Our own crew cleans gutters on every house we visit, every downspout flushed and flow-tested, the leaves and muck hauled away, 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 is over the house, 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, when seed, pollen and leaves have finished coming down.
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 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. Our cleaning services in Ankeny IA are quoted that way, and each of our cleanings gets one number. Other companies price by the linear foot, which lands in a similar place per foot of run, but the stories and the access are what actually drive the cost on our jobs.
What moves the quote on our jobs: a third story or a steep pitch you can't walk, a walk-out basement or sloped lot that raises the effective height of the back run, gutters nobody has opened in years, with a thick buildup of compacted muck, and gutter guards we have to lift and reseat. Downspout flushing, flow testing and a clean haul-off of every leaf, twig and scoop of muck we pull out are included and never billed as extras. Gutter maintenance is priced as one job, and cleaning and maintenance are never split into add-ons. A leak at a seam is photographed and reported, not repaired on the spot, and if anything changes the job, you hear it and agree to it before work starts, never on the invoice.
On our jobs the biggest swings come from heavy tree cover. A house under big trees on a lot with a steep back slope takes longer to clean out than a one-story ranch with no trees, and we tell you which of those you have when we talk. Every homeowner gets the same question from us before the number is given: a photo of the front of the house sent by text helps us see the stories and the pitch before we call you back. That photo is the first step of our gutter cleaning process. Ask for the quote, give us the three things, and get your gutters on the schedule with a crew that will tell you the number before the ladder goes up.
| 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 a fall visit in late October or November, after the last leaves are down. Across Iowa, spring visits run late May to June, after the seed and pollen drop, and by late May the downspout elbows are packed with seeds and pollen paste. In November it is the wet leaf mat, and on houses that skipped the fall visit we find runs by March that have sagged under ice and pulled loose from the fascia line, and the wood under them has started to rot. That means the gutter system took the damage first.
Under heavy tree cover, big trees overhead, we see customers every three to four months, because leaves and debris pack the elbows between visits and a clog can form faster than a twice-a-year schedule can keep up with. Gutters and downspouts under that kind of cover need checking far more often than a house with few or no trees, which only needs one clean a year in late fall. Near a busy road, a construction site or a bed of landscape mulch, the grit settles in the rain gutter faster, and those houses also belong on the shorter schedule.
A blockage at the elbow is the first thing we check, because clogged downspouts are where the next overflow starts. A downspout that runs slow at the top and stalls at the elbow is a sign the next rain will overflow the trough, and May, June and August are the wettest months around here, which is when heavy rainfall finds a slow run. Rainwater that stays too long along the roofline is how structural damage starts, and the gutter's job is to carry water away from the foundation. A gutter that is clean and still overflowing is a slope or capacity problem, not a cleaning problem, and we say so. Every visit should end with a flushed downspout and a clean run you can see from the ground. After the first visit we tell you which tier your lot actually needs, and what we found, so you can plan the next visit with the real numbers in hand.
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.
We have cleaned gutters across Ankeny, IA, and our gutter cleaning service covers the city and the surrounding areas without a long drive, which keeps the calendar tight and the visits on the day we confirm. Ask us about the neighborhoods you live in and we will tell you whether we have worked there before, and what the lot looked like when we did. Each lot gets a clean first visit so we can see the real condition and how the water flow leaves each downspout. Ankeny homes are not all alike: the older lots with mature trees and the newer subdivisions with young trees each need a different schedule. Our gutter services are scheduled by lot, not by postcode.
Booking works like this. You call (866) 435-6328 or text, we ask for the number of stories, the rough square footage and whether trees hang over the house, and if it is easy we ask for a photo of the house front. We give you a number on the spot and a lead time based on the calendar that week. Homeowners book the same way, and this is our gutter cleaning process from first call to last photo. Our calendar fills fastest across Iowa in late May through June and late October through November, so book early if you want a specific day. We call before we come, and nobody needs to be home for exterior work. Plenty of customers keep your gutters on a standing booking, which holds the spring and fall dates.
Our gutter cleaning services cover commercial properties as well as residential properties, and the scheduling starts with the same question: when do you need the work done, and which parts of the building collect the most leaves? Residential and commercial jobs are both quoted from the same three facts, and we bring the boom or scissor lift on the taller ones. Ask for a written estimate if you want one before you commit, and we will send a clean written quote. Regular gutter cleaning keeps debris removal a small job, and it keeps water moving away from your home instead of sitting at the eave.
The number comes from the stories, the size of the house and the state of the gutters, and we give it to you by phone or text. We do not quote a range here because two houses on the same street can land far apart depending on the trees and the access. Ask for the quote in Ankeny, IA and you get the number we charge.
Most of our customers book a fall visit in late October or November, and across Iowa the spring visits run late May to June. If you wait past the first hard freeze to clean your gutters, the leaf mat and ice can sag a run before we get there. Under heavy tree cover we see customers every three to four months. A clean run in fall helps protect your home from water damage through the winter.
Most slots come up within the week, and we confirm a date when you call. We do not promise same-day unless the calendar for that day allows it. Call (866) 435-6328 and we will tell you the earliest date we have.
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, every downspout is flushed and we check that the water runs clean at the outlet. Clearing a buried drainage line is a separate job and is quoted before anyone touches it. You hear about it first, and nothing is billed without you agreeing to it.
Yes. Under guards we find seed casings sitting on top and grit underneath, and once that mat gets wet the water runs over the front edge. The job is shorter with guards, but the surface still gets cleared and the downspout still gets flushed.
A gutter that is clean and still lets rainwater spill over the edge has a slope or capacity problem, not a debris problem. Send us a photo or short video in the rain and we tell you what it is. We do not sell a second cleaning for a slope problem.
It should not. If the crew finds something that changes the job, you hear it before work starts and agree to it then. The price we quote on the phone is the price on the invoice, clean and simple.
Stories, size and a photo of the front by text. That is a real number, not an appointment.
