Our own crew cleans gutters in South Portland, every downspout flushed and flow-tested, debris 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 hangs over the roof, and the number we give you on the phone is the number on the invoice. Most of our South Portland customers book for spring and fall, and we are glad to quote you a visit that fits your lot.
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. Companies that price by the linear foot land in a similar place per foot, but on a typical house the three facts above tell us more than a footage count does.
Here is what moves the quote on our jobs. A third story or a steep roof we cannot walk means a boom or scissor lift and more time on the wall. A walk-out basement puts the back run far up from the ground, and a sloped lot does the same on the low side of the house. A rain gutter nobody has opened in years holds compacted buildup that takes longer to get clean. Gutter guards we have to lift and reseat add time too. We flush and flow-test every run and downspout, and debris removal is included in the number and never billed as an extra. If anything changes the job, we raise it before work starts, never on the invoice.
Our experience here is straightforward. On jobs for South Portland homeowners we see the same few things drive quotes again and again: the height of the roofline, how long the gutters have gone without a cleaning, and whether leaves or needles have packed the downspouts into a clog. A homeowner who has water pouring over the edge in heavy rainfall, or a leak at a seam, usually finds the cause in the first run we open, and that run comes out clean once the blockage is gone. Tell us the stories, the size and the tree cover when you call, and a photo of the front of the house sent by text helps us see the house before we arrive and get your gutters quoted right the first time. That is the whole gutter cleaning process, and cleaning and maintenance stay simple for you.
| 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 South Portland customers book two cleanings a year, once in spring after the seed and pollen drop and again in late October to November after the last leaves come down. Across Maine, the spring visit falls in mid to late June, when seeds and seed casings have packed into the elbows and pollen has turned to paste. In the fall it is leaves and debris, a twig or two, matted wet in the trough, and on houses that skipped the fall visit we have seen runs sag and pull loose by late winter under the weight of ice. Freeze months on our schedule come from the fall visit, so a clean gutter going into winter matters most in this climate.
Under heavy tree cover, big trees over the roof, our customers are on a schedule of every three to four months, because needles and grit leave clogged downspouts between visits. Our schedule helps you keep your gutters clear in the meantime. With few or no trees overhead, once a year in late October to November is enough to clean your gutters for most homes. Guards cut the frequency, but we still clear the surface of them until the gutter underneath runs clean, and we check that water is getting in rather than running over the front edge. Across South Portland the pattern holds: the more the trees and the landscape drop on a roof, the sooner it needs a visit.
After the first visit we tell you which of those tiers your lot actually needs, and we put the reasons in the photo report. Each gutter system we clean is photographed run by run, so you see the reasons yourself. Most of the rot and structural damage we see in gutters started with a clog that nobody cleared in time, so keeping the gutters clean and flowing is how we protect your home from water damage. Regular gutter cleaning and gutter maintenance keep the water away from your home and off the fascia.
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 cleaning services in South Portland ME run from our nearest base, and we book one visit at a time so each house gets the full crew. To start, call (866) 435-6328 or text us a photo of the front of the house to ask about gutter cleaning services, and we will give you a quote from the stories, the size and the tree cover, with the number staying the same on the invoice. Lead time depends on the season, and during the two busy windows of the year, spring and fall, our calendar fills faster, so call early for gutter services. Ask about the surrounding areas when you call, and we will tell you whether we book your street. We clean residential and commercial buildings, and the booking call works the same for both.
We call before we come. Nobody needs to be home for exterior work, and each visit ends with a water flow and drainage check at every outlet, after we flush every downspout. Our crews have cleaned gutters on South Portland homes for years, and each gutter cleaning service visit gets the same care, so each gutter comes out clean, whether it is a small ranch or a multi-story house with a long front wall. If you want the job done right the first time, ask for a written estimate and we will put the scope in writing before we book a date.
For most South Portland homes we book in spring after the seed drop, and across Maine the spring visit falls in mid to late June. The fall visit goes in late October to November, after the last leaves come down. Waiting past November usually means runs that sag under ice before winter ends, which is why the fall visit matters here.
Most slots come up within the week, and we confirm a date when you call.
No. Our crew works outside, does not come inside, and leaves the yard as clean as they found it. Photos of every run and downspout go 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 with water until it runs clean at the outlet, and check the drainage where a line runs underground. Clearing a buried line is a separate job and is quoted before anyone touches it.
Yes, less often. Under gutter guards we find needles threaded through, seed casings on top and grit settled underneath, so we lift the panels, clear what is there and flush the downspouts.
A gutter that is clean and still spills water over the edge in rain has a slope or downspout-size problem, not a clog problem. Send us a photo or a short video of it in the rain and we will tell you what it is. We do not sell a second cleaning for a slope problem.
Not for anything we could see from the ground when you booked. If the crew finds something that changes the job, you hear it and agree to it before work starts. Any other repair we find is photographed and reported, never sold on the spot, and we only discuss other work after the gutters are finished.
Most of our work is on residential properties. For commercial properties, call first, and we will tell you on the phone whether the job fits our crew.
Stories, size and a photo of the front by text. That is a real number, not an appointment.
