Gutter Cleaning in New Braunfels

Signs your gutters need cleaning

It rains hard, and instead of running along the gutter the water tips over the front edge in one place. That place is where the blockage starts. Sometimes you can see the mat of leaves sitting proud of the gutter lip from the ground.

The quieter sign is a downspout that stays silent in a downpour when it should be running. That means the blockage is at the outlet and the whole run is holding water.

Why gutters clog so badly around here

Live oaks do not drop all at once like a maple. They shed small tough leaves over a long stretch, and those leaves are exactly the wrong size and shape to wash through a gutter. Add cedar elm, add pecan where there are pecans, and add the fine limestone dust that is in the air after a dry spell.

Wet that mixture and let it dry a few times and it packs into a dense mat in the bottom of the channel. It does not flush out. It has to be lifted out.

What a gutter cleaning includes

• Clearing the full length of every run by hand, not just the visible ends
• Flushing each downspout and clearing it if it is blocked
• Checking the hangers while we are up there, and telling you if any have started to pull
• Checking the pitch, because a run that holds water after flushing is a pitch problem, not a debris problem
• Bagging the debris and taking it with us

If we find something that needs repair while we are up there, we will tell you and give you a number. We will not fix it without asking first.

When to clean gutters in New Braunfels

The useful window in this part of Texas is late in the year, after the cedar elms and pecans have dropped and before a hard freeze. A second visit in spring, after the live oaks push off their old leaves, is worth it on properties with a lot of canopy directly over the roof.

If your house sits under mature live oaks, twice a year is realistic. If it sits in the open, once may be plenty. We will tell you which one you are after we have seen the roof.

Gutter guards instead of repeat cleanings

Cleaning is a recurring cost, and on a heavily shaded property it adds up. That is the honest argument for gutter guards: the right guard for your trees keeps the leaf mat out of the channel so the water still gets in. It is not free and it is not magic, but on the right house it pays for itself against repeat cleanings.

We will tell you whether your house is one of those. Our guide to gutter guards under live oaks and cedar elms goes through what works and what does not.

Where we clean gutters

Most of our cleaning is under the old canopy in New Braunfels, in the pecan country around Seguin, and under the live oaks that have grown up over Schertz subdivisions. We also clean in Cibolo, Canyon Lake, Spring Branch, Geronimo and Marion.

Questions about gutter cleaning

How often should gutters be cleaned in New Braunfels?

Twice a year if your roof sits under mature live oaks, and often once a year if it sits in the open. Late in the year, after the cedar elms and pecans drop, is the main visit. A spring visit, after the live oaks push off their old leaves, is worth adding when there is a lot of canopy right over the roof.

What does gutter cleaning cost?

It depends on how many feet of gutter the house has, how high the roof is, how packed the channel is, and whether the downspouts are blocked too. A single-story house with light debris is the quick end. A two-story house under live oaks that has not been cleaned in years is the other. We give you the price before we start.

Do you clean up after a gutter cleaning?

Yes. Everything we pull out of the gutters goes into bags and leaves with us, so nothing gets dumped in your beds or left on the driveway. We flush each downspout, check the hangers and the pitch while we are up there, and tell you about anything that needs repair before we touch it.

What about the trees over my house?

They decide how often you need us. Live oaks shed small tough leaves over a long stretch of the year, and once those have been wet and dried a few times they pack into a mat that has to be lifted out. Cedar elm, pecan and limestone dust add to it. If you are cleaning more than twice a year, ask us about gutter guards.