The Gutter Cleaning Business
By Eric Hammer
Starting a gutter cleaning business is a great way to make
extra money on the side or to make full time money, though the
business does tend to be seasonal. In essence, you will be doing
the grunt work that homeowners don’t want to do or simply
can’t do (because of age, frailty or both). You will have
to be able to climb up on ladders and clean out the gutters from
falling leaves around people’s homes.
Needless to say, like a tax accountant, you will have one
season of the year when you are particularly busy (the late summer
and fall) and the rest of the year you may have occasional jobs
(mostly from homeowners who forgot to clean out their gutters
but who now need to get it done because they are selling a home
or because the gutters are causing smells or showing danger of
falling down).
The work is reasonably easy however and if you happen to enjoy
the great outdoors then this is a great business to be in since
you get to spend time outdoors every time you go out to work.
You don’t need many skills either for the job – mostly
just a head on your shoulders and strong muscles to be able to
scrape out the gutters so that they are cleared of any obstructions.
How Much Can You Make?
Typically, expect to charge around $70-$200 per home for an
average size suburban home (around 1500-2000 square feet). The
work shouldn’t take more than a few hours, though you must
include the time it take to get there, the cost of your truck
to carry equipment (ladder, power washer, etc) and the cost of
disposables such as heavy duty garbage bags and workmen’s
gloves. If you work for someone else, expect to earn similar
salaries to those earned by most people who work in unskilled
labor – probably around $10-$12 per hour.
Ways to Make More | Related Opportunities
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In addition to cleaning gutters, most gutter cleaning services
also offer to clean storm drains and the exterior of people’s
homes. They may also offer painting services, inspection of the
storm gutters and drains, tightening of the fasteners that hold
the gutters in place and even cleaning of external windows. In
other words, you can pretty much offer outdoor maintenance on
people’s homes.
Some companies even go further, offering clean up of things
like septic tanks and HVAC clean up services. The money is decent
for all these kinds of services as they are typically the sorts
of things that homeowners don’t want to do deal with on
their own.
Qualifications / Requirements
You’ll need to love the outdoors and have a good sense
of business economics. In essence, you are running a service
business so you need to be able to work with people. You’ll
also need to own a truck, ladder and power washer to clean out
the gutters properly and to hose down the side of the house.
You may also want to look into municipal garbage disposal services
since you may be asked to cart away the bags of leaves when you
are done and you’ll obviously need a place to take them.
First Steps
Start by taking out ads in local newspapers and putting out
flyers around town at people’s homes. It is best to start
advertising in the early summer so that you can get your name
known to people when they start looking for a service, though
you will need to continue advertising for some time in order
to make your name known.
Consider also taking a job with someone so that you can learn
the business first hand and find out any of the details of cleaning
gutters that you may not think of before you take the plunge.
Resources
Rain Gutter Repair and Cleaning Company by Tim Roncevich
and Steven Primm (CreateSpace 2009) – A book which details
all the ins and outs of starting a gutter cleaning service, this
is the book to purchase if you want to start a business like
this.
Cost Helper: Gutter Cleaning Costs – While
not really a web site for those who want to start a business,
this is a great guide to what people will expect of you and how
much you can expect to charge for your services.
The Professional Cleaner’s Personal Handbook by Dori
Aslett (Marsh Creek Press 1994) – A book for everyone
who works as a professional cleaner (including those who clean
gutters for a living), this is essential reading if you are serious
about your business.
My Small Biz: Start a Gutter Cleaning Service
– a web site with some good information on the basics of
creating a service to clean gutters.
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