Roof gutters are prone to blockages caused by leaves, twigs and roof moss etc and some houses need to have their gutters cleaned several times per year due to overhanging tree branches and excessive moss growth.

But how much does gutter cleaning cost? What hidden/extra charges are there and how can one reduce the frequency of gutter cleaning?

On this page we will reveal:

• A typical per metre gutter cleaning price.
• How you can get a quote for your property.
• Some actionable tips so you can reduce the number of leaves/moss/seeds/twigs etc getting into your gutters.
• Which tradespeople do this type of work? Who is the cheapest?

How Much Do You Think Gutter Cleaning Will Cost?

This may seem like a strange question –  after all, you have visited our site to discover the cost of gutter cleaning.

However, in addition to displaying the prices we are also conducting research into how much homeowners think certain home improvement projects should cost.

The question below is entirely optional but answer it and you’ll see how others voted:

This is How Much Gutter Cleaning Costs in 2022

In early 2022 we sent out price requests to 25 cleaning firms, guttering businesses and roofers from various locations around the UK.

We asked them how much it costs to clean gutters on the roof.

Here’s an average of the prices we received:

What Type of Tradespeople do this Work and Who is the Cheapest?

Not sure who to call to fix your guttering problem?

There are four types of tradespeople that carry out gutter cleaning and based on our findings, there’s a big price difference between them.

• Window cleaners sometimes offer this service as an extra and can be very affordable, especially if you are already using their window cleaning services.
• Guttering installers and fascia/soffit firms often do gutter cleaning, unblocking and maintenance work.
• Roofing firms should have all the access equipment needed to reach even high-level gutter systems.
• Dedicated gutter cleaning businesses that do nothing but gutter maintenance work can also be used. Many of these firms use high-reach vacuum systems so scaffold equipment and even ladders aren’t needed.

The Cheapest?

Dedicated gutter cleaning firms were by far the cheapest of all the trades we contacted, in fact some were half the price that roofers quoted us for the same gutter cleaning project.

If there’s one key takeaway from our research into gutter cleaning prices, it’s that dedicated gutter cleaning firms are far cheaper than roofers and other tradespeople.

What Do You Get For Your Money?

While every company is different, we think you should expect the following when instructing a company or tradesperson to clean or unblock your roof gutters:

• A written price detailing all the work to be carried out with optional extras such as repairs to detected leaks or cleaning the exterior of the guttering.
• Gutters unblocked and cleared out.
• Rainwater drain pipes unblocked and cleared out above ground level.
• The gutter should be water tested and any drips or leaks noted or repaired if you have chosen this option.
• The exterior of gutters cleaned if you have chosen that option.
• A report on the condition of the gutters.

How Long Does The Work Take?

This depends on the options you have chosen:

1. Just clear out the gutters and pipes.
2. As above but also replace any leaky parts or re-seal them.
3. As above but also clean the exterior of the gutters.

For a typical semi-detached house with a garage and porch, you can expect the gutter clear outs to take around an hour. Add an extra hour if you want the exterior cleaned and add an extra 10 minutes per leaky part that needs replacing or re-sealing.

Do The Prices Above Include VAT?

The prices above are an average of the prices supplied to us for gutter cleaning. If VAT was charged, it’s included in the price but many of the firms we contacted were trading below the VAT threshold and didn’t charge VAT.

VAT for small businesses is explained in plain English here.

What’s Best? Gutter Vacuum or Manual Removal?

Gutter vacuums are powerful and when attached to long pole can be used to clean gutters in hard to reach places such as above a conservatory, a townhouse or next to a road.

They don’t clean the interior of the gutters as well as a manual clean but are handy for those difficult to reach areas that would otherwise require access equipment such as a tower or scaffold.

Check out the video below:

6 Actionable Tips

1. Get a receipt for your insurance company: Some insurance companies are now refusing to pay out for water damage as a result of leaking gutters if you haven’t maintained the property, so obtain and keep a copy of the receipt for your records.
2. If you are suffering from frequent gutter blockages: Consider having the moss from the roof (see an example price here) removed or any overhanging branches removed to reduce the number of leaves, moss and twigs etc entering the gutters.
3. Consider installing a gutter leaf guard (example here):  while these don’t prevent small particles from blocking the gutters, they do keep out large leaves and chunks of material.
4. Try a downpipe filter (example here): These are cheap, easy to install and easy to remove and clean. They prevent the blockages from being washed into the underground soakaway.
5. Avoid repairing leaks with mastic sealant: Where possible (ie on plastic gutters) it’s far better to replace a leaky part than fill it with glue or adhesive (example cost for spare parts here). If you have old-style cast iron gutters then these can difficult to repair and mastic or adhesive might be the only option.
6. Is your gutter overflowing due to the sheer amount of water? – Semi-circular gutters cope with the least amount of water and tend to overflow from even minor blockages. Squareline gutters hold 25% more water while a “Deepflow” high capacity system can handle up to 50% more water. Consider upgrading to a system that can cope with more rainfall.

Get a Quote

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This guide was written by Danny Woodley and was last updated in April 2022.

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Explore our full list of detailed price guides here.