Gutter guard removal in Riverdale: a client who never had his gutters cleaned
Quick answer: In November 2026 a client in Riverdale, Toronto, booked DT Cleaning for a gutter cleaning on his detached two-storey house. He had never had the eavestroughs cleaned, because he thought leaf guards meant he would never need to. On the roof the crew found old guards overgrown with moss and plants, and fully blocked.
Why old aluminum mesh gutter guards bend and clog
Quick answer: From what the crew sees every day, this old type of guard is thin aluminum mesh, and raccoons and squirrels walking on it press it down. Dips form, leaves settle in them and stay, and small debris falls through the large holes under the mesh. On this Riverdale house in November 2026, plants were growing through it.
"The mesh itself is aluminum, quite thin really. When, say, a few raccoons walk across it, it starts to bend, and dips and bumps form."
Vitalii, DT Cleaning crew, Riverdale (translated from his voice note)
Old guards under a newer roof: why they could not go back on
Quick answer: The crew recommended taking every guard off and not putting them back. Guards of this age, 15 to 20 years, usually sit under the old shingles: the roof was replaced over them, so a second layer of shingles holds them down, and they bend out of shape as they come off. Each 4-foot piece is held by 3 to 4 screws.
"They sit, most likely, under the old shingles, because these are fairly old leaf guards that have been there 15 to 20 years. People replaced the roof, and nobody touched the guards."
Vitalii, DT Cleaning crew
Bent and broken, they no longer did anything. Another old set we replaced: how long gutter guards last.
Lost slope and nails instead of brackets
Quick answer: On this house the eavestrough hung on plain nails instead of brackets. A nail backs out a little, then a 2nd and a 3rd, and the trough drops. A house can also settle slightly, and the slope set at install is lost. Water stands short of the downspout, mould and moss grow, and in winter it all freezes.
Re-setting the eavestrough level with new brackets in Riverdale
Quick answer: With the guards off, the crew cleaned the troughs by hand, flushed them with a hose and watched where water stood. They took the trough off its old fastenings, raised it and fixed it with new brackets that clip to its front and back walls and screw into the board, sloping it down to the downspout. That was this Riverdale house in November 2026.
Then water goes through the system again. Where the board behind the trough has rotted, a screw will not hold, and the board has to be replaced first. See our eavestrough repair page.
How much did gutter guard removal cost in Riverdale, Toronto?
Quick answer: The job came to $200 in November 2026: removing the old guards, cleaning the eavestroughs, the water test and re-setting the level with new brackets on a detached two-storey Riverdale house. DT's gutter cleaning for a two-storey home runs $200 to $350, depending on the home; this job sits at the start of that range.
| Job record | Detail |
|---|---|
| Place | Riverdale, Toronto, November 2026 |
| House | Detached, two storeys |
| Found | Old mesh guards under the shingles, moss, nails instead of brackets |
| Done | Guards removed, troughs cleaned and flushed, level re-set with new brackets |
| Total | $200 |
See our gutter cleaning in Toronto page.
How the crew works on a Toronto roof: ladder, bucket, gloves
Quick answer: A 28-foot ladder reaches 95% of the houses the crew meets, Riverdale included. Stand-offs rest it on the roof so it does not dent or scratch the trough. The debris bucket hangs on a hook next to a bracket, never mid-span, where its weight could bend the aluminum. Removed screws and aluminum are kept apart from the leaves and moss, so the waste can be sorted.
The crew wears medical gloves under rubber-coated work gloves: raccoons and squirrels leave droppings on roofs, and old troughs have sharp edges that cut.
After gutter guard removal: micro-mesh, or regular cleaning
Quick answer: DT Cleaning offered the client micro-mesh guards, as on our micro-mesh job in Mississauga. They practically do not clog, but like any system they still need periodic maintenance. The lesson of this 15-to-20-year-old set: a guard does not replace looking at the eavestroughs regularly.
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." See our gutter guard installation page and our gutter guard installation cost guide.
Gutter guard removal and cleaning across Toronto
Quick answer: DT Cleaning removes old gutter guards and cleans and repairs eavestroughs in Riverdale, across 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.
Gutter guard removal: common questions
What did this gutter guard removal cost?
$200, Riverdale, November 2026, level re-set included.
Do gutters with guards still need cleaning?
Yes. These were never cleaned and filled with moss.
Why do old mesh gutter guards bend?
Thin aluminum; raccoons and squirrels press it down.
Can old gutter guards be put back after cleaning?
Not these. They bent and broke coming off.
Why were the guards under the shingles?
The roof was replaced over them years later.
How old were these gutter guards?
15 to 20 years, by the crew's estimate.
How are old guards fastened?
3 to 4 screws per 4-foot piece.
Why does water stand in an eavestrough?
Lost slope: nails back out, or the house settles.
What replaced the nails?
New brackets clipped to the trough and screwed in.
What if the board behind the trough is rotten?
It is replaced first; screws will not hold.
What goes on after the old guards come off?
Micro-mesh, or regular cleaning. We offered micro-mesh.
Do you remove gutter guards in Toronto?
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.
Related gutter guard case studies
Old gutter guards full of moss?
Our crew took off a 15-to-20-year-old set and re-set the level with new brackets. Call for a quote.