Gutter Cleaning
Gutter cleaning in Florence is really two jobs, and we do both in one visit. The inside gets cleared of leaves, oak tassels, pine straw and roof grit, and every downspout gets flushed so water actually leaves the house. The outside, the face of the gutter you see from the street, gets the black tiger stripes washed off so it matches clean siding again. Houses across Florence and the Shoals, one story or two.
Clogged gutters are not just ugly. When they back up, water spills over the front edge, digs a trench in the bed below, splashes red clay up onto the siding and soaks the ground right at the foundation. On older brick ranches that can mean a damp crawlspace. On newer homes it can mean rotted fascia boards behind the gutter.
What clogs gutters in the Shoals
Oaks are the main problem around here. In spring they drop tassels, those stringy brown catkins that mat together like felt and plug a downspout opening fast, right in the middle of pollen season. In fall the leaves come down by the bagful. Pines add straw and cones year round, and sweetgum balls roll down the roof and wedge into the corners.
Then there is the stuff from the roof itself. Asphalt shingles shed granules, and that grit settles in the bottom of the gutter like sand, holding moisture and giving seeds a place to sprout. It is not unusual to find small trees growing in a neglected gutter. Add the pollen from March into May, which coats the inside and turns to sludge in the first rain, and you have a gutter that can be packed solid in a single year on a wooded lot.
The clean-out and the downspouts
We clear the gutters by hand from ladders, bagging the debris rather than blowing it all over the yard and the cars. Corners and the areas around downspout openings get the most attention, since that is where everything collects. If a gutter has guards, we can lift them, clean underneath and set them back, though the time that takes depends heavily on the style.
Then every downspout gets flushed with water from the top. If it does not run free, we clear the blockage, which is usually a wad of tassels or leaves sitting at the elbow. Underground drain lines are a different matter. We can tell you whether the water is getting into the buried pipe, but clearing a long underground run is not something we promise.
At the end we run water through the system and watch it drain. If a section sags and holds water, or a joint leaks, we will point it out so you can have it fixed. We clean gutters; we do not install or repair them.
Tiger stripes on the gutter face
Those black vertical streaks on the outside of white or light gutters are called tiger stripes. They are a mix of grime, roof runoff and a static film that builds up on aluminum, and a regular wash barely touches them. The same damp air off the river that grows algae on the roof keeps those faces grimy year round.
We use a mix made for gutter faces and work it in by hand with a brush where the stripes are heavy, then rinse. On most gutters the stripes come off completely and the faces look close to new. On gutters where the paint has oxidized and gone chalky, we can get them much cleaner but they may not come back to bright white, and we will tell you before we start.
Stripes come back slowly, since they build from the same runoff that crosses the roof every time it rains. A roof that has been soft washed sheds far less grime onto the gutter, so faces cleaned at the same time as the roof tend to stay white noticeably longer. Brown, green and other colored gutters get the same treatment; the stripes are simply harder to see on darker colors until you stand right under them.
When to book it
Most houses around Florence do best with two cleanings a year. The first is late spring, after the oak tassels and the worst of the pollen have come down, usually toward the end of May. The second is late fall, once the leaves are mostly off the trees, often in late November or early December. Houses under heavy oaks, like the ones shading the older streets around Tuscumbia, sometimes need a third pass in midsummer, when a hard thunderstorm strips green leaves and twigs off the trees and drops them straight into the gutters.
If you only do one cleaning a year, make it the fall one. Gutters full of wet leaves through a winter of rain and the occasional freeze do the most damage. We work Monday through Saturday, 7am to 6pm, and answer quote requests the same day.
Pairing gutters with the roof or the house
Gutters are the natural first step whenever a roof or house wash is on the list. Before any roof work, the gutters have to flow, or the runoff spills over onto the plants and the siding. If you are getting a soft wash on the shingles above, we clean the gutters first and brighten the faces at the end once the roof runoff is done.
The same goes for the siding wash we do the same day. Clean gutters on a dirty house look out of place, and a clean house with black-striped gutters looks unfinished. Doing all three in one visit saves a setup and usually costs less than separate trips. Every job is priced in writing before we start, by the surface and its size, from a photo or a quick walk-around.
Related
Roof Cleaning
No high pressure on shingles, plants and gutters protected throughout.
House Washing
North-side mildew, spring pollen and red clay splash cleared at the right pressure.
House and Roof Washing in Tuscumbia
We soft wash old paint and brick, clean algae-streaked roofs and do driveways across town.
Pressure Washing in Muscle Shoals
We soft wash houses and clean concrete across town.
Questions we get
What is the normal cost of gutter cleaning?
It depends on the length of the gutters, the height of the house, how full they are and whether there are guards to work around. We quote from a photo or a quick look and put the price in writing before we start.
How often should gutters be cleaned in Florence?
Twice a year for most houses: late spring after the oak tassels and pollen, and late fall after leaf drop. Heavily wooded lots may need a third cleaning.
Should I replace gutters that are 20 years old?
Not just because of age. Aluminum gutters can last a long time if they drain and are not pulling away. We do not sell or install gutters, but we will tell you honestly what we see when we clean them.
Do you clean gutters with guards?
Yes. We lift the guards where the style allows it, clean underneath and set them back. Some guard types take longer, which shows up in the quote.
Do you haul the debris away?
We bag it and leave it where you want it for yard waste pickup, or take it with us if you ask.
Get your gutters on the list
Tell us how many stories the house has and roughly how long the gutter runs are, and send a photo of the front and the worst side. Mention any guards, and say if you want the faces brightened too. Hit Get FREE Quote Today on the form and you will have a written number back.