Gutter Cleaning

Gutters protect your home from water damage and potential water getting into your home. They direct the water away from your home. If your gutters are full you run the risk of them overflowing. Overflowing gutters can cause a lot of potential damage to your property, including leaks in your basement, foundation damage, or rotting of your rafters or plywood under your shingles. Full gutters can also cause ice dams and overflowing onto walkways and paths which can freeze in the winter and cause liabilities. 

Our technicians are taught to determine the best way to clean your gutters. Some gutters are harder to access than others. The most common method we use is to hand scoop the debris with scoops that are designed to fit into the gutters properly without damaging them. We also like to run a sponge along the bottom of the gutter to collect up shingle grit and loose debris that the scoops don’t grab. When gutters are hard to get to, we will use extension poles with scoops on the end. In some cases we will use a blower to gather up dry debris.

Our gutter cleaning service is quite a thorough process. Many companies will only scoop out the large debris causing clogs but fail to collect up the small debris. Our technicians will clean all the gutters to our Next Level Standard. We also offer a 30 day clog free guarantee with every cleaning. Many companies will leave the debris on site for you to dispose of, but we will bag up,  and take away all debris from your property as well as do a full cleanup of debris that may have spilled over during the cleaning process. 

There are three things to consider when asking this question.

1.) The frequency of rain in your area. Kelowna is typically a dry area most of the year, with the majority of rain coming in the spring and fall.  Kelowna gets an average of about 380 millimeters of precipitation per year with about 1/5 of it falling as snow. If we compare that to a place like Vancouver, where they experience an average of 1500 millimeters of rain, you can see that the amount of times you would want to clean your gutters per year would be different. 

2.) Rainwater is spilling over. If you notice the water is starting to spill over on a day with heavy rain, it’s a good indicator that your gutter system or downspouts are clogged. This is a sign they should be cleaned in order to mitigate risk on the property.

3.) How many trees are around your property? If you have a lot of trees around your home or structure, particularly dropping leaves or pine needles, then you will need to have the gutters cleaned more often. 

At a minimum here in Kelowna you will want to have your gutters cleaned once per year, but in most cases two is the magic number. Spring and Fall is our professional recommendation. Again, it is going to depend on your location and the above factors. In some cases we service our clients gutters 4-5 times per year because of trees etc. 

The average cleaning frequency we recommend is twice per year. Once in the spring and once in the fall.

Gutter cleaning is a dangerous job, in many cases, gutters can only be accessed from the roof when ladders can’t get there. In order to adhere to Work Safe BC’s standards, we may need to temporarily tie off with fall arrest gear while cleaning from any roof above 10 feet. If your roof does not have any safe places to anchor too, then we may need to install a temporary anchor. If an anchor is not installed, our crew may not be able to clean all the gutters, only being able to clean the ones they can safely access.

When it comes to the price of gutter cleaning, there are 3 things we consider with every quote.

1.) How many linear feet of gutter do you have? Average cost per linear foot starts around 1$/foot. If the gutters haven’t been cleaned in a couple years the cost can increase about 30-40%. Bulk discounts are generally offered to property managers and stratas.

Most homes here in Kelowna have between 200-300 linear feet of gutter. Average cost is around $250 for a standard 3000 square foot cost.

2.) Safety and access: Is the roof walkable? Are the gutters 3 or 4 stories high? Are the ladder climbs on a slope? These factors might increase the cost but it shouldn’t be too significant.

3.) How full are the gutters? How long has it been since the last clean? Is the roof covered in debris? If gutters haven’t been cleaned in a couple years or we assume it will be a tougher job than the average the cost will most likely be about 20% more for the initial clean.

Contributed by: Live Next Level Window Cleaning – Foremost Experts in window and gutter cleaning and home maintenance.