You probably cleaned your gutters in November. Good. But there’s a second cleanup most homeowners miss — the one right before spring rains start, typically late February in central Virginia.

Why February, not April

Between November and February, your gutters collect:

• Pine needles — those don’t all fall at once. Loblolly and white pine shed through January.
• Late-holding oak leaves — red oaks especially keep leaves until new growth pushes them off in spring.
• Seed pods and catkins from maples and birches.
• Broken twigs from winter wind and ice.
• Shingle grit. Roofs lose granules all winter — that stuff accumulates at gutter low points.

All of that sits there through a dry February. Then the first real March thunderstorm arrives with 1.5–2 inches of rain in two hours, hits a clogged gutter, and overflows into your foundation, siding, or basement window. Water damage that costs $3,000 to repair starts as a $150 gutter cleaning you skipped.

What a spring pre-storm cleanup includes

When we do a February/March gutter clean:

1. Full debris removal from every run — bagged, not dumped in your beds
2. Flush test with a hose at the highest point — water should reach the downspout and exit cleanly
3. Downspout clear-out if anything’s blocking it (we snake them out with a plumber’s auger)
4. Splash-block and extension check — if water’s exiting the downspout but pooling at the foundation, the extension isn’t doing its job
5. Fascia and soffit inspection while we’re up on the ladder — any visible rot or loose flashing gets photographed and flagged

When to also check the roof

If you see any of these from the ground, add a roof blow-off to the gutter visit:

• Moss or algae streaks (especially on north-facing slopes)
• Visible granule loss on shingles (look for bald patches)
• Leaves or branches stuck behind chimney or skylight flashings
• Anything obviously growing on the roof surface

Pricing

Gutter cleaning starts around $175 for a single-story standard home, $250 for two-story, more for steep pitches or homes surrounded by pines. Get a real number based on your property at hibaxum.com/request-quote.

If we find real damage — rotten fascia, detached flashing, collapsed section — we photograph and document it, then you can decide whether to repair it yourself or have us quote it separately. We don’t upsell surprise repairs on the spot.