HOW OFTEN SHOULD GUTTERS BE CLEANED? GUTTER CLEANING EXPLAINED
Your gutters are one crucial part of a total water drainage system for your property. If not maintained properly, they will lead to bigger hits to your wallet in future replacement and repair expenses. And not just for gutter replacement and repairs.
Having your gutters cleaned regularly by you or a gutter cleaner will help prevent you from having to pay for other property expenses like damage to your roof’s shingles, tiling, or metals or to the roof rafters or roof deck themselves. Being on a regular maintenance schedule is a cost you definitely want to invest in.
In this article, we’ll walk you through why you should get on a schedule for gutter maintenance and how much it’ll cost you.
Why Is Regularly Cleaning Gutters so Important?
Cleaning gutters is part of preventative maintenance you should be investing in when it comes to your property.
If not, you will be paying much larger future costs in damage to the rest of your property. If your gutters malfunction, you may be looking at replacement or repair costs to:
- Your roof’s shingles, tiles, or metals
- Roofing components like fascia, vents, roof decks, and rafters
- Property components like walls and ceilings
- The interior living and workspaces of your property
- Your personal health and safety
Under-maintained gutter cleaning can lead to water leaks which can lead to mould, rot, electrical, and structural damage to your property.
Frequent gutter cleaning will extend the lifespan of your gutter materials, keep your water drainage system efficient, and save the rest of your property from damage.
What Goes into Gutter Cleaning?
Clogged gutters are by far the most common problem faced on every type of property.
Over time, gutters will inevitably fill with dirt, leaves, general debris, and even insects which can make it impossible to drain gutters. Eventually, full gutters can rip from the roofing altogether, damaging both the gutters and the roofing materials.
For larger properties, complicated jobs, or if you don’t feel comfortable, do not hesitate to hire a professional gutter cleaner.
A professional gutter cleaner is:
- Qualified to properly assess the work that needs to be done
- Trained in proper safety protocols
- Properly trained in equipment use
- Insured for accidents
- Peace of mind that the job is well done
Gutter cleaning itself is one of the easier property maintenance jobs. Simply manually clearing the debris will help make sure you don’t face poor drainage and back-flowing.
A back-flow occurs when rainwater draining from the roof edge runs under the roof or behind the gutters, instead of into the gutter troughs.
How Often Should Gutters Be Cleaned?
Gutter cleaning frequency depends primarily on the density of the foliage nearby. The more trees in proximity to your property, the more often you’ll have to keep up with maintenance.
Generally, gutters should be cleaned two and four times per year–before expected heavy rain months and during and after the Autumn season. You especially want clean gutters leading into and away from the Autumn months.
If your property is a particularly tree-dense area, you’ll want to adjust your gutter cleaning schedule accordingly. This is where hiring a professional gutter cleaner really helps. They’ll be able to give you advice on scheduling as well as any preventative measures you can take to lower gutter cleaning frequency and cost.
How Much Does Gutter Cleaning Cost?
While gutter cleaning seems simple enough, the average homeowner is better off engaging with a professional for regular gutter cleaning to ensure the job is completed safely and properly.
Whichever route you choose–DIY or hiring a professional gutter cleaner–there are a number of factors that go into costing the job:
Scope of Project
Your gutter cleaner will consider the overall scope of the project when giving you an estimate. This includes how much labour is involved, the time it takes to complete the job, and any unforeseen complications along the way.
The entire project may not be as simple as clearing your gutter of debris. The scope might expand to include repairing or replacing other roof components like your fascia, soffits, or roof’s shingles, tiles, or metals.
If it’s determined that work needs to be done on other roofing components before or during your gutter cleaning, the overall cost estimate will increase.
Accessibility and Safety of Roof
How accessible your roof is will influence the overall cost estimate for the gutter cleaning. If it’s difficult for the contractors to get their equipment into the worksite or simply navigate your roof’s design, the added labour will increase the final bill. Complex roof designs can make it precarious for roofing contractors to easily get around, whereas simpler roofs are the opposite case. If the roof is in a relatively poor condition and thus more hazardous, this can increase your final bill.
Condition of Gutters
If gutters have been neglected for some time, or have never been cleaned, the overall costs may increase with more labour and time required to clear them out and provide a thorough clean.
Property Size
How big your home is will influence gutter cleaning costs. The square footage of the work will affect how much work is required; smaller houses will be easier to complete and will, therefore, cost less.
Gutter Accessories
Modern gutter systems can include additional accessories that aid in water drainage. Accessories may include gutter covers, leaf guards, brackets, splash blocks etc.
Installation, repair, or maintenance for these accessories may impact overall gutter cleaning costs. With all of this said, the average price to clean gutters can range from $200 to $600 depending on the scope of the project.
Hiring a Gutter Cleaning Professional
Clean gutters are an important part of maintaining the overall health and safety of you and your property.
Working with a trained, licensed, and fully insured professional to clean your gutters means relying on an expert to provide seamless roof performance for your home.
Not only will a professional ensure all safety measures are undertaken to protect themselves, but they will also have the experience to safely handle your roofing materials without causing any unnecessary damage.
If you want to get some gutter cleaning quotes, you can find service online:
Always seek professional advice from multiple roof contractors before settling on a plan of action. We are the best providers of roofing and gutter cleaning services throughout New South Wales so please don’t hesitate to call our trusted team of roof and gutter experts. We’re here to help.