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How Often Do You Need to Clean Your Gutters?

When was the last time you checked your gutters for debris, rusting, cracks, and other damages? If you can’t remember, either it’s been a really, really long time, or you just haven’t done any inspection since the day you moved into your house.

Which is not a good sign.

Gutter cleaning is certainly one of the most essential maintenance work (yet also the most neglected) in a house or property. It’s equally important as any other type of routine maintenance but most homeowners often ignore this task for some reason.

If you’re guilty of it, you might want to schedule an inspection, repair, or cleaning as soon as possible. Trust us, doing these things, especially gutter cleaning, will help you avoid bigger problems and will save you a ton of money in the future.

How often do you need to clean your gutters?

Normally, gutters should be cleaned at least twice a year. And we recommend doing it in spring and fall.

However, it’s still on a case-to-case basis. Sometimes you might have to clean your gutters more than twice a year. And that’s because there are other factors that you must also consider:

  • Frequency of storms or typhoons in your area
  • Number of large trees nearby

Having your gutters cleaned after a storm is only necessary.

After a night of torrential rains, do you immediately notice small leaks on your ceilings and overflowing in the gutters? That’s an obvious sign to clean your gutters.

And even if you don’t see these damages, you still need to check up on them to check for accumulated dirt and leaves brought by the heavy rains and strong winds.

Another factor that can affect the frequency of gutter cleaning is the abundance of tall trees in your neighbourhood.

If your house is surrounded by huge trees nearby that shed leaves like a German shepherd, you’ll need to clean your gutters more than twice a year. 

Eucalyptus and pine trees are only some of the species that shed leaves all year round. If you have these in your neighbourhood, fallen leaves will be your number one problem. 

The leaves can get stuck to your gutters and cause water pooling and, eventually, cracking and rusting. To prevent all of these, we recommend cleaning your gutters once every three months if you have tall trees nearby.

How much does gutter cleaning cost?

There’s no definitive answer when it comes to the cost of a gutter cleaning service. It always depends on several factors like the following:

Height of the house

Gutter maintenance in a multiple-storey house will always cost more than keeping the gutters clean in a single-storey home. The more floors a house has, the more risk and workload are involved. Not to mention, gutter cleaning professionals will also need more equipment than usual to complete the task.

Size of the property

Aside from the number of floors, the area of the house is considered. When you have a bigger house, you also have a bigger linear meterage of gutters installed on your roof line, which means cleaning gutters can be pretty challenging as well.

Condition of the gutters

Another factor that can drive up the price of gutter cleaning is the condition of the gutters. If there’s any kind of water damage, mould growth, and gutter blockages, don’t be surprised if the quote that is given to you is a little higher than you expected.

These gutter problems are not easy to fix and will require a certain amount of time and work to get rid of.

Optional gutter accessories

The majority of the gutter cleaning that we do involves unclogging the gutters to give way for the water flow. This is a common issue caused by the nearby trees in your area. Although it’s completely normal, there’s a way to prevent this from happening.

Installing gutter guards will certainly prevent leaves and other debris from getting stuck in your gutters. With gutter guards installed, you can lessen the gutter cleaning frequency needed for your home.

Know more about essential gutter accessories for your home.

What happens if you don’t clean your gutters?

Not maintaining your gutters will cause you a world of pain and headaches. If you don’t have clean gutters, below are only some of the worst things that can happen to your house.

1. Your home’s structural integrity can be compromised

Rainwater that seeped in through the little cracks in your gutters can damage your house over time. Water leaks can soften your roofing, shingles, soffit, and fascia boards until everything’s deteriorated and covered in mould.

But it doesn’t end there. These water issues can spread to your attic down to your basement walls and the foundation of your home.

Eventually, you’ll see significant structural damage in your walls which entails much more expensive repairs than the total cost of gutter maintenance regularly.

2. Pests will take over your house

When it comes to perfect breeding grounds for insects and pests, dirty gutters are the holy grail.

As you already know, the clogged-up organic materials (which pests feed off of) and rainwater that pooled inside the channel can be very inviting for insects.

If you don’t clean your gutters regularly, expect these pests to infest your house and call it their home:

  • Termites
  • Carpenter ants
  • Roaches
  • Mosquitoes
  • Critters and so much more

If that happens, you’ll need to hire pest extermination services which, again, are a lot more costly than regular gutter cleaning.

3. The gorgeous landscaping will be damaged

Aside from water pooling, clogged gutters due to the build-up of organic materials like leaves, tree flowers, animal manure, and grime can cause sagging and overflow.

The overflowing of rainwater can destroy the soil that’s underneath the gutters. What’s even worse is if you have flowering plants and bushes growing in that area. Overflowing can easily damage these plants and destroy your landscaping.

To avoid this, you have to do regular gutter cleaning and install gutter guards.

Gutter guards can solve a big chunk of your problem as they prevent the leaves and other organic materials from getting stuck in your gutters. If the gutter isn’t clogged up, the chance of water pooling and overflowing is minimal.

However, you still need to check your gutters and downspouts regularly. If you neglect gutter cleaning and let small damages slide…

4. You will have to replace the entire gutter system

Take our word when we say we’ve met so many clients who initially asked for a quote for gutter cleaning, but when we inspected the house, there was no amount of cleaning that can salvage the gutters.

So we ended up agreeing to replace the damaged gutters. It was all too late.

That’s why we recommend routine gutter maintenance and repair at the first sign of roof leaks. Frequent gutter cleaning is a lot easier on the pocket than replacing your gutters altogether.

Although you will need to change your gutters eventually, it’s still paramount that you take care of your gutters as much as you can.

This way, you won’t have to face any of the problems and headaches we just mentioned.

How do you know the best time for a gutter replacement?

Approximately, an entire gutter system may last up to 20 years if maintained properly.

But sometimes you don’t even have to wait for two decades to give your house some new upgrades. Especially if the damages in the gutters are way too obvious.

Here are some of the signs that you should watch out for:

  • Sagging
  • Visible cracks
  • Peeling paint
  • Rusts

If you see significant and costly damage in your gutters, it’s time to have them inspected and consider replacing them.

Contact Gutterlines for gutter cleaning and replacement in Sydney!

If you live in Sydney and you badly want clean gutters, we’re just the right people to talk to.  

We have more than 20 years of experience in gutter maintenance, repairing, and installing gutter systems throughout the city!

Our hands-on approach and consistent quality service also make us one of the most recommended guttering companies in all of Sydney.

Check out the areas that we cover.

Aside from frequent gutter cleaning, we also offer other services like:

  • Premium quality gutter and downpipe installations
  • Custom box gutters and installations
  • Gutters and downpipe replacement
  • Guttering restoration and repairs
  • Timber fascia repairs and replacement
  • Barge repairs
  • Fascia, barge, and gutter protection systems

If you need any of these services, you can get in touch with us here or you can call us at 02 8677 3373 to get a free and non-obligation quote!

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