Our own crew cleans gutters, every downspout flushed and flow-tested, the leaves 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 property, and the number we give you on the phone is the number on the invoice. We have been booked for this work across Virginia through the spring and fall visits, and most of our customers book those two windows.
Quoted from stories, size and tree cover, over the phone, with nothing added once the crew is on the roof.
The price depends on how many stories the house has, how big it is 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 companies price by the linear foot, which lands in a similar place per run, but on our jobs the stories and the access to the eaves tell us more than the footage does. Most McLean homes are priced on that same basis, and our gutter cleaning services follow the same rule: a clean run with no guards is the easiest one to price. Commercial properties get the same three questions before a number goes out.
What moves the number on our jobs is what the crew finds. A third story, or a steep roof that cannot be walked, means a boom or scissor lift and more time on the ground. A walk-out basement or a sloped lot raises the effective height of the back of the house. Gutters nobody has opened in years come out packed with leaves and debris and take longer to clear, and guards we have to lift and reseat add a step to every run. A sag in the run or a buildup of wet leaves changes the time on the ground, because the crew has to get the trough clean before the water flow and drainage can be checked, and a run that holds water too long is where structural damage and wood rot start. Downspout flushing, flow testing and haul-off are included and never billed as extras. If anything changes the job, we raise it before work starts, never on the invoice.
One of our recent jobs was a two-story house with heavy tree cover over the back of the house. The back run was packed with leaves and one downspout had a clog at the elbow, so the crew flushed each one until it ran clear at the bottom and photographed every run before leaving. A run of clogged downspouts keeps a rain gutter from carrying water away from the foundation, which is why the crew checks the bottom of every one. The clog was the thing that set the time on that job, not the square footage. Once the leaves came out, the back run was clean and the price stayed where it was first given.
| 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, once in the spring after the seed and pollen drop and again in late October to November after the last leaves are down. Across Virginia, the spring visit lands in mid to late May. When we open a gutter in the spring 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, the first hard freeze can leave runs sagging or pulling loose under the weight of ice, and water backed up behind them can rot the fascia. A gutter cleaning service on a spring and fall schedule is the simplest way to keep rainwater moving. The same two windows work for residential and commercial buildings in McLean VA.
On a landscape under heavy tree cover, every three to four months is the schedule that keeps every downspout clear, because needles and grit build up between visits and the first heavy rain finds the blockage. Few or no trees over the roofline, once a year in late fall is enough, and that is when most people should clean your gutters without waiting for a problem. Regular gutter cleaning on that schedule also means less debris removal per visit. Near a busy road or a construction site, the grit pattern changes the schedule as well. Gutters with guards still need the surface cleared, and that usually runs on a longer interval than an open gutter. Residential properties with mostly open lots usually fall on the once-a-year line.
After the first visit we give you an estimate for the next one, based on what we found in the runs and the downspout, not on a general rule. If the runs come out clean on that pass, the interval can stretch, and if there is a blockage at the elbow, it gets shorter. Keep to that schedule and the runs stay clean between visits.
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 McLean and the crew covers the surrounding areas from the nearest base. McLean gutter cleaning starts with a quote by phone or text from your stories, the size of the house and the tree cover, and a photo of the house front if that is easy to send. Most homeowners book two cleanings a year, and a homeowner with an open lot and clean runs may need only one. Our gutter services cover every run on the house, and if you have gutter guards, tell us when you call so the lift and reseat goes into the price. Lead time depends on the calendar, and we will tell you the date when you call. Our calendar fills in the two busy windows, late spring and late fall, so booking early in those months keeps your slot.
We call before we come, and nobody needs to be home for exterior work. Keep the side gate unlocked and the cars off the driveway if the runs face it. We flush every downspout before we leave, and we check the gutters and downspouts for a twig in an elbow or a leak at a seam, both shown in the photos we send you. Gutter guards get lifted and reseated, and the runs come out clean. Our goal is to protect your home from water damage by clearing the runs before the rain, and to keep your gutters working through the surrounding seasons without a surprise on the invoice. Call (866) 435-6328 or text a photo of the house front, and we will book a date.
The number comes from the stories, the size of the house and what is in the gutters. Call (866) 435-6328 or text a photo of the front of the house and we will give you a quote before anyone comes out. The number we give you is the number on the invoice.
Across Virginia the spring visit falls in mid to late May, after the seed and pollen drop, and our customers book the fall visit for late October to November, after the leaves come down. If you wait past the first hard freeze, the runs can carry ice that sags or pulls them loose, so the fall visit is the one we push hardest.
Our cleaning services in McLean run on a calendar, so same-day depends on that week. Most slots come up within the week, and we will confirm a date when you call. If you need to get your gutters done before a storm, say so when you call. Ask for a written estimate and we will send it with the date.
No. 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. The gutter cleaning process starts with the call and ends with those photos, one clean run at a time.
Yes. Every downspout is flushed and watched until it runs clear at the bottom, and where a downspout feeds an underground line we check that water is leaving at the outlet and running away from your home. Clearing a buried line is a separate job and is agreed before anyone touches it. Once the outlet runs clean, the job is done.
Yes, the surface of a gutter system with guards still needs clearing. Gutter guards cut down on gutter maintenance but do not end it. On our jobs we find needles and seed casings sitting on top of the guard and grit underneath, and once that mat is wet, water runs over the front edge. We lift the panels, clear underneath and reseat them, and the trough comes out clean.
Send us a photo or a short video of it during heavy rainfall. A clean gutter that still sheets water over the edge has a slope or downspout-size problem, not a dirt problem, and we will tell you what it is. We do not sell a second cleaning for a slope problem.
It should not. Anything that changes the job is raised and agreed before work starts, never after. Cleaning and maintenance on the same schedule keeps the quote steady from year to year. 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.
