Our own crew cleans gutters in Palos, every downspout flushed and flow-tested, the leaves and grit hauled off, and photos of every run before we leave. The price comes from the number of stories, the size of the house and how much tree cover hangs over the roof, and the number we give you on the phone is the number on the invoice. Most of our customers book in the spring and fall, and we have been running those visits across Illinois long enough to know what a clogged run looks like before we open it.
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. Every job we book is quoted over the phone or by text from those three things, and the number we quote is the number we charge. Other gutter cleaning services price by the linear foot, and that lands in a similar place per run, but the total still depends on how many stories the crew has to climb and how much grit and leaf mat is packed in the trough.
On our jobs, a few things move the quote. 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 lot raises the effective height of the roofline, so the back run sits farther up than the front. Gutters nobody has cleared in years arrive with heavy buildup of compacted leaf mat and grit, and a gutter with a clog at the elbow takes more time than one that is simply full of leaves. Guards we have to lift and reseat add time too. Downspout flushing, flow testing and debris removal are included and never billed as extras, and anything that changes the job is raised before work starts, not on the invoice.
Here is what the experience looks like on the ground. When we open a gutter on a home that has gone a season or two without a visit, the leaves and grit have often turned into a paste that holds water in the trough, and the rain gutter overflows at the low corner. On homes with heavy shade the clog is worse at the downspout, because seeds and needles work their way into the elbow and the water flow stops below the bend. A run of clogged downspouts that goes unnoticed is how a leak starts behind the siding, and that is where rot and structural damage start. Once a run is clean, our crew flushes every downspout until you can see water running away from your home, and photographs each run before we leave. The Palos homes we see most often, the ones with a mature landscape, follow this pattern, and the number on the phone accounts for it.
| 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 book twice a year. Across Illinois, the spring visit runs late May to June, after the seed and pollen drop, and the fall visit runs late October to November, after the last leaves come down. When we open a gutter here in May we find seeds, seed casings and pollen paste packed into the elbows. In November it is the wet leaf mat, and on houses that skipped the fall visit we have seen runs sag under the weight of ice by March. Under heavy tree cover, every three to four months is the rhythm we see work, because needles and grit build up between visits. With few or no trees, a once-a-year visit in late fall is usually enough. Gutters with guards get less frequent visits, but you still need to clean your gutters on the surface.
Each visit has its own job. In spring the goal is to clean out the seed and pollen so the rainwater moves freely through the spring storms. In fall the job is to clean the leaves and debris off the roofline, and on a house with a freeze risk the fall visit also keeps a blockage from turning into an ice dam at the eave. May, June and August are the wettest months here, and heavy rainfall in those months lands on a gutter still holding spring seed. Our estimate for your lot comes after the first visit, when we see how much material has built up and which runs carry the most load.
After the first visit we tell you which tier your lot actually needs. For a house that gets a clog in the same downspout every year, that usually means the spring and fall pattern, with a check in between. Call (866) 435-6328 to set up your first visit, or text a photo of the roofline and we will give you a read on 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.
Our crew covers Palos IL and the surrounding areas from the nearest base, and we book residential and commercial work across Palos on the same terms. Booking gutter services is simple. Call (866) 435-6328 or text us, tell us the number of stories, roughly how big the house is, and whether trees hang over the roof, and we give you a quote from those three things. A photo of the front of the house helps if it is easy to send. We call before we come, and nobody needs to be home for the visit.
The calendar fills in two busy windows: late spring when the seed drop peaks, and late fall when the leaves finish coming down. Residential properties and commercial properties both get a quote from the same three things. If you want a slot in one of those windows, call early. Outside those windows we can usually fit a visit in with less notice, even if the trough only has a twig or two in it. We do not promise same-day service here, so we confirm a date when you call.
A homeowner who books regular gutter cleaning is better off than one who waits for an overflow, because a clean gutter is what helps you protect your home from water damage. A clean gutter system moves water away from the foundation and keeps the fascia and siding dry. If your gutters and downspouts have not been opened since last season, keep your gutters working by putting a visit on the calendar now, and get your gutters back on a regular schedule.
The number comes from the stories, the size of the house and what is in the gutters. Call or text us with those three things and we give you a quote for Palos gutter cleaning services, which is the number we charge.
Across Illinois, the spring visit runs late May to June, after the seed drop. Our customers also book in late October or November, after the leaves are down. If you wait past the fall visit, a freeze can turn a clog into an ice dam by March, so late fall is the one we push hardest.
We do not promise same-day service. Most slots come up within the week outside the busy windows, and we confirm a date when you call. Our cleanings fill fastest in the busy windows.
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 the drainage is leaving at the outlet. Clearing a buried drain line is a separate job, and we quote it before anyone touches it.
Yes, gutter guards still need cleaning and maintenance, usually less often than open gutters. That is still gutter maintenance, just a shorter job. On our jobs we find a wet mat sitting on top of the guard, and the water runs off the front edge instead of going in.
A gutter that is clean and still sheets water over the edge in rain has a slope or capacity problem, not a debris problem. Send us a photo or short video of it in the rain and we tell you what it is. We do not sell a second cleaning for a slope problem.
It should not. In our gutter cleaning process, anything that changes the job is raised before work starts, and you agree to it first. The number we quote on the phone is the number on the invoice.
Stories, size and a photo of the front by text. That is a real number, not an appointment.
