How often should gutters be cleaned in Nova Scotia?

At least once a year, and twice if you have spruce or maples hanging over the house. Fall, after most of the leaves are down, is ideal. Spring is a good second look before the heavy rains.

What's gutter brightening?

Removing the black vertical streaks (tiger stripes) from the outside face of the gutter. It's oxidation and grime bonded to the aluminum, and it needs its own cleaner and hand work. A regular house wash doesn't remove it.

Do you clean gutters with gutter guards?

Yes. Guards keep out the big stuff but not the needles and the fine debris, and some styles trap it. We work around or lift the guards where we can and put them back.

Can I add gutters to a house wash?

That's the most common way people book it. The ladders are already up, the plants are already rinsed, and it usually costs less than a separate visit.

My gutters overflow even though they look clean. Why?

Usually a blocked downspout elbow, a sag holding water, or a gutter that's too small for the area it drains. We flush and check as part of every clean-out and tell you what we find.

Gutter Cleaning & Brightening in Yarmouth, Digby & Shelburne Counties

Why gutters matter more here

1,200 millimetres of rain a year has to go somewhere

Southwest Nova Scotia gets rain in every month of the year. When gutters are full of spruce needles, leaves, and the moss that grows in the muck, that water spills over the edge instead of down the spout. It lands at the foundation, streaks the siding, rots the fascia behind the gutter, and in winter it's the ice dam waiting to happen.

The outside of the gutter has its own problem. Those black vertical stripes, the “tiger stripes,” are oxidation and road grime bonded to the aluminum by years of rain running over the lip. A normal house wash won't touch them. They need their own cleaner and hand work.

The clean-out keeps your house dry. The brightening makes the whole front of the house look finished. Most people do the clean-out every year and the brightening with a house wash.

Gutter at Pier One before cleaning, with weeds growing out of it — A real job: the gutters and downspouts at Pier One, before and after. No stock photos, no fakes.

Gutter and downspout at Pier One after cleaning, clear and white — A real job: the gutters and downspouts at Pier One, before and after. No stock photos, no fakes.

How we handle gutters

Clean-out: remove the debris by hand
Needles, leaves, moss, and the mud they turn into come out by hand and bag, not blown into your yard.
Flush the downspouts
Each downspout is flushed until it runs clear. A blocked elbow gets cleared; a crushed or disconnected spout gets pointed out.
Check the run
Standing water in a gutter means a sag or a low spot. We'll tell you where, and whether it's a quick fix.
Brightening: apply a gutter-face cleaner
A dedicated cleaner is worked along the face of the gutter to release the oxidation and tiger striping.
Rinse and detail
Rinsed clean, with the fascia and soffit rinsed as we go. Best done as part of a house wash so everything matches.

What's included

Debris removed by hand and bagged
Downspouts flushed and confirmed flowing
Quick check for sags, leaks and loose hangers (we'll tell you what we see)
Brightening of the exterior gutter face (on request)
Fascia and soffit rinsed with a brightening
Gutter guards worked around where present

What we don't do

Gutter repair, re-hanging or replacement
Gutter guard installation or removal
Interior gutter painting or sealing
Three-storey or unsafe-access gutters (we'll say so up front)

Surfaces this is right for

Aluminum guttersVinyl guttersSteel guttersSeamless guttersDownspouts & elbowsFascia & soffits

What affects the price

Every property is different, so we quote each job rather than post a flat rate. Quotes are free, usually done from photos without a site visit, and the price we agree on before work starts is the price you pay. What moves the number:

Linear footage of gutter and number of downspouts
One storey versus two, and how the ground sits under the eaves
How full they are: a yearly clean is quick, five years of muck is not
Clean-out only, brightening only, or both
Added to a house wash, gutters are the most common add-on we do

Gutter cleaning: working on the inside, clean on the outside

1,200 millimetres of rain a year has to go somewhere

How we handle gutters

What's included

What we don't do

Surfaces this is right for

What affects the price

Common questions

Keep the water going where it should.

Gutter cleaning: working on the inside, clean on the outside

1,200 millimetres of rain a year has to go somewhere

How we handle gutters

What's included

What we don't do

Surfaces this is right for

What affects the price

Common questions

Other services

Gutter Cleaning & Brightening across the Tri-County

Keep the water going where it should.