Residential & commercial service
Gutter Cleaning & Gutter Brightening
Gutter cleaning clears leaves, roof grit, and debris out of your gutters and downspouts so water actually goes where the system was designed to send it. Interiors are cleared by hand and flushed with water, then verified flowing. Exterior gutter brightening is a separate treatment that removes the black tiger stripes off the gutter face using specialized cleaners, because those stains are bonded on and no amount of pressure will remove them.
What Gutter Cleaning Includes
We remove all debris from the gutter troughs by hand, flush every downspout until it runs clear, and confirm proper flow through the whole system. Debris gets bagged and hauled off your property, not blown onto the lawn. If we find problems while we are up there, like sagging runs, separated seams, loose hangers, or standing water that points to a bad slope, we tell you what we saw. Exterior brightening can be added to restore the outside face of the gutters at the same visit.
Clogged Gutters Do Real Damage
A clogged gutter does not just overflow, it redirects water to the places water hurts most. Overflow behind the gutter rots fascia boards and eaves. Overflow at the front dumps water against your foundation and carves trenches in landscaping. Standing debris holds moisture against the roof edge, breeds mosquitoes through the warm months, and the added weight pulls gutters off their hangers. In a region where nearly all the rain arrives in a few winter months, a blocked system fails exactly when you need it most.
What Those Black Stripes on Your Gutters Are
The vertical black streaks on gutter exteriors, often called tiger stripes, are electrostatically bonded deposits of oxidized paint, asphalt residue from the shingles above, and pollution film. Rainwater pulls the mix over the gutter lip in the same paths every storm until the stripes are effectively baked on. Pressure washing does not remove them and neither does a house wash solution. Brightening uses a dedicated oxidation-removing cleaner applied by hand, and it is the only honest way to get a white gutter face back.
The Central Valley Gutter Calendar
Valley oaks, sycamores, ashes, and fruitless mulberries drop enormous leaf loads from October into December, right as the rainy season starts, which is the worst possible timing for your gutters. Spring adds blossom debris, seed pods, and catkins, and summer winds load gutters with ag dust and shingle grit that turn to concrete-like sludge with the first rain. That is why the standard schedule out here is twice a year: late fall after leaf drop and again in spring.
What Affects the Cost
Linear footage of gutter, number of stories, roof access, and how packed the gutters are set the price. A two-story home with steep access and two years of debris is a different job than a single-story ranch on an annual schedule. Gutter guards can slow the work down or speed it up depending on type and condition. As always, you get a written flat quote before we touch a ladder.
Questions We Actually Get
How often should gutters be cleaned in the Central Valley?
Twice a year for most homes: once in late fall after the oaks and sycamores finish dropping, and once in spring after blossom and seed debris. Homes with no overhanging trees can sometimes stretch to annual cleaning, and homes under heavy canopy may need a third visit. The one non-negotiable is going into the winter rains with clear gutters.
Do you flush the downspouts too?
Yes, every time. Clearing the troughs without flushing the downspouts is half a job, because downspouts are where clogs actually stop the system. We run water through every downspout until it flows clear at the bottom, and we clear any blockage we find along the way.
Can you remove the black streaks on the outside of my gutters?
Yes, with our gutter brightening service. Those tiger stripes are bonded oxidation and asphalt residue, so they need a specialized cleaner applied by hand rather than pressure. Brightening is a separate add-on to interior cleaning, and doing both in one visit is the most cost-effective way to get it done.
Do you haul away the debris?
Yes. Everything that comes out of your gutters gets bagged and removed from the property. We do not blow debris onto your lawn, flowerbeds, or driveway and call it finished. The property should look better when we leave than when we arrived, top to bottom.
How do I know my gutters need cleaning?
Watch for water sheeting over the gutter edge during rain, staining or tiger striping on the gutter face, sagging runs, plants sprouting from the trough, or downspouts that trickle when it is pouring. If you cannot remember the last cleaning and there are trees anywhere near the roof, they need it. A quick look before the first storm of the season is cheap insurance.
Ready to make it look new again?
Fast scheduling. Photo-documented results. A written quote before any work starts.