Most gutter cleaning quotes come down to one line: “clean gutters, flush downspouts.” Someone climbs up where you can’t see, and an hour or two later they’re gone. So what did you actually pay for?
This post answers that with one real job. On Saturday, October 31, 2026, David from our crew cleaned the gutters on a two-story home in Libertyville for $170. Below is the whole job, step by step, in the photos from the roof. After that: what a clean gutter should really look like (it isn’t what most people expect), what a standard cleaning leaves out, and how to check the work on your own house.
The short answer
A professional gutter cleaning should include four things: debris cleared by hand and bagged, every downspout checked and cleared, the gutters rinsed with a hose to prove they drain, and the debris taken away. It should not leave you with shiny gutters, because cleaning removes what blocks the water, not years of staining. On this Libertyville job, all of it came to $170.
The job card
- Where: Libertyville, IL 60048 (Lake County)
- When: Saturday, October 31, 2026, booked for the 8–10 AM arrival window
- House: two stories, built in the late 1990s, about 2,600 sq ft, with an upper and a lower roofline
- Gutters: open, no guards, held up with hidden hangers
- Technician: David
- Timing: on the way at 8:30 AM, finished at 10:11 AM
- Price: $170, paid
What does a gutter cleaning include, step by step?
Our gutter cleaning follows the same order on every house. This is how it ran on this one.
1. Set the ladder
Most of the risk in this job lives on the ladder, so the setup comes first. An extension ladder needs firm footing and the right angle. Ladder maker Werner sums up the 4-to-1 rule as 1 foot out from the wall for every 4 feet of height. Two rooflines also mean more than one ladder position. It is the step homeowners tend to underestimate, and a big part of our gutter cleaning vs. DIY comparison.
2. Clear the gutters by hand and bag the debris
Leaves, seed pods and shingle grit come out by hand and go into bags, not over the edge. That matters on a house like this, where a paver patio, trimmed shrubs and planting beds sit right below the gutter line.
The flat metal straps across the trough are hidden hangers, which hold the gutter to the house. Working along them is also the best chance to spot one that has come loose, and small problems like that get pointed out or fixed while we are up there. The bags leave with us, so your gutter debris never has to wait at the curb with one of Libertyville’s yard waste stickers on it.
3. Check every downspout
A gutter can be empty and still overflow if water can’t get out, so each outlet gets checked and anything sitting in it gets cleared. In the photo below, you can see straight into the top of the downspout.
The stakes are bigger than they look. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America Solution Center notes that a few inches of rain on a roof can produce several thousand gallons of runoff, and its gutters and downspouts guide calls for downspouts to discharge at least 5 feet from the foundation. None of that helps if the water never reaches the downspout.
One local note: Lake County’s page on disconnecting your downspouts says many homes here feed directly into the storm sewer, and that some communities require disconnection while others prohibit it. Check with your village before you reroute anything.
4. Run water through the system
This is the step that proves the work. Water from the hose runs down the trough and out through the downspout. The blur in the photo below is that water moving toward the outlet. If it pools, backs up or trickles out at the bottom, there is more to clear. A cleaning that skips this step can’t tell you whether the gutter actually drains.
5. Clean up and finish
The bags come down, the work area gets tidied, and the debris goes with us. David marked the job finished at 10:11 AM, 1 hour and 41 minutes after heading out, drive included. That lines up with our earlier open-gutter job in town, which took about an hour and a half on site.
What should a clean gutter look like?
Not new. This is the part that surprises people when they first see photos of their own gutters. They expect bright white metal, and instead they see something like this:
The job of a gutter is to carry water, and staining doesn’t stop it from doing that. Here is how to read what you see.
Normal after a cleaning:
- Yellow, brown or gray staining on the gutter floor and walls
- Green streaks where damp debris used to sit
- A thin film of residue or a little shingle grit
- A few fresh leaves, especially with a tree beside the roof
Not normal after a cleaning:
- Handfuls of loose leaves left in corners or around outlets
- Packed sludge you could scoop out with your fingers
- Deep water still standing along a run hours after the rinse or a rain
- Debris left on your lawn, beds or patio
If the staining bothers you, especially on the front of the gutter where it shows from the street, that is a separate job. Gutter exterior cleaning is an optional extra, so ask us about it when you book.
What did this house teach us about fall gutter cleaning?
The wire strainer. Look at the photo at the top of this post and you’ll see a wire basket sitting in the corner outlet. Strainers like this keep sticks and leaves out of the downspout, but as GutterSupply explains in its guide to downspout wire strainers, that debris stays in the gutter until someone cleans it out. A strainer moves the clog to a place that is easier to reach. It doesn’t replace the cleaning.
The tree beside the roof. The same photo shows a tree against the end of the gutter, still holding most of its yellow leaves on October 31. Another tree over a different stretch of gutter was already bare. Trees on one lot don’t finish together, so a Halloween cleaning handles what has come down but not necessarily what is still up there. On a lot like this, it is worth another look once the last tree overhead is bare. Our guide on when to clean gutters in fall goes through the timing tree by tree.
The deadline that matters is a sustained freeze. Wet debris that freezes in a gutter leaves meltwater nowhere to go, and ice dam removal costs several times what a fall cleaning does.
What does a standard gutter cleaning not include?
- Gutter guards. Lifting, cleaning under and reseating guards is an add-on. Our gutter guard cleaning page explains the work.
- Detached garages. These add $25 to $75, depending on size.
- Years of neglect. Compacted sludge, rooted seedlings and packed downspouts become heavy gutter debris removal, which takes more time and is quoted for what is actually there.
- Stain removal. The gutter exterior cleaning mentioned above is priced separately.
- Bigger repairs. Small problems like a loose hanger or a leaking seam get pointed out or fixed on the spot. Anything larger is something we flag for you, not part of the cleaning.
Why did this job cost $170?
Our grid starts a two-story home of this size at $150. It is where a quote begins, and the final number reflects the house itself, such as its size, how the roof sections are laid out and what is in the gutters. The price is confirmed before any work starts. We break the grid down in full in our gutter cleaning cost case study.
This is our third published job in Libertyville. With the guarded home at $250 in the mix, the three give a useful price range for the town:
| Cost case study | Guards case study | This job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Two-story | Two-story, about 2,250 sq ft | Two-story, about 2,600 sq ft |
| Guards | None | Screen-style mesh | None |
| Extra work | None | Every guard lifted and reseated | None |
| Final price | $170 | $250 | $170 |
How can you tell if your gutters were cleaned properly?
You don’t need to climb anything. Whoever cleaned your gutters, these checks work from the ground:
- Ask for photos. We take them for our job file. Check them against the two lists above.
- Watch the next real rain. Water should come out of the downspouts, not over the front edge of the gutter.
- Look at each downspout outlet. A strong stream at the bottom means the run above it is working. Dry ground under a downspout after a storm means it isn’t.
- Walk the beds and patio. Nothing from the gutter should be left behind.
Why bother? Because the cost of a missed clog shows up later, as we explain in how clean gutters help you avoid costly repairs. Every job of ours carries a satisfaction guarantee: if something isn’t right, call within seven days and we will re-clean the area or refund that portion.
Questions homeowners ask about gutter cleaning
What does a professional gutter cleaning include?
Debris cleared by hand and bagged, every downspout checked and cleared, the gutters rinsed with a hose so you know they drain, and the debris hauled away. We also point out or fix small problems like a loose hanger or a leaking seam.
How long does gutter cleaning take on a two-story house?
Usually about an hour and a half on site. This Libertyville job took 1 hour and 41 minutes from heading out to finishing, drive included. Guards, heavy buildup or difficult access take longer.
Should my gutters look new after a cleaning?
No. Cleaning removes what blocks the water. Staining, green streaks and a thin film usually remain and don’t affect drainage. Loose leaves, packed sludge and water that won’t drain are what you shouldn’t see.
Does gutter cleaning include the downspouts?
It should. We check every downspout, clear it as needed and run water through the system. An empty gutter still overflows if the water can’t get out at the bottom.
What is not included in a standard gutter cleaning?
Gutter guard handling, detached garages, heavy debris removal on long-neglected gutters, exterior stain cleaning and bigger repairs are separate. Anything that adds to the price is confirmed before work starts.
How can I tell if my gutters were cleaned properly?
Ask for photos, watch the gutters in the next real rain, check for a strong stream at each downspout outlet, and walk your beds and patio for leftover debris. Water coming over the front edge means something is still blocked.
Want this done on your house?
We cover gutter cleaning in Libertyville from our Winchester Road office, along with Lake County towns like Lake Forest and Grayslake. The rest of Chicagoland runs out of Buffalo Grove and Lombard, so check our service areas for your town. Tell us your square footage, number of stories, whether you have guards, and what grows over the roof. Call (224) 394-4494 or use Book online, and you’ll get a written price before we start.
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