Gutter and leaf cleanup in Detroit
Before the last pickup.
Gutters packed with leaves, downspouts that overflow, a yard covered in leaves. Tell us the house and what needs clearing.
A referral service for Detroit homeowners. An automated assistant answers; calls are recorded.
Typical cost: $69 per worker per hour, plus $1 a bag or $22 a square yard hauled, at one Metro Detroit lawn company; another starts yard cleanups at $250 before dump fees (the first · the second)
- Cost to call
- Nothing
- Answered by
- Automated assistant
- Hours
- Any hour
What a fall cleanout covers
Ask for each of these by name. Two quotes for “cleanup” can mean very different jobs.
- Gutters scooped out by hand along every run, front and back, not only the side you can see from the street.
- Downspouts flushed top to bottom, including each elbow. The city's own guide says to check that every elbow funnels into the one below it (the city's drainage guide (PDF)).
- Pitch checked. The same guide says gutters should be pitched toward the downspouts. A clean gutter that still holds water is a repair question, not a cleaning one.
- Leaves off the roof edge and out of the yard, if the crew does yards. Ask; not every gutter contractor does.
- Bagged for the city or hauled away. These are two different jobs and should be two lines on the quote.
Found a sag, a leaking seam or a section pulling off the fascia while the gutters were open? That is a repair, priced separately. Repair and replacement ranges
Cost
What Metro Detroit lawn companies and one marketplace publish. None of it is a quote, and none of it is ours.
| Leaf removal, labora Metro Detroit lawn company, February 2026 | $69 per worker per hour |
|---|---|
| Leaves bagged for city pickupthe same company, February 2026 | +$1 per bag |
| Leaves hauled to the dumpthe same company, February 2026 | +$22 per square yard |
| Yard cleanup, starting priceanother Metro Detroit lawn company, January 2026 | $250 plus dump fees |
| Leaf raking, a quarter acre yard with moderate leavesa Detroit booking service, January 2025 | $165 – $275 |
| Leaf removal, Detroit average for up to an acrea marketplace's Detroit average | $117.97 |
Ask for bagging and hauling as separate lines, in writing.
The hourly rate is from a company that takes leaf work only from its mowing customers, through November 1 (its page). Ask for gutter cleaning as its own line. Gutter repair and replacement ranges are on the cost page.
When to book
The city's drainage guide says to clean gutters at least twice per year, more often if there are overhanging trees (the guide (PDF)). In fall, a cleaning clears the runs before snow and ice sit in them.
Book it for after most of the leaves are down on your street, and early enough that the bags go out before the city's last yard waste pickup of the year, on December 19, 2026 (the city's yard waste flyer (PDF)). After that date the city truck is done for the year, so leaves cleaned out later have to be hauled.
Detroit's truck will not take leaves in plastic bags.
Yard waste goes out weekly on trash day through December 19, 2026, in paper yard bags or a can marked Yard Waste Only; plastic bags are not collected. the city's yard waste flyer
Ask the crew whether they bag for the city truck or haul the leaves away, and get that in writing.
The city's rules for the bags
From the city's 2026 yard waste flyer, in its order. Breaking them can get you a ticket.
- Paper yard bags, or your own reusable can of up to 32 gallons marked Yard Waste Only, no heavier than 60 pounds. No plastic bags.
- Out at the curb no earlier than 6 p.m. the night before and no later than 7 a.m. on trash day. Yard waste goes on its own truck, never in the trash cart.
- Twigs and branches under 4 feet long and 2 inches thick can go in the bags. Thicker brush is tied in bundles at the curb.
- More than the city's limit? The city's public works department offers paid curbside pickup for yard waste; call 313-876-0004 to ask for a price.
- Residents with ID can also take yard waste to one of the city's three drop off yards, up to 1,000 pounds per person per day.
Not sure which day is yours? The flyer says to call your trash hauler or check the city's public works page, and you can text your street address to 313-800-7905 for weekly reminders (the flyer (PDF)).
Tell us the house and whether the leaves get bagged or hauled.
Why clogged gutters matter on a Detroit house
The city's flooding handbook puts failed gutters and downspouts among the most common causes of water pooling against a house and seeping along the foundation wall (the handbook (PDF)). A fall of leaves is how a working gutter becomes a failed one.
It is also on your water bill. Every Detroit home gets an automatic 25% drainage credit that assumes the downspouts already run onto the lawn (the drainage charge); a downspout choked at the elbow is not running anywhere. Ice dams, downspouts and the drainage charge
Questions
Checked October 10, 2026
Will the city pick up my leaves?
- Yes, weekly on your trash day through December 19, 2026, in paper yard bags or a can marked Yard Waste Only. Plastic bags are not collected (the city's yard waste flyer).
Can a crew just put the leaves in the trash?
- No: the city says yard waste never goes in the trash cart, and Michigan law keeps more than a small amount of yard waste out of landfills (the flyer · the state law). Ask where hauled leaves are taken.
Do I need gutter guards instead?
- A guard keeps out some of the leaves; it does not replace checking the pitch and the elbows. Two Metro Detroit contractors price guards five times apart, so read what guards do and do not fix first.
Does a leaf crew need a license?
- Michigan names gutters as a licensed trade, and gutter work of $600 or more in labor and materials must be done by a licensed contractor (what the state tells homeowners). The state's list of trades has no line for raking or hauling leaves (the trades list).
Will I be charged for the visit?
- Calling us costs nothing. Some contractors charge to come out and get on a ladder. Ask before they come, and get the price in writing.