Gutter cleaning under Millerton Lake oaks

Oak trees are lovely to live beside, and they are relentless about gutters. In fall the leaves come down, and acorns and twigs follow. In spring, oaks shed the stringy catkins that mat together in a gutter and turn to paste after the first rain. Add dust from dry summer grass and any pine needles in the neighborhood, and a foothill gutter can fill up even when the yard looks tidy. Once it clogs, water spills over the edge, stains the walls and drops next to the foundation.

We clean by hand. Leaves, sludge and seed pods get scooped out and bagged, the roof valleys are cleared, and each downspout is flushed to make sure water moves freely. Debris goes away with us, so you are not left with a wet pile on the lawn. Many homes around the lake sit on slopes, which means the downhill side can be two stories tall or more. That is a tough place for a homeowner on a ladder, and we are glad to handle it. While we are up there, we look for loose or sagging sections and tell you what we see.

Fire-safety guidance for foothill homes commonly includes keeping dry leaves and needles out of gutters and off the roof, which gives one more reason not to put this off. The best timing for most houses is late fall, once most of the leaves are down and before the heavier rain. Homes under big oaks often do well with a second visit in spring. We can add a roof or solar cleaning to the same trip. We are licensed and insured, we run jobs seven days a week, and if a gutter is not draining the way it should when we leave, we come back and make it right.