Your gutter cleaning calendar: Why fall is the perfect time

Your home’s gutters – also called eavestroughs – can be easy to overlook. Tucked up along your roof’s side boarding, they’re a part of your home that’s “out of sight, out of mind” – but they play an important role in keeping your home dry and leak-free.

Your gutter’s main job is channeling extra water – whether from rain or snow melt – away from your roof. The benefits stretch beyond preventing ceiling leaks; overflowing water can seep into your home’s walls and openings, such as crawlspaces. It can even find its way into your basement, causing dampness or flooding that’s hard to pin down. A clear gutter also ensures water flows properly along your home’s downspout, and runs away from your property and house foundation.

What’s the best time of year to clean gutters in the GTA?

When gutters get clogged, things stop flowing smoothly. To get ahead of this, they require regular cleanings. Most pros recommend at least once a year in the fall, when falling leaves can quickly build up and cause blockages – this is especially important for neighbourhoods with heavy tree canopies, which may need attention several times during the season.

The second ideal cleaning season is in the spring, when leftover grit and debris from the winter thaw, twigs, and tree blossoms can settle into the trough. 

Also read: Toronto tree removal: 4 mistakes homeowners make (and how to fix them)

Why is it important to clear my gutters in the fall?

Giving your gutters an autumn clear-out is an important part of your home’s pre-winter prep, as it helps prevent the conditions for ice dams: trapped water that rapidly freezes, forcing its way under shingles and into your home’s interior. This can lead to leaky ceilings – sometimes months after the initial freeze – along with wood rot, soggy insulation, and the conditions that can lead to mould and mildew growth. A compromised roof also leads the way for other issues, such as pest infestation.

David Bennett from Shiners Window & Gutter Cleaning says handling gutter clean-out in the fall months can give homeowners peace of mind once snow and ice sets in “After all the leaves fall, you're pretty much set for the winter,” he says. “You're not going to have any winter blockages or anything like that. Cleaning prevents those fat icicles from forming and falling from the gutters – just all that fall debris gets cleaned up before the winter.”

Ignoring your gutters can cause serious issues such as excessive ice and water buildup, which can also cause exterior damage to your home.

“The gutters will start falling off if you neglect to clean them; screws become loose, the gutters get heavy, it pulls away at the fascia board,” says Bennett.

“I’ve seen a lot of houses where they don't clean them out and the water isn’t flowing out properly,” says Luc Bellavance from Rilo Window Cleaning. “In the winter time, all the snow and ice just builds in there and sometimes you'll the gutter literally start ripping out of the house from all the weight.”

Finally, clean gutters and an operational downspout helps keep water away from your house’s concrete foundation; extra water that seeps in through cracks can freeze and expand in the winter, making small fissures into larger repairs later on.

When is it worth hiring a professional gutter cleaning service?

Depending on your home’s height, gutter cleaning can be a do-it-yourself task, but there are some important considerations – namely, safety.

Climbing up a ladder on your own can be hazardous, especially if your house has multiple storeys; in these instances, a Pro will likely use additional gutter cleaning tools and safety gear to get the job done.

“It does save the owner from risking themselves by going on the ladder, while a pro who is trained for working at heights and on the ladder,” says  Alfred Prendergast from Daejorie Home Detailing Services. “It's more professional and safer, and it saves time and money.”

If you do bring in a gutter cleaning Pro, here’s what you can expect as part of the service:

General debris removal: Any built-up material, such as leaves, twigs, rocks, mud, and garbage should be completely cleared out. This is typically done manually, says Bellavance. 

“We scoop everything out by hand, and then we put in buckets, bag it, take it off the property for you, and then we flush everything out with water, make sure the downspouts are not clogged up and everything should be running 100%,” he says.

Downspout flushing: As Bellevance mentions, your Pro may also run water through your downspout. This will flag if there’s any blockages, and make sure water is properly draining away from your foundation. However, depending on your service provider, this may be an extra service, so it’s important to confirm whether it’s included.

Structural inspection: Your Pro should check  the overall soundness of your gutters, making sure there aren’t any sagging or loose sections, and that the brackets are in place. They should also flag whether there’s any existing rot or damage to your roof and wooden components.

Property cleanup: All waste cleared out of your gutters should be bagged and either disposed of by your Pro, or prepped for city lawn waste pickup.

How much does professional gutter cleaning cost?

As with many home maintenance jobs, the final cost depends on the house’s specifics – most Pros will put together a quote based on the height of your home, and square footage of the job. 

With all this factored in, most jobs cost around a few hundred dollars – but other factors, such as whether the Pro can roof walk, or will depend on a ladder, can also factor into the final cost.

“Across the board, whether the house is a bungalow or two storey, it's about $180 to $200 bucks,” says Prendergast. “But, I typically charge $300 once I’ve got to use the 40-foot ladder because of the weight and the height – and you definitely need two people.”

The bottom line for homeowners: overflowing gutters can cause all sorts of issues, from super-sized icicles, to wall damage and ceiling leaks. Investing in a gutter cleaning now can prevent costly roof repairs later on – and keep both your interior and exterior ice and water-free once the winter sets in.