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Gutter Cleaning in Seattle: November Leaf Bags and Downspouts

Gutter cleaning in Seattle, WA: why November suits the fall visit, how SPU takes extra leaves, where downspout water may go, and RainWise downspouts.

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Facts on this page were last checked 2026-11-10.

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In Seattle, plan the fall gutter cleaning for November. From November 1 to 30, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) charges no fee for extra yard waste, so the leaves you rake in the same week go out at no added cost. SPU's own advice for gutters and downspouts is short: "Clean at least twice a year" (SPU, wet weather preparation, read 2026-11-10). A gutter cleaning requested here takes the gutter debris away, so the city rules below are for the leaves you rake yourself.

What does gutter cleaning in Seattle cost?

We have no written local price reply for Seattle yet, so this page states no Seattle price. Ask each provider for one written total that names the highest gutter level, guard handling, downspout work, cleanup, and all fees. Two items are worth naming in Seattle. One Seattle cleaner's own rate card, read 2026-11-10, charges extra for each bag of debris it takes away and for each blocked downspout elbow after the first two, so ask whether haul-away and every downspout are inside the total. The cost decoder helps you check each item, and the quote comparison worksheet lines two quotes up.

How does Seattle take extra leaves?

These are SPU's rules for houses in the City of Seattle (SPU, read 2026-11-10):

Question SPU's answer
Is there a free month? Yes. From November 1 to 30, households can set out up to 10 extra bags per collection day at no charge. Only customers already billed for food and yard waste collection get it.
And the rest of the year? Each extra brown paper bag, 32-gallon can or bundle up to 4 by 2 by 2 feet beside the cart is charged. The rate table lists $7.50 a unit from April 1, 2026, with a 60-pound limit.
Which bags? Paper or compostable lawn and leaf bags, or a reusable container with a lid. "Please do not put leaves and other yard waste in plastic bags."
Can leaves go in the garbage? No. SPU says leaves, grass and plant trimmings "are not allowed in your garbage".
What about leaves from the street drain? The exception. Leaves raked off a polluted street or storm drain go in the garbage.

The pages we read accept leaves and yard debris, but none of them mentions the wet gutter sludge, moss and roof grit a gutter holds. That is one more reason the request here includes taking the gutter debris away.

These rules are Seattle's. The cities in the 980 ZIP area, such as Bellevue and Redmond, have their own haulers and rules. Redmond's service, for example, is now run by Recology, and its residents "receive a free default 96‑gallon compost cart" (City of Redmond, read 2026-11-10). Check your own city's page before you set extra bags out.

Where should downspout water go in Seattle?

SPU puts the job on the owner: "Maintaining your property's drainage system is your responsibility." Its wet weather page gives three rules for where the water goes:

  • "Direct downspout flows at least 5 feet away from your foundation, without sending flows to adjacent properties."
  • "Never discharge water over the edge of a steep hill."
  • Inspect gutters and downspouts regularly for leaks or damage, and clean them at least twice a year.

A gutter cleaning clears the gutters and the downspouts above ground. The pipe below ground is a different job. SPU says to ask a professional to "video inspect" your underground drainage system, and "If you own your home or building, you own your side sewer to the public sewer main." If a downspout still backs up after the visit, the block is probably below ground: see gutter cleaning with buried downspouts for what to ask next.

Does a RainWise rain garden or cistern change the visit?

It can. RainWise, run by SPU and King County, says its "rebates cover up to 100% of the cost of building rain gardens and cisterns on eligible properties in Seattle." The rain gardens "collect water from your roof downspout." One of its three eligibility tests is that the property is connected to the combined sewer: you complete a form "with information about the property's downspouts," and staff confirm that the roof water enters the sewer (RainWise, read 2026-11-10).

For a gutter cleaning, that gives two practical steps:

  • If a downspout already feeds a cistern or rain garden, name that downspout in your request. The person who confirms your quote then knows where flushed water and debris will go.
  • If you plan to apply, the visit is a good time to note where each downspout ends: on the ground, into a pipe, or into a barrel. The RainWise form asks for that information.

Who clears the storm drain in front of the house?

Not the gutter crew: the request here covers the gutters and downspouts on your house. The street drain is the city's, and SPU asks residents to help. It says leaves "cause street flooding by clogging storm drains and pipes," and its fall advice is to rake leaves before they reach the drain and to sweep leaves off the drain top, standing on the sidewalk or parking strip, never in the road. If you cannot clear a drain, SPU takes a clogged drain report or a call to its problem hotline at (206) 386-1800. Its Adopt-a-Drain program asks volunteers for "fifteen minutes, once a month," and counts more than 33,000 storm drains in the city (SPU, read 2026-11-10).

FAQ

When should I book gutter cleaning in Seattle? For the fall visit, November. SPU takes up to 10 extra bags of yard waste per collection day at no charge from November 1 to 30, for customers billed for food and yard waste collection, so the leaves you rake that week cost nothing extra. SPU's own advice is to clean gutters and downspouts at least twice a year.

Can I put gutter debris in my Seattle yard waste cart? SPU's pages accept leaves and yard debris but say nothing about gutter sludge, moss or roof grit. You do not need the cart for it: a gutter cleaning requested here includes taking the gutter debris away.

Does the visit clear my underground drain pipe? No. It clears the gutters and the downspouts above ground. SPU tells owners to have a professional video-inspect underground drainage, and a Seattle owner owns the side sewer to the public main.

Get my price in Seattle

Start the Seattle gutter cleaning request with your ZIP code, the number of stories, and any downspout that feeds a cistern or rain garden. Provider availability, scope, price and a proposed window are confirmed in writing before payment. How it works has the rest of the process.

Any US ZIP. No contact details until you have seen the estimate.

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