Our own crew cleans gutters and downspouts in Clive, flushing and flow-testing each line, bagging the leaves and hauling them away, and taking photos of every run before we leave. The price comes from stories, size and tree cover, and the number we give you on the phone is the number on the invoice. Across Iowa, most of our customers book in the spring and fall, when the seed drop and the leaf drop are done.
Quoted from stories, size and tree cover, over the phone, with nothing added once the crew is on the roof.
Our gutter cleaning services in Clive are priced from how many stories the house has, its size, and what is sitting in the gutter system. We quote it over the phone or by text from those three things, and the number we quote is the number we charge. Other companies price by the linear foot, which lands in a similar place, but we would rather give you one number for the whole house.
What moves the quote on our jobs is usually the same handful of things. A third story or a roof too steep to walk takes more time on the ladder and the lift. A walk-out basement or a sloped lot puts the back run much higher than it looks from the yard. Gutters nobody has opened in years come out packed with leaves and debris and compacted buildup, and guards we have to lift and reseat add time. Flushing, flow testing and debris removal are included in the quote and never billed as extras, and if anything we find changes the job, you hear about it before work starts, not on the invoice. The trough comes out clean, not just scooped.
On our jobs, clogged downspouts are usually where the trouble starts: a clog at a bend in the pipe, where leaves and grit have packed into a plug that holds water in the trough. Left alone, that water sits in the rain gutter, the trough sags, and in heavy rainfall it spills over the front edge, which is how structural damage starts. We have opened runs with buildup a few inches deep and found the clog farther down the line than the homeowner expected. Clive homes with mature trees see this most. Where the water flow looks slow at the outlet, we flush it from the top and watch it run clear at the bottom, so you know the drainage is moving the water away from your home, not sitting against the foundation. Residential and commercial properties both run into this, and the crew reports what it sees either way.
| 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 Clive IA book twice a year, since that is when it pays to clean your gutters: once in late spring after the seed and pollen drop, and once in late fall after the last leaves come down. In spring we find seeds and seed casings packed into the elbows and a paste of pollen sitting in the trough. In fall it is a wet leaf mat, and on houses that skipped the fall visit we have seen runs sag under ice by March. A single clog that holds rainwater for a week can turn into a leak at the fascia and then roofline rot before anyone notices.
Under heavy tree cover, we see customers on a shorter schedule, because needles, a twig and grit pack the runs between visits and the blockage builds faster than a twice-a-year visit can keep up with. Houses with few or no trees do well on one visit a year in late fall. Among residential properties, those near a busy road or active construction also tend toward the shorter interval, since the grit gets into the gutter faster, and water spilling from a clogged run washes out the landscape beds below. Guarded gutters need less frequent cleaning, but the surface still has to be kept clean, because the mat sits on top of the guard and the water never gets in.
Our estimate for your lot is usually settled on the first visit: we look at the trees, the roof pitch and the gutter runs, then tell you which of these schedules your house actually needs, and that becomes the start of your gutter maintenance plan. Some customers find that twice a year is plenty for regular gutter cleaning; others find the shorter schedule keeps the gutter from overflowing in the first big rain of the season. Either way, we will tell you what we found and what we would do next, and you decide when to book the next visit.
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 provides gutter services across Clive and the surrounding areas, working from the nearest base, and we have cleaned gutters in several neighborhoods, so if you are one of the homeowners on a street with mature trees or a steep roofline, chances are we have been on a similar house. Booking a Clive gutter cleaning starts with a quote by phone or text, built from stories, size and tree cover, and a photo of the front of the house helps if it is easy to send. Lead time changes with the season, and when you call we will tell you the earliest date we can get to your street. Every visit ends with a clean gutter and the photos on your phone.
Our calendar fills in two windows. Across Iowa, spring visits run late May to June, and fall visits run late October to November. If you want a spring or fall date, call (866) 435-6328 early. We call before we come, and nobody needs to be home for an exterior visit, though you should know the crew will be on the ladder at the back and side of the house. If you book regular gutter cleanings with us, it is easier to keep your gutters clear and protect your home from water damage that comes from a skipped season, and the gutters stay clean between visits.
The number for gutter cleaning comes from the stories, the size of the house and what is in the gutters. Call (866) 435-6328 or text us a photo of the front of the house and we will quote it from those three things. The number we give you is the number you pay.
Our customers here book in late spring and again in late fall. If the gutters wait until after the first hard freeze, we often find the trough sagging under ice, and the repair becomes a different job. Call to set a date so you can get your gutters done before the calendar fills.
Same-day is not something we promise, because the calendar depends on the season. Most slots come up within the week during the quiet months, and we confirm a date when you call so you know exactly when the crew will be there.
No. The gutter cleaning process happens outside, the crew does not come inside, and it 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 watch it until the water runs clear at the bottom. Where a line feeds an underground drain, we check that water is leaving at the outlet and tell you if it is not. Clearing a buried line is a separate job and we quote it separately before anyone starts.
Yes. On our jobs, guards keep the leaves out but let the needles, seed casings and grit sit on top, and once that mat is wet the water runs over the front edge. We lift the panels, clean underneath, flush the runs and reseat the guards. Guarded gutters usually need less often, not never, and the guard is no reason to skip cleaning and maintenance.
If a clean gutter still spills over the edge in rain, the problem is usually the slope, the capacity or the outlet size, not the buildup. Send us a photo or a short video taken 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. The quote covers the stories, size and tree cover we discussed on the phone. If the crew finds something that changes the job, we stop, tell you what it is and agree on the change with you before anything else is done.
Stories, size and a photo of the front by text. That is a real number, not an appointment.
