on one run, where drainage had backed up through the gutter system, and the quote reflected the extra time to clean it properly and check the water flow afterward. The customer heard about it before we climbed up, which is how we work across residential and commercial sites alike.
Our crew handles residential properties and commercial properties on the same standard, so homeowners with a question about their lot can call (866) 435-6328 or text a photo of the front of the house and we will tell you what we see. Ask for a written estimate and we will put the same numbers on paper.
| One story | Two stories | Three stories or steep | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1,500 sq ft | from $150 | from $195 | from $255 |
| 1,500 to 2,500 sq ft | from $170 | from $225 | from $295 |
| Over 2,500 sq ft | from $200 | from $265 | from $345 |
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.
Most of our customers in McHenry IL book twice a year, once in late May or June after seed and pollen drop, and again in late October or early November after the last leaves come down. Those two visits protect your home from water damage through the seasons that matter most here, and each one is a chance to clean your gutters before the weather turns.
In spring we find seeds, seed casings and pollen paste packed into the elbows of the gutters and downspouts, and a rainwater flow that slows right where it should run fastest. In fall it is the leaf load, and in our experience a wet leaf mat is the thing that starts a blockage before the rainy season. Where freeze risk is high, the fall visit also heads off ice dams at the eave, because on houses that skipped the fall visit we see runs that sagged under ice and pulled loose by March.
Under heavy tree cover, every three to four months is the schedule that keeps the gutters clear, because needles, a twig now and then, and grit pack the elbows between visits. Homes with few or no trees and a simple landscape need one clean a year, in late fall. Homes with gutter guards need less frequent work, but the surface still needs a clean on each visit. Our crew checks the roofline each time we open a run, flags any structural damage they find, and an estimate for the next visit comes out of that.
We keep your gutters working through the year with gutter maintenance: we flush every downspout and check the lower runs, which keeps water away from your home and off the foundation. After the first visit we tell you which tier your lot actually needs.
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 McHenry gutter cleaning crew covers the surrounding areas and works from the nearest base to keep travel short, so the question for most homeowners is less about the neighborhood and more about the schedule. The gutter cleaning process starts with a quote by phone or text from your stories, your home's size and how much tree cover hangs over the roof, and a photo of the house front if that is easy to send. Lead times depend on the season, and the 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 exterior work. Among our cleaning services in McHenry, booking early in the month keeps the gutters clear before heavy rainfall. Commercial properties are booked on a scheduled basis under the same process, and residential homes get the same cleaning and maintenance. If you want to get your gutters on the calendar, call (866) 435-6328 and we will find the slot that works for the gutter services you need.
The number comes from the stories, the size of the house and what is in the gutters, and we give it by phone or text. We do not quote a figure without those three things. Once we have them, the number is the one we charge.
Across Illinois, the two visits that matter fall in late May to June and in October to early November, and our cleanings follow that same window. If you wait past the fall visit, we often find leaves and debris have started to clog the runs before the first hard freeze. The earlier slot protects the roofline.
Same-day depends on the day we are working. Across McHenry, most slots come up within the week, and we confirm a date when you call so you know exactly when the crew will arrive.
No. A homeowner does not have to be there. 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 each run, and clogged downspouts get worked from the top until water leaves at the outlet. Clearing a buried line is a separate job and gets quoted before anyone touches it. Flushing and the flow check are in the number already.
Yes. On our jobs guards hold leaves back, but needles, seed casings and grit still sit on top and can mat into a wet layer that stops water from getting in. We lift the panels, clean underneath and flush the run, so the whole gutter system drains the way it should.
A clean rain gutter that still spills in rain usually has a slope or capacity problem rather than debris, and a spill left running for seasons can lead to rot in the fascia and structural damage. Send us a photo or a short video in the rain and we will tell you what it is. We do not sell a second cleaning for a slope problem.
It should not. If we find something that changes the job, we tell you and agree to it before work starts, never after. The balance is charged when the job is finished and the photos are on your phone.
Stories, size and a photo of the front by text. That is a real number, not an appointment.
