Why Gutter Cleaning Matters
Your gutter system acts as the primary defense against water intrusion, but when neglected, it can quickly become a significant liability. Clogged gutters cause rainwater to overflow, leading directly to severe water damage along your roof's fascia boards and siding. This trapped moisture creates the perfect environment for mold growth, wood rot, and pest infestations.
More critically, water spilling over clogged gutters pools around the base of your home, posing severe foundation risks. In our harsh Illinois winters, this trapped water freezes, creating dangerous ice dams that can tear gutters from the roofline and force water inside your walls.
This is a local problem as much as a seasonal one. The mature oaks and maples across the North Shore drop for weeks rather than all at once, so a system cleared in early October is often full again by the time the first hard freeze arrives. That refill is what turns a clogged gutter into an ice dam.
As part of comprehensive exterior maintenance, we also offer screen repair and dryer vent cleaning services to keep your home fully protected and comfortable.
Preventing foundation risks and wood rot.
What's Included in Our Service
We do not simply blow debris around and leave a mess. We ensure proper drainage through a meticulous, step-by-step approach.
- Full debris removal by hand or specialized tools
- Valley clearing where leaves accumulate heavily
- Thorough downspout flushing to ensure flow
- Basic visual inspection of the gutter system health
- A straight answer on whether existing gutter guards are worth keeping
- Comprehensive before and after photo documentation
Serving the Chicagoland Area
We clean gutters across Palatine, the Northwest Suburbs and the North Shore. Each town below has its own page covering local access, roof types and scheduling: Palatine, Arlington Heights, Schaumburg, Glenview, Northbrook, Barrington, Winnetka, Wilmette, Evanston, Vernon Hills, Libertyville and Naperville.
Maximize your home's curb appeal and protection by bundling your gutter cleaning with our other highly-rated professional exterior services.
What Gutter Cleaning Costs
Gutter cleaning has a $200 minimum. The final price depends on the size and complexity of your roof, and you get a fixed quote before any work starts.
A single-storey home with straightforward access sits at or near the minimum. Bigger homes, second and third storey runs, steep pitches and cut-up rooflines cost more, because they take longer and need different equipment.
What moves the price
- Roof size. The total length of gutter and the number of downspouts.
- Roof complexity. Storeys, pitch, valleys, dormers and lower roofs that sit under an upper gutter.
- How long since the last clean. Compacted debris has to be flushed, not scooped.
- Existing gutter guards. We check them and tell you whether they are worth keeping.
- Blocked underground lines. Hydrojetting a clogged inlet is $225 per inlet, quoted only if we find one.
Current pricing as of October 1, 2026. Quotes are fixed before we start and the estimate is free. Nothing is added on the day without asking you first.
Already Have Gutter Guards?
Plenty of the homes we clean have guards, and plenty of those guards are doing more harm than good. When we find them, we look at the type and how they are performing, then tell you straight whether it makes sense to keep them or get rid of them.
Usually worth keeping
Fine stainless steel micro-mesh, fitted tight under the shingle edge and over the gutter lip. It keeps leaves and most seeds out, and a clean on top of the mesh plus a downspout flush puts the system back to full flow.
Often more trouble than they are worth
Large-hole metal mesh and snap-in vinyl or plastic guards. Seed pods, shingle grit and small leaves fall straight through and pack down underneath, out of sight. Vinyl warps and cracks in the sun, both types sag and pull loose, and every cleaning means uncovering the gutter first. A gutter that looks covered can be half full.
When to Book in Chicagoland
Two cleanings a year covers most homes here. The timing matters more than people expect, because our leaf drop is long and our freeze is abrupt.
Late spring
Maple seeds, catkins and blossom clog gutters just as heavily as autumn leaves, and they arrive wet. Clearing in May or June also lets us spot winter damage to the fascia and hangers while it is still cheap to fix.
Late autumn, after the drop
The one that actually protects you. Book after the last leaves are down, usually mid to late November here, and before the first sustained freeze. Clean too early and the gutters refill; leave it too late and the water in them turns to ice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does gutter cleaning cost in the Chicago area?
Gutter cleaning has a $200 minimum. Where your home lands above that depends on the size and complexity of the roof: the total length of gutter, the number of storeys, the pitch, and how many valleys, dormers and lower roofs feed the system. A single-storey home with easy access sits at or near the minimum. Every quote is fixed before we start, and there is no charge for the estimate.
I already have gutter guards. Should I keep them?
It depends on the type, and we will tell you which side yours fall on when we see them. Fine stainless steel micro-mesh that is fitted properly usually earns its place. Many large-hole mesh screens and snap-in vinyl guards do not: seed pods, shingle grit and small leaves fall through and pack down underneath where you cannot see them, vinyl warps and cracks in the sun, and both types sag and pull loose. A gutter that looks covered can be half full. If your guards are causing more problems than they prevent, we will recommend getting rid of them. If they are doing their job, we leave them in place.
How often should gutters be cleaned in the North Shore?
Twice a year for most homes here: once in late spring after the seeds and blossoms drop, and once in late autumn after the last leaves come down, usually mid to late November in Chicagoland. Homes under mature oaks, maples or cedars often need a third visit, because those trees drop heavily and unevenly. Waiting a full year is what turns a routine cleaning into an overflow or an ice dam.
How long does it take?
One to three hours for most homes. Larger properties, steep roofs, and systems that have not been cleaned in over a year take longer, particularly when the downspouts have compacted debris that has to be flushed rather than scooped. We would rather take the extra half hour than leave a downspout half clear.
Do you clean the downspouts too?
Yes, and this is the half most people are actually paying for. Clearing the horizontal run only moves the problem along. We flush every accessible downspout from the roofline to the ground so we can see water running out the bottom, which is the only way to know the line is genuinely clear rather than just clear at the top.
What happens if my downspout is clogged underground?
Underground corrugated drain lines and French drains sit past where flushing can reach. We clear the downspout to ground level, tell you what we found, and can hydrojet the blocked inlet at $225 per inlet, which cuts through root intrusion and compacted silt that a snake pushes past. If the line is collapsed rather than blocked, we will say so instead of billing you for a service that cannot fix it.
Do you service two-storey and hard-to-reach homes?
Yes, including the ones other companies turn down. Two-storey homes are routine. For roofs and gutter runs that a ladder genuinely cannot reach safely, steep pitches, tight side yards, and Chicago gangways too narrow for a ladder or a lift, we work on rope access from the roof instead. We are fully insured, and we use stand-offs on every ladder so the rails never rest on the gutter itself.
Do you install gutter guards?
We install stainless steel micro-mesh guard at $10 per foot, and downspout guards at $25 standard or $45 for the heavy-duty version. Fine micro-mesh is the only gutter guard we install, because the large-hole mesh and vinyl types are the ones we most often recommend removing. Worth saying plainly: guards reduce how often gutters need clearing, they do not eliminate it. Shingle grit, seed pods and pine needles still collect on top of the mesh, and valleys still need clearing. Anyone selling them as permanently maintenance-free is overselling.