A gutter cleaning technician climbs ladders at customers' homes to scoop out leaves and debris, flush downspouts and check that water drains away from the house. They also make small fixes, like resealing a leaky joint or reattaching a loose hanger, under a lead's direction.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building services companies · BLS, May 2025
Serve as a vital member of our home services team by ensuring residential gutter systems are clean, functional, and safe. Enhance customer satisfaction by performing thorough gutter cleaning, debris removal, and minor repairs under guidance. Contribute to the overall success of our operations by maintaining high-quality standards and efficient work practices.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Clean gutters by removing leaves, twigs, and other debris to ensure proper water flow.
Inspect downspouts to identify clogs or potential issues and recommend necessary actions.
Perform minor repairs on gutter systems under the supervision and guidance of experienced personnel.
Maintain professional conduct during customer interactions and clearly communicate service findings.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Arrive at scheduled residential job sites and assess the condition of gutter systems.
Use appropriate tools and safety equipment to remove obstructions and perform cleaning tasks.
Document service activities and customer concerns in company tracking systems.
Follow daily checklists and protocols to ensure consistency and quality in service delivery.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Service Quality Rating: >4.8 stars based on customer feedback.
Callback Rate: <5% for repeat service visits due to cleaning issues.
Average Service Time: ≤1.5 hours per gutter cleaning job.
Repair Accuracy: 95% of identified issues resolved during the initial service.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High school diploma or equivalent along with a keen attention to detail.
Basic technical knowledge of home maintenance and gutter systems.
Strong communication skills for effective interaction with customers and team members.
Ability to follow instructions and perform minor repairs under guidance.
6. Preferred Experience
Prior experience in gutter cleaning or similar home maintenance roles.
Familiarity with residential property inspection and repair methodologies.
Experience using cleaning tools and basic repair equipment in an outdoor setting.
Demonstrated reliability and a strong work ethic in a service-oriented environment.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 50 pounds and handle equipment and tools safely.
Capability to work outdoors in various weather conditions including heat and cold.
Comfortable with climbing ladders and working at heights as needed.
Good physical stamina to perform repetitive manual tasks throughout the workday.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours between 7:00 AM and 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
Occasionally required to work mornings, evenings, or weekends during peak periods.
Mild on-call duties may be expected in response to urgent customer service needs.
Travel between multiple residential job sites within the assigned service area.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly rate between $18 and $25 per hour, based on experience and qualifications.
Performance-based bonuses available upon meeting established service KPIs.
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance plans provided.
401k plan with company match and other fringe benefits available.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a growth-oriented company dedicated to excellence in home services, committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive workplace.
Our team values continuous learning, teamwork, and innovation, ensuring every employee has the opportunity to excel and contribute to our long-term success.
We celebrate individual achievements and encourage professional development, with a strong belief in work-life balance and mutual respect.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
What makes gutter cleaning technician work different
Most cleaning jobs happen with both feet on the floor. Gutter cleaning happens at the roof edge, on a ladder, with a bucket of wet leaves and sometimes an overhead line close by.
Cleaning is maintenance, installing is construction
OSHA has a letter on telling maintenance from construction. Routine, scheduled work that keeps a building in good shape points to maintenance, if the job is small. Construction includes alteration and repair, and its fall rule starts at six feet. So a cleaning route and a guard install or new gutters may fall under different OSHA rules. The work decides, not who does it. Source: OSHA interpretation letter, November 18, 2003: maintenance vs. construction activities.
The bucket and the ladder
Under OSHA's general industry ladder rule, every ladder gets looked over for defects before the first climb of each shift. While climbing, the worker faces the ladder, keeps at least one hand on it, and carries nothing that could throw off their balance. That last rule matters most here. Plan how debris comes down, like a bucket on a hook or a rope to lower it, not a full bucket in one hand. Source: OSHA: Ladders (29 CFR 1910.23).
Overhead lines change the setup
OSHA's electrical rule covers an unqualified worker, one without electrical training, who is up high near overhead lines. That worker, and the longest conductive object they may touch, must stay at least 10 feet from any unguarded, live line of 50 kV or less. Ladders need nonconductive side rails where the worker or ladder could touch exposed live parts. Techs look up before each ladder goes up. Source: OSHA: Selection and use of work practices, including portable ladders and overhead lines (29 CFR 1910.333).
Two busy seasons and a weather check
Work stacks up after the leaves fall and again in spring when seeds, pods and pine needles fill the gutters. Rain, ice and wind make ladder work unsafe, so a stormy week pushes the whole route back. Repeat customers expect the same visit every year, which means routes, notes and good photos carry from one season to the next.
The customer can't see the work
Most homeowners never climb up to check, and many aren't home during the visit. Before and after photos of each run, a note on every downspout flushed, and a cleanup of the walkway and beds are what prove the job was done. Techs also photograph sagging sections, rust or rot they spot so the office can quote a repair.
How much gutter cleaning technicians make
The closest BLS group for gutter cleaning technicians is janitors and cleaners. Janitors and cleaners who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $17.21 an hour ($35,790 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $36,840 median for janitors and cleaners in all industries. About 829,300 of the 2,209,760 janitors and cleaners in that survey work for building services companies.
Most often hourly, with overtime in the fall, and some companies add a per-job or per-day bonus for routes finished without a callback. BLS doesn't count gutter cleaners on their own; the figures on this page come from its janitors and building cleaners group.
Building services companies
$35,790$35,790 median Middle half $30,590–$38,520 10th–90th $28,130–$46,250
All industries
$36,840$36,840 median Middle half $32,240–$44,060 10th–90th $28,640–$50,270
$20k$30k$40k$50k$60k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Building services companies
$28,130
$30,590
$35,790
$38,520
$46,250
All industries
$28,640
$32,240
$36,840
$44,060
$50,270
BLS doesn’t publish pay for gutter cleaning companies on their own. These figures cover services to buildings and dwellings, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Sets up, climbs and moves extension ladders safely
Checks each ladder before use and reports damage right away
Notices sagging runs, loose hangers, leaks and rot
Keeps beds, walkways and siding clean while working
Takes clear photos and short notes on every job
Treats customers' homes and yards with care
Teach these on the job
Your ladder setup and the stabilizers you use
Flushing and clearing downspouts and underground drains
Small repairs: resealing joints, rehanging, swapping elbows
Gutter guard types and how to clean around them
Your route app, photo checklist and add-on prices
Techs work with extension and step ladders, ladder stabilizers, gutter scoops, a leaf blower, a hose with a flushing wand, a drain snake, tarps or bags for debris, and sealant and hangers for small fixes. A phone runs the route app and holds the photos. In the ad, list the ladders and gear you provide, how tall the homes are, and whether the work includes the roof.
Gutter cleaning technician interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Working on fragile or wet roofs
You arrive and the roof is clay tile, still wet from morning dew. The fastest way would be to walk the roof. What do you do?
A strong answer: Doesn't walk tile or wet roofs. Works from the ladder with a standoff that rests on the wall, not the gutter or tiles, moves the ladder more often and tells the office if it adds time.
Behavioral · Doing the full job unsupervised
On a route, nobody checks the back gutters after you leave. Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when you did a job carefully even though nobody would have checked. What did you do?
A strong answer: A specific example of doing the whole job right without being watched.
Read the template's targets as rough guides and reset them after a season, because a ranch house in July and a three-story home in November take very different times.
Service Quality Rating
Customer ratings from post-visit surveys on jobs this tech worked, read with the photos. Low scores often trace to a missed downspout or a messy flower bed.
Callback Rate
Return visits for overflow or clogs caused by the cleaning, divided by the tech's completed jobs. Leave out new debris from a storm after the visit.
Average Service Time
Minutes on site per job from the route app, grouped by home height and gutter length. Use it to build routes, and never push a tech to skip a ladder move.
Repair Accuracy
Small repairs flagged and fixed on the first visit, compared with repairs that needed a return trip. Check the before and after photos for each one.
Only with fall protection set up first. Under OSHA's general industry rule, a roof edge at least 4 feet up calls for a guardrail, a safety net or a personal fall protection system. On a home's roof, a written fall protection plan may stand in for them only when the employer shows they aren't feasible or would be more dangerous, and OSHA presumes they are feasible. Settle your roof policy, gear and training before fall.
How much does a gutter cleaning technician make?
Janitors and cleaners who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $17.21 an hour ($35,790 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $30,590 and $38,520 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
What training does a gutter cleaner need before climbing?
OSHA's walking-working surfaces rule has employers train each worker on the care, inspection, storage and use of ladders before they use one, and anyone using personal fall protection gets training from a qualified person first. A good start is a few days on the ground and on one-story homes, with a lead signing off before the tech works on taller ones.
What's the difference between a gutter cleaner and a gutter installer?
A cleaner maintains gutters that are already up: clearing, flushing and small fixes. An installer measures, forms one-piece runs on site and hangs new gutters and downspouts, work OSHA's maintenance-versus-construction test points toward construction. Some companies train cleaners to install guards. If yours does, put it in the ad and train for the construction fall rules too.
What should a gutter cleaning technician job ad include?
Say how tall the homes are, whether techs ever go on the roof, and what gear you provide. Give the season's hours, how rain days work, and where the day starts. The template's physical section asks for good physical stamina; in the ad, describe the tasks instead, such as carrying an extension ladder and setting it at a two-story roofline.
