A homeowner in Madison called us last fall after getting his gutters cleaned for $75. Great deal, right?
The crew showed up, spent maybe twenty minutes, left debris scattered on his roof valleys, and drove off. Two weeks later, during the first big rain, water was pooling at his foundation. Turns out they'd pushed a wad of debris down into his underground drain instead of actually removing it. Now he had a clog six feet down that we had to clear with a drain snake.
That $75 cleaning cost him $375 by the time we were done fixing it. He wasn't happy. Can't blame him.
Here's the deal with gutter cleaning prices: what you pay matters, but what you're paying for matters more. A thorough cleaning that prevents problems is worth more than a quick pass that creates them.
Let's break down what gutter cleaning actually costs around here, what affects the price, and how to tell whether a quote is a good deal or a future headache.
What Gutter Cleaning Actually Costs in North Alabama
For the Huntsville, Madison, Decatur, and Athens area, here's what you'll typically see:
Single-story home: $150-250
Two-story home: $200-400
Large or complex home: $300-500+
Most companies also work on a per-linear-foot basis, usually $0.75-1.50 per foot. A typical house has 150-200 linear feet of gutters, which puts you in that $112-300 range before other factors kick in.
Almost every legitimate company has a minimum charge — usually $125-150 — regardless of how small your house is. That covers their travel time, setup, and the basic cost of sending a crew out. So if you have a tiny house with 80 feet of gutters, you're still paying the minimum.
Now, those ranges are wide for a reason. A single-story ranch in a newer Madison subdivision with minimal trees is a completely different job than a two-story Tudor in Five Points surrounded by mature oaks and pines. Let me explain what actually moves the price.
What You're Actually Paying For
When you hire a gutter cleaning service, you're not just paying someone to scoop leaves. Here's where your money goes:
Labor time breakdown for a typical job:
Travel to your house: 20-40 minutes depending on where you are. A crew based in Huntsville driving to Ardmore eats more time than a job in Madison.
Setup: 10-15 minutes. Unloading ladders, walking the property to plan the approach, getting positioned.
Actual cleaning: 45-90 minutes for most single-story homes. Two-story adds another 30-60 minutes because of constant ladder repositioning.
Downspout flushing: 10-15 minutes if they actually do it. (More on this in a minute.)
Cleanup and departure: 15 minutes. Bagging debris, checking work, loading equipment.
So a "simple" single-story cleaning is still 2+ hours of a crew's time when you count everything. That's before we talk about overhead.
Insurance costs: A legitimate gutter cleaning company carries liability insurance — usually $1 million or more. That protects you if they damage your property and protects them if someone gets hurt. That insurance costs $2,000-4,000 per year. The $75 guy working out of his truck? He's probably not carrying it. Which means if he falls off a ladder on your property, guess who's liable.
Equipment: Professional-grade extension ladders run $300-800. Ladder stabilizers, another $50-100. Gutter cleaning vacuums (for two-story work) cost $1,500 and up. Safety harnesses, roof anchors for steep pitches, specialized scoops, pressure washing attachments — it adds up to several thousand dollars in equipment that needs maintaining and eventually replacing.
Disposal: A good company bags the debris and hauls it away. That's labor time plus dump fees or disposal costs. The cheap crews leave bags on your lawn or, worse, scatter debris in your landscaping.
The work you don't see: While we're up there, we're checking hanger condition, looking for loose sections, noting any early signs of fascia rot, checking that downspouts are properly connected. That inspection is built into a professional service. It's how we catch small problems before they become expensive ones.
What Makes Your House Cost More (Or Less)
Not all houses are created equal when it comes to gutter cleaning. Here's what moves the needle:
Number of Stories
Two-story homes add 30-50% to the price, and it's not just because they're "harder." Here's the reality:
A single-story home, we can typically work off a 28-foot extension ladder. It's manageable, repositioning is quick, and one person can handle most of the work efficiently.
A two-story home requires a 40-foot extension ladder — sometimes longer. That ladder weighs 65-80 pounds. Every time we reposition it, someone's carrying that weight, setting it up, making sure it's stable, climbing up, doing a section, climbing down, moving it again. A single-story home might need 8-12 ladder positions. A two-story might need 20-30.
The math is simple: more time, more physical work, more risk, higher price.
Roof Pitch
If your roof is steep — anything above about 6/12 pitch — we can't safely walk along the roof edge to work on gutters. Everything has to be done from the ladder, which means more repositioning and slower work.
Steep roofs add 20-30% to most quotes. It's not a penalty — it's just reality.
Linear Feet of Gutter
More gutter means more time. The rough formula: take your house perimeter and subtract the garage (since gutters usually don't run along the garage door side). A 2,000 square foot ranch might have 150 linear feet. A 3,500 square foot two-story could have 250+ feet.
If you want to estimate before calling for a quote, walk your property and pace off the gutter runs. Each pace is roughly 2.5-3 feet.
Debris Type
This is a big one that most pricing guides ignore.
Oak leaves are bulky but they scoop out easily. Fifteen minutes of work clears a section. Standard debris, standard pricing.
Pine needles are a completely different animal. They pack dense, weave together into mats, and have to be pulled out in clumps rather than scooped. A gutter full of pine needles takes 2-3 times longer to clean than the same gutter full of oak leaves.
If you live anywhere near Monte Sano, Big Cove, or the wooded areas of south Huntsville, you've got pines. Budget accordingly. Crews who've worked in those neighborhoods know what they're getting into. Crews who haven't will either underbid and do a rushed job, or show up and realize they've underpriced themselves.
Maple helicopters and sweetgum balls fall somewhere in between — not as bad as pine needles, but they wedge into downspouts more than regular leaves.
Gutter Guards
Here's something homeowners don't expect: having gutter guards can actually make cleaning cost more, not less.
If you have snap-on or screw-down guards, someone has to remove sections, clean underneath, and reinstall. That's extra time. If your guards are the type that slide under shingles, removal and reinstallation is even more involved.
Guards reduce how often you need cleaning, but when you do need it, the job takes longer. Some companies charge an extra $50-100 for homes with guards.
Access Issues
Landscaping in the way, decks that prevent ladder placement, pools we have to work around, aggressive dogs that need to be contained — all of this adds time and complexity.
We cleaned a house in Jones Valley last year where the entire back of the house was inaccessible from ground level because of a steep slope and dense landscaping. Had to access those gutters from the roof. Added an hour to the job.
Condition
If your gutters haven't been cleaned in three or more years, expect a higher quote.
Here's why: after a year, debris compacts. After two years, it starts decomposing into a dense sludge. After three years, you've got what we call "gutter concrete" — a layer of packed, partially decomposed material that doesn't scoop. It scrapes. Sometimes it has to be pressure washed out.
First-time cleaning on a neglected house can take twice as long as a regular maintenance visit. If you're calling for the first time after years of neglect, be upfront about it. Good companies will want to know so they can price accurately rather than show up and find a surprise.
The Real Difference Between $75 and $200
You can find gutter cleaning for $75. You can also find it for $200. What's the difference?
What a $75 Cleaning Usually Looks Like
One guy, often working solo without a helper for safety. No insurance (or insurance he'll never actually file a claim on). Shows up, scoops visible debris from accessible sections, doesn't flush downspouts, doesn't check anything, doesn't clean up the roof valleys, leaves in 20-30 minutes.
Best case: your gutters look cleaner from the ground and water flows better for a month or two.
Worst case: debris gets pushed into downspouts and underground drains, creating clogs you won't discover until they've caused damage. And if he damages something or gets hurt, good luck getting it resolved.
What Gets Skipped at the Cheap Price
Downspout flushing: This is the big one. Running water through every downspout verifies it's clear all the way down. It takes 10-15 minutes to do properly, and it's the step most cheap services skip. The debris they "cleaned" just got pushed down into your drainage system. If you have underground drains, that debris is now clogging a pipe you can't even see.
Roof debris: Debris in your roof valleys and at the edges eventually washes into your gutters. Clearing it during cleaning prevents immediate recontamination. Cheap services don't touch the roof.
Gutter exterior: The outside of your gutters gets dirty too — streaks, mildew, oxidation. A quality service wipes down the exterior. Cheap ones leave it looking like they were never there.
Inspection: Loose hangers, bad seams, early fascia rot, pitch problems — a professional notices these things and tells you. Not to upsell you, but because catching a $50 repair now beats a $500 repair next year. Cheap services don't look because they don't know what they're looking for.
The Underground Drain Problem
Let me be specific about this because it's where cheap cleanings really cost people money.
A lot of North Alabama homes have underground drains — buried pipes that carry water from your downspouts to a discharge point away from the house. Great system when it works. Nightmare when it clogs.
If a gutter cleaning pushes debris down into the downspout instead of removing it, and that downspout connects to an underground drain, the debris ends up 6, 8, 10 feet down a buried pipe. You won't know until water starts backing up or pooling at your foundation.
Clearing an underground drain clog runs $150-300 depending on how deep and how bad. One $75 cleaning that skips the downspout flush can easily create that problem.
Ask me how I know. We get these calls constantly. "We just had our gutters cleaned and now there's water pooling by the foundation." Every time, same story: cheap service, didn't flush downspouts, debris is now in the underground system.
How Often Do You Actually Need Cleaning?
This depends almost entirely on what's growing near your house.
Heavy pine coverage (trees within 25 feet): 3-4 times per year. Once after the big needle drop in September-October. Once after oak leaves finish in November-December. A spring check after pollen season. And possibly a summer check after storm season if you've had heavy weather.
Oak and hardwood only: 2 times per year. Once in late fall after leaves finish dropping — around late November or early December. Once in spring to clear anything that accumulated over winter and any early pollen/seed debris.
Minimal tree coverage: Once per year, late fall. But still do it. Even without trees, gutters collect shingle grit, wind-blown debris, and the occasional bird nest. Skipping years is how you end up with the "gutter concrete" problem.
"But I have gutter guards": You still need cleaning, just less often. Guards keep the bulk of debris out, but stuff still accumulates on top of the guards and eventually affects water flow. Figure once a year for a maintenance check and surface cleaning, maybe every other year for a full cleaning.
Signs you've waited too long: Water pouring over the gutter edge during rain. Visible plants growing in the gutters (yes, we've seen it). Gutters sagging in the middle of a run. Staining on fascia below the gutter line. Any of these means you're overdue.
DIY vs. Hiring — An Honest Assessment
I'm not going to tell you that you need to hire someone. For some houses and some homeowners, DIY makes perfect sense. Here's how to think about it:
DIY Makes Sense When:
You have a single-story home with easy ground access all the way around. You're comfortable on a ladder and have decent balance. You already own (or are willing to buy) proper equipment. And you're actually going to do it regularly — twice a year minimum.
What DIY Actually Takes
Time: Plan on 2-3 hours for an average single-story home. Not the 30 minutes that YouTube videos suggest. Those videos skip the setup, the repositioning, the cleanup, and the downspout flushing.
Equipment: A sturdy extension ladder rated for your weight plus tools — that's $200-400 if you're buying new. A ladder stabilizer to keep it from denting your gutters and sliding sideways — another $50. Gutter scoops or a trowel, heavy work gloves, safety glasses, a bucket that hooks on the ladder, a garden hose. Figure $300+ if you're starting from scratch.
The math: If you value your Saturday at $50/hour and the job takes 3 hours, that's $150 worth of your time — pretty close to what a professional charges. And the professional has insurance, better equipment, and does this every day.
When to Just Hire Someone
Two-story home — the ladder work is genuinely dangerous if you're not experienced with it.
Steep roof pitch — same issue, amplified.
Bad knees, back problems, or any condition that makes ladder climbing risky.
You hate heights. This isn't something to push through. If you're uncomfortable, you're more likely to make a mistake.
You have underground drains that need flushing. This requires equipment and technique most homeowners don't have.
You just won't actually do it. A service you hire will show up. A task you keep putting off doesn't help your house.
Safety Reality Check
Ladder falls send over 500,000 people to emergency rooms in the US every year. That's not a scare tactic — it's a real number. A significant portion of those are homeowners doing tasks like gutter cleaning.
A broken wrist costs more than a decade of professional gutter cleanings. A broken hip is life-changing. None of this is worth saving $150.
If you're going to DIY, use a ladder stabilizer, maintain three points of contact, never overreach, and have someone nearby who knows you're up there. If any of that feels like too much hassle, just hire someone.
What to Look for When Hiring
If you decide to hire a service, here's how to find a good one and avoid the bad ones.
Verify Insurance
Ask for a certificate of liability insurance. A legitimate company will email you one without hesitation — they get these requests all the time. If they're vague, evasive, or say "yeah, we're insured" without offering to prove it, move on.
Ask About Downspouts
Specifically ask: "Do you flush the downspouts as part of the service?" If they hesitate or say it's extra, you know what kind of service you're getting.
Ask About Their Minimum
Companies with a professional operation have minimum charges because they've done the math on their costs. If someone says they'll clean your gutters for $50, they're either lying about what they'll actually do or they're not running a real business.
Check Reviews
Look for companies with at least 10+ reviews. Anyone can get their brother and a few friends to leave 5-star reviews. Ten or more means they've been around a bit and have an actual track record.
Read the negative reviews. One or two complaints about scheduling or communication happen to everyone. Multiple complaints about incomplete work, damage, or unprofessionalism are patterns.
Local vs. National
National franchises and lead-generation services (the ones with heavy TV and online advertising) often subcontract to whoever's available. You don't know who's actually showing up at your house.
Local companies live on their reputation. We're your neighbors. If we do bad work, we hear about it at church, at the hardware store, at our kids' baseball games. That accountability matters.
Red Flags
Quote without seeing the house: Unless you've given them extensive details (linear feet, stories, tree coverage, photos), an accurate quote requires seeing the property. Sight-unseen pricing is either padded high or bait-and-switch low.
Cash only: Legitimate businesses take cards. Cash-only usually means no records, no accountability.
"We're in the neighborhood" door-knockers: This is how scams and poor-quality work finds you. If you didn't call them, be skeptical.
Price seems too good: If everyone else is quoting $175-225 and someone offers $75, they're cutting something. It's not a deal — it's a warning.
Questions to Ask Before You Book
Here are specific questions that separate good services from bad ones:
"Do you flush the downspouts?"
Why it matters: If no, debris gets pushed down instead of removed. This is non-negotiable for a quality cleaning.
"Do you carry liability insurance?"
Why it matters: If they're vague or can't provide documentation, you're exposed to risk if something goes wrong.
"What's included in that price?"
Why it matters: Forces them to be specific. A good company has a clear answer. Vague responses mean vague work.
"Will you check for any damage while you're up there?"
Why it matters: Good companies do a basic inspection as part of the service. Not to upsell, but because it's the right thing to do.
"How do you handle debris?"
Why it matters: Bagged and hauled off? Or left on your lawn? Or worse, raked into your landscaping?
"How long do you expect the job to take?"
Why it matters: If they say 20 minutes for a 200-foot two-story house, they're not planning to do a thorough job.
What We Charge and Why
Let me be transparent about our pricing since you've read this far.
Blue River Gutters charges $150-250 for most single-story homes in the Huntsville area, $200-350 for most two-story homes. Complex homes, heavy debris situations, or homes with extensive gutter guard systems may run higher.
We have a $150 minimum for any cleaning — that covers our travel, setup, and basic costs for sending a crew out.
Every cleaning includes:
Complete debris removal from all gutter channels. Flushing every downspout with water to verify clear flow. Clearing accessible debris from roof valleys and edges. Wiping down gutter exteriors. Basic inspection of gutters, hangers, and visible fascia. Bagging and removal of all debris.
We're not the cheapest option. The $75 crews will always undercut us. But we've been doing this across North Alabama for over 20 years, we carry full insurance, we show up when we say we will, and we actually do the complete job. When you call back with a question or concern, we answer.
That's worth the difference to most of our customers. If it's not worth the difference to you, no hard feelings — I hope this guide at least helps you ask the right questions of whoever you hire.
Get a Quote
If you want to know exactly what gutter cleaning will cost for your specific house, give us a call at (256) 616-6760 or schedule online. We'll give you a straight price based on your actual situation — no games, no surprise fees when we show up, no bait-and-switch.
Your gutters are the first defense your house has against water damage. A good cleaning protects that system. A bad cleaning can make things worse. We'd rather you have it done right — whether that's with us or with someone else who takes it seriously.
