How much does gutter cleaning cost?

Gutter cleaning is one of the cheapest jobs on the outside of a house, and one of the easiest to put off. Left for a few years, a blocked gutter can soak a wall, rot a fascia board and start damp inside, and that costs far more to put right. This guide gives you the published UK prices, explains how firms work out a quote, and shows you what to check so the price you agree is the price you pay.

How much does gutter cleaning cost in the UK?

The most recent independent figure comes from Which?, which surveyed 11 of its Trusted Traders in November 2025. Clearing out all the gutters at the front and back of a property costs £75 to £350, labour and materials, excluding VAT.

That range covers everything from a small terraced house to a large detached home with a conservatory and a three storey gable, so it helps to know how firms actually price the work. Homebuilding and Renovating found most professionals charge by the metre:

Sources: Which?, survey of 11 Which? Trusted Traders, November 2025; Homebuilding and Renovating, February 2023. The per metre rates are from 2023, so allow for prices having risen since.

What that looks like for your house

No independent survey breaks gutter cleaning down by house type, so here is our own arithmetic using the £5 to £9 a metre rate. Measure your own gutters, because the length varies a lot between houses of the same size.

• 10 metres of gutter, for example a small terrace front and back: £50 to £90. A minimum fee may apply.
• 15 metres, a typical semi: £75 to £135, the figure Homebuilding gives.
• 25 metres, for example a detached house or a semi with an extension: £125 to £225.

If the business is VAT registered, 20 percent goes on top. Many small gutter cleaning firms are not, so check before you compare two quotes.

What is included in a gutter clean?

A proper clean removes leaves, moss, silt and anything growing in the gutters, bags the waste and takes it away, then checks that water runs freely to each downpipe. Many firms now use a gutter vacuum on a long pole with a camera on the end, and send you before and after photos.

Ask about each of these, because they are where quotes differ:

• Front and back. Some low quotes cover the front only.
• Downpipes. Clearing the swan neck at the top and flushing each downpipe is sometimes extra. A blockage below ground is a drainage job, not a gutter job.
• Conservatory, porch and extension roofs. These gutters are easy to forget and are often priced separately.
• Waste removal. It should be bagged and taken away, not left in your garden bin.
• Photos or video. The only way to know the gutters were actually cleared.
• Small repairs. Resealing a dripping joint or refitting a bracket may be done on the day for a small charge. Larger repairs and new guttering are quoted separately.

What makes gutter cleaning cost more?

• Height. A bungalow is quick from a ladder or a pole. Homebuilding notes that three storey houses cost more because they need longer gutter vacuums and sometimes a cherry picker. Which? adds that scaffolding, where needed, can significantly increase the cost of roof work.
• How blocked they are. Gutters that have not been touched for years, with packed silt and plants growing in them, take longer. That is where the £10 a metre rate comes in.
• Access. Conservatories under the gutter line, steep banks, narrow side passages and no parking all slow the job down.
• Trees. Houses under trees fill their gutters faster and need more frequent visits.
• Where you live. Which? says roofing prices are likely to be higher in London and the South East. No published survey gives a separate figure for the West Midlands, so get local quotes.

How often should you clean your gutters?

A gutter cleaning Which? Trusted Trader quoted in a Which? guide published in October 2026 recommends once or twice a year. Homes near trees, or with a lot of moss on the roof, may need it more often. Some homeowners with no trees nearby can go a couple of years between cleans.

The most useful time is late autumn, once the leaves are down and before the winter rain. It is also worth a look after a big storm. Winters are not getting any drier: the Met Office reported that England had 42 percent more rain than average in winter 2025 to 2026, and that the West Midlands, Cornwall and Leicestershire had their wettest winter on record. A gutter that copes with a light shower can overflow in that kind of rain.

Signs your gutters need cleaning

You can spot most problems from the ground:

• water spilling over the edge of the gutter in heavy rain;
• dark damp patches or green streaks on the outside wall below the gutter;
• grass, weeds or small plants growing out of the gutter;
• a gutter that sags or has pulled away from the fascia;
• drips from the joints between sections;
• damp or mould inside, near the top of a wall under the gutter line.

Which? warns that blocked gutters can let water into the home and lead to damp, mould and water damage, and that the extra weight of moss and standing water strains joints and brackets until sections crack or pull away. If you already have damp inside, a gutter clean may fix the cause but not the damage, so a damp specialist may need to look at the wall as well. Our guide to whether it is condensation, damp or mould explains how to tell.

Can you clean your own gutters safely?

On a bungalow or a low extension, many homeowners do it themselves. Which? suggests a pole with a gutter attachment, gloves and a trowel, dropping the debris into a bucket, then running a hose along the gutter to check the water reaches the downpipe. A gutter vacuum lets you work from the ground, though it can miss debris in tight corners and swan necks.

If you use a ladder, Which? advises setting it on firm, level ground, never stretching or leaning to reach, and having someone steady it. HSE guidance is written for work, but the principle holds at home: a ladder suits short, low risk tasks, and if you would be up a leaning ladder for more than 30 minutes at a time, other equipment is the better choice. Two storey gutters are where most people should stop and call a professional. The cost of a clean is small next to the cost of a fall.

Gutters, damp and your home insurance

Buildings insurance covers sudden events such as storms, not slow damage from a lack of upkeep. Policies exclude wear and tear and gradual deterioration. When a storm claim is disputed, the Financial Ombudsman Service asks three questions: were there storm conditions, is the damage consistent with a storm, and was the storm the main cause, or might the damage have happened anyway? Water damage from gutters that were blocked for years tends to fail that last test. If a storm has already damaged your roof, see what to do if a storm damages your roof.

Keep the invoice and the before and after photos from each clean. They cost nothing to keep and show you maintained the house if you ever need to claim.

How to get a fair price for gutter cleaning

• Measure first. Pace out the gutters and count the downpipes so you can check a per metre quote.
• Ask for a written quote that lists front and back, downpipes, any conservatory or extension, waste removal and photos. A quote is a fixed price; an estimate is a guess, as our guide to what a plumber charges per hour explains.
• Ask how they will reach the gutters, and whether a cherry picker or scaffolding would add to the bill.
• Check insurance. Anyone working at height on your house should have public liability insurance. Ask to see it.
• Book a regular slot. Many firms charge less for a yearly clean than a one off clear of gutters that have been left for years.
• Pay on completion, once you have seen the photos.

Find a gutter cleaner near you

You can find a local gutter specialist and request a quote free, and they can come back to you with a price. Say how many storeys the house has, roughly how long the gutters are, and whether there is a conservatory or extension, so the quote you get back is a real one. You pay the business directly, and nothing is taken online.

Or browse local businesses first: gutter specialists in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Walsall, Solihull or Sutton Coldfield. If the gutters or the roof need repairs, see roofers in Birmingham. Businesses on YourHouseFix show whether they have been claimed by the business or are listed from public records, and we do not check registers or insurance, so ask for proof of insurance either way. For more guides on repairs and costs, see all our home advice.