Copper gutter cleaning in Hoggs Hollow: gutters that got worse after every cleaning
Quick answer: In November 2026 a client in Hoggs Hollow, North York, booked DT Cleaning to clean the copper eavestroughs on her detached two-storey house and the gutters on her garage. Her complaint: every company she had hired for gutter cleaning before had left the copper system in worse shape. They had worked from big ladders, 32 feet, and in places 40.
How a 32-foot ladder bends a copper gutter in North York
Quick answer: A big ladder weighs about 25 kg, and the person climbing it about 80 kg on average. Leaned on the eavestrough, that puts a pressing force of about 90 to 100 kg on one small section, 20 to 30 cm long. Copper or aluminum makes no difference: the trough scratches and bends.
Many cleaners also slide the ladder along the metal to the next spot; on black gutters those scratches show the most. A ladder may rest on a gutter only on a small house, with a small ladder, very carefully. See the CCOHS page on ladders.
Why a bucket hung between brackets bends a gutter too
Quick answer: On a flat, nearly level roof, the best way is to clean from the roof, but even then the debris bucket can hurt the trough. Filled with wet shingle granules, which act like little stones, a bucket can reach 25 kg. Hung on a hook mid-span, between two brackets 1 or 2 feet apart, it makes the eavestrough sag.
On this house DT's bucket held 4 to 5 kg and hung on a bracket itself, in the slot made for the hook, so the trough does not bend.
What could not be fixed on the bent copper eavestroughs
Quick answer: On this Hoggs Hollow house in November 2026, the copper system, a fairly expensive one, was bent and scratched. It hangs on outer brackets only, with no inner ones, and all of them were bent. Cleaning could not undo that: the copper is deformed and will not go back to the line it had when it was installed.
"But unfortunately the situation cannot be fully fixed, because it is already deformed metal, and you cannot simply straighten the system to how it was originally."
Vitalii, DT Cleaning crew
When DT works from a 32 or 40-foot ladder, stand-offs rest it on the roof, so it never touches the eavestrough. For bent troughs, see our eavestrough repair page.
Cleaning a garage gutter on a steep slope without a ladder
Quick answer: In November 2026 the slope under this Hoggs Hollow garage was too steep for a ladder. DT's ladders have levelling legs for uneven ground, but they could not be set that far, and nobody had ever cleaned these gutters. The roof is clay tile, which cannot be walked on: the tiles crack and break easily, and a boot slides down them.
So the crew used a light 30-foot carbon pole, which reaches 30 feet to the left and 30 feet to the right from one spot, cleared the trough to its far end and flushed it with water.
Clogged copper downspouts in Hoggs Hollow: snake first
Quick answer: In November 2026 every copper downspout on this Hoggs Hollow house was clogged. Soldered copper downspouts are hard to take apart, so the crew starts with a snake. When a snake does not clear one, the copper pipe sometimes has to be unsoldered to take the downspout off, which is slow work: the debris inside makes the joint hard to heat.
Clearing downspouts is part of the cleaning price; for more, see our downspout repair page.
Missing clay tiles found during the gutter cleaning
Quick answer: While cleaning, the crew found pieces of clay tile missing from the roof, and where tile is missing, the house leaks: 100%, in the crew's words. The client could not see it, because the roof is high. DT told her she needs a roofer to fix it, since water is getting inside the house.
On every gutter cleaning DT checks the eavestroughs and the roof, and photographs what it finds for the client. The Government of Canada's eavestroughs and downspouts page says: "Check your eavestroughs and downspouts at least twice per year, during fall and spring, to remove debris such as leaves and sticks". CMHC's rainwater guide adds: "Failure to maintain (clean out) gutters and downspouts may cause overflows and water loss."
How much did copper gutter cleaning cost in Hoggs Hollow?
Quick answer: The job came to $420 in November 2026: $340 to clean the copper eavestroughs and downspouts of a detached two-storey Hoggs Hollow house, and $80 for the garage gutters. DT's gutter cleaning for a two-storey home runs $200 to $350, depending on the home; this house sits near the top of that range.
| Job record | Detail |
|---|---|
| Place | Hoggs Hollow, North York, November 2026 |
| House | Detached, two storeys, copper, clay tile |
| Found | Bent copper, clogged downspouts, missing tiles |
| House eavestroughs and downspouts | $340 |
| Garage gutters | $80 |
| Total | $420 |
See our gutter cleaning in Toronto page and our eavestrough cleaning cost guide.
Copper gutter cleaning across North York and Toronto
Quick answer: DT Cleaning cleans copper and aluminum eavestroughs in Hoggs Hollow, York Mills and across North York, Toronto and the GTA with 2 crews from 7 Inverleigh Dr, Etobicoke, and carries $2M CGL insurance and WSIB. Our crews are Working at Heights certified; Ontario's working at heights page requires that training for construction workers who use fall protection.
Copper gutter cleaning: common questions
What did this copper gutter cleaning cost?
$420: $340 house, $80 garage.
Do ladders damage copper gutters?
Yes: 90 to 100 kg on 20 to 30 cm.
Can bent copper gutters be straightened?
Not fully; deformed copper stays deformed.
How do you keep a ladder off the gutter?
Stand-offs rest it on the roof.
Why can a bucket bend a gutter?
Wet shingle grit: up to 25 kg mid-span.
Where does your crew hang the bucket?
On a bracket, in its hook slot.
Can you walk on a clay tile roof?
No. The tiles crack, and boots slide.
How do you clean gutters where no ladder fits?
With a 30-foot carbon pole.
How are clogged copper downspouts cleared?
A snake; sometimes unsoldering.
Is clearing the downspouts extra?
No, it is part of the cleaning.
Do you check the roof during a gutter cleaning?
Yes. Here we found missing tiles.
Do you clean copper gutters in North York?
Yes. Call (647) 558-8411.
How this case study was made: from a voice note recorded by the DT Cleaning crew about this job and the photographs from that job; drafted with AI from the voice note; the facts checked against the recording before publishing.
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Copper eavestroughs getting worse after each cleaning?
We keep ladders off the trough. Call for a quote.