Gutter cleaning in Houston usually starts with a complaint about looks: white gutters gone gray with black stripes, or a brick wall with dark trails running down from the roofline. Both have the same source. Water that should travel through the gutter is spilling over its front edge instead, and it carries grime with it.
Houston Power Washing Pro is a free phone line, not a gutter company or a pressure washing company. Call (832) 662-4107, describe the stripes, the overflow marks and the size of the house, and the call is handed to an independent local company that does exterior cleaning. That company looks at the gutters, tells you what it can do about them and sets its own price.
Three things people mean by "dirty gutters"
Tiger stripes on the gutter face
Thin dark lines running top to bottom on the outside of the gutter, spaced like the bars of a barcode. They show worst on white and light gutters and on the sides of the house that catch the most rain.
Overflow streaks on the wall below
Wide, darker bands on brick, siding or stucco directly under a corner or a low spot in the gutter, where rain has poured over the edge for several seasons.
A trough full of debris
Leaves, pine needles and roof grit packed inside the gutter. You see it as plants sprouting from the gutter, water spilling over during a storm, or a downspout that barely trickles.
What causes black tiger stripes on gutters
The dark vertical lines are generally explained as grime that bonds to the gutter's painted finish as water spills over the edge. Dirt from the roof, airborne pollution and residue washed off asphalt shingles all ride along in that water. Each time it runs over the lip and down the face, a little more sticks, and the lines darken year by year.
That bond is the reason a garden hose, or even a pressure washer, leaves most of the stripe in place. Gutter installers and equipment suppliers recommend a cleaner made specifically for painted gutters, followed by hand work with a soft brush. Treat the explanation as the industry's working description rather than settled science: no gutter manufacturer or university study backing it up turned up in the research for this page.
Why Houston gutters stripe and clog so fast
Rain is the engine. The National Weather Service normals for Bush Intercontinental come to roughly 52 inches a year, and much of it arrives in heavy bursts that test every gutter on the street. A trough that is even partly blocked turns a downpour into a curtain of water over the front edge.
Trees supply the blockage. North of the city, The Woodlands Township's forestry plan describes a canopy of loblolly and slash pine over red and water oaks, and neighborhoods around Spring sit under tall pines too. Needles mat together in a gutter and hold water. Across the whole metro, live oaks shed pollen from February into April, with the heaviest oak counts usually in March, and that yellow dust ends up in the gutter with everything else.
What this service covers, and what it does not
"Gutter cleaning" is used for two very different jobs, so it pays to know which one you are asking for before you call.
- Usually covered: brightening the gutter face Removing tiger stripes and general grime from the outside of the gutters so they match the color of the trim again.
- Usually covered: fascia and soffit Cleaning mildew and dirt off the painted boards behind and under the gutter, normally with a gentle soft wash.
- Usually covered: the wall below Washing out overflow streaks on brick, siding or stucco, as part of a house wash or on its own.
- Ask first: clearing the inside Some exterior cleaning companies also scoop out debris and flush downspouts, and some do not. Ask the company you are put through to.
- Not arranged by this line: repairs Re-hanging sagging runs, sealing leaking seams, fixing slope and replacing broken downspouts belong to a gutter contractor.
- Not arranged by this line: installation New gutters, seamless upgrades and gutter guards are outside what Houston Power Washing Pro connects callers with.
How this line works: Houston Power Washing Pro is a free phone line, not a pressure washing company. It connects you with an independent local pressure washing company, which inspects, quotes, does the work and is paid by you directly. Houston Power Washing Pro never charges callers. It may be paid a referral fee by the companies it connects callers with. How it works.
How a careful company brightens gutters
You are not expected to know the products. These are the steps that separate tidy gutter work from a quick spray, so you can recognize them when they happen.
- Looks before it quotes. Checks the gutter color, how deep the stripes are, whether the paint is chalky or peeling, and whether any section is loose enough to need a repair first.
- Protects what is below. Wets down beds and shrubs before any cleaner goes on and keeps rinse water away from the street drain.
- Uses a product meant for gutter faces. Applies a cleaner suited to painted aluminum, then works the stripes with a soft brush instead of trying to blast them.
- Rinses gently, top to bottom. Keeps the spray low and aimed down so water is not driven up under shingles or behind the gutter.
- Moves to the walls last. Soft washes the fascia and any streaked siding or brick after the roofline is finished, so drips do not land on clean surfaces.
- Walks the house with you. Points out any stripe that only faded, any paint that came away and any spot where the gutter itself is damaged.
Do not fight the stripes with pressure
A gutter is thin, painted metal hung from the roof edge. Strong spray can dent it, lift the paint and push water behind the gutter into the fascia board. It also tends to leave a cleaner band in the middle of each stripe with the edges still dark, which looks worse than before.
The wall under the gutter needs the same restraint. The Vinyl Siding Institute warns against aiming spray upward at vinyl, because that drives water behind the panels, and the maker of Hardie fiber cement boards says plainly that its siding should never meet a high-pressure washer. Overflow streaks on those surfaces come off with a low-pressure soft wash.
Drought rules can pause gutter washing
In a dry summer, check your water supplier's drought stage before you book. Tomball's Stage 2 restrictions ban flushing gutters along with washing buildings and driveways. Missouri City's 2025 drought plan prohibits using water for pavement or gutter washing in Stages 3 and 4. In Cypress and other unincorporated areas, the rules come from your MUD's own drought plan. A good company keeps track of this, but it is your water bill and your address, so it is worth a look.
Tell the line these four things when you call
- Which sides are striped. Front only, or the whole house. The back and sides often get skipped in a quote unless you mention them.
- One story or two. Height changes how the company reaches the gutters and how long the job takes.
- Whether the wall below is streaked. Say what it is made of: brick, vinyl, fiber cement or stucco.
- Whether the gutters overflow in rain. That tells the company to look at the inside and the downspouts too, and to flag anything that looks like a repair.
Gutter cleaning around the Houston area
Gutters under heavy tree cover fill fastest. Homeowners in The Woodlands and Spring live under tall pines, while Tomball and Missouri City have drought stages that limit gutter washing in dry spells. Every area page covers its own local conditions.
If the stripes on your gutters came with black streaks on the shingles above them, read about soft wash roof cleaning as well. Algae on the roof and grime on the gutter face are separate problems, but they are usually priced and scheduled together.