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Home Trades
How often should you clean gutters and why it’s important
It's important to maintain and clean your gutters at regular intervals to prevent leaks and damage to your home. Here is a guide on how to safely remove debris and clear overflow.
Routinely clearing leaves and debris from your home's gutters is essential to prevent potential property damage. A major blockage could lead to expensive roof and internal repairs, and compromise the structural integrity of your home.
Autumn is the peak season for gutter maintenance because that's when deciduous trees shed their leaves. Combined with twigs and organic matter, this debris can block your gutters causing overflow and leaks during strong winds and heavy rainfall, particularly in winter. Depending on the foliage in your area, gutter cleaning may need to be done more frequently.
This guide looks at how often gutters should be cleaned, why it’s such an important job, how to clean them safely and why getting professional help is highly recommended.
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How often should gutters be cleaned?
Clean your gutters at least twice a year – and more often if you have lots of trees around your home or if a storm or other severe weather event leads to rapid leaf and debris buildup on your roof. Prolonged periods of rain can also damage your gutters and downpipes.
For many homes, the best time to clean your gutters is near the end of autumn and before summer. If you live in a bushfire-prone area, you should clear out flammable leaf litter as soon as the drier months begin. Timing depends on your circumstances.
The type of guttering on your home can make a difference. Fascia or eaves gutters, which are common in Australia, can clog quickly without guards or professional cleaning. Box gutters are becoming more popular for their visual appeal but they need more maintenance.
If you live in a rural area and rely on tank water, regularly clean your gutters to maximise the capture of rainwater and minimise leaves, debris and pollutants entering the pipes.
It's often hard to see what's happening on the roof and in the gutters, so regular checks are important. An expert tradie can thoroughly clean your gutters, inspect their condition, identify any signs of water damage to your home and assist with repairs.
More: How to clean up after a flood and storm damage
What’s the best way to clean gutters?
It’s important to recognise that working at height on a ladder can be dangerous. Additionally, gutter cleaning typically involves wet, slimy and slippery leaf litter, as well as stagnant water, bugs and perhaps even animal nests. This means the job might be best left to a gutter specialist. A professional tradie can also check your gutters for signs of damage or deterioration.
If you choose to clean the gutters yourself, take extreme caution and always use safety equipment such as gloves and non-slip shoes. You will also need a sturdy ladder, a bucket, trowel, hose and perhaps a brush or scraper. It is always safer to have someone else with you to hold and support the ladder.
Here is a guide to what's involved:
- Clear any debris from the gutters, placing it into the bucket as you go.
- Prioritise cleaning the areas around each downpipe, where debris tends to collect.
- Take your time and make regular trips to empty the bucket before it gets too heavy.
- Put each bucketful into a compost bin rather than on the ground, where it might attract insects or vermin.
- Hose water should clean the surface, but tough debris may need a brush or scraper.
- Finally, take the nozzle off and place the hose as far down each downpipe as you can. Turn on the water and ensure it flows freely through the downpipe. If there’s any sign of a blockage, call a plumber or gutter specialist.
Some properties, especially in rural areas, use a 'rain head' (or leaf eater) on each downpipe as a first line of defence for clean tank water. These filters have an angled wire grille to capture larger items and a fine mesh screen to filter smaller debris.
The rain head needs regular cleaning – sometimes every few weeks – to work effectively. A qualified tradesperson could install one, along with a more comprehensive filtering system if you’re relying exclusively on tank water.
5 reasons why gutter cleaning is important
As well as thoroughly cleaning your gutters, expert tradies can check on waterflow, identify signs of water damage to your home and assist with repairs.
RACV Trades is a trading name of RACV's trade partner, Club Home Response Pty Ltd (Victorian registered domestic building practitioner number CDB-U 100178). All works are performed or arranged by Club Home Response Pty Ltd. trading as RACV Trades. Read the RACV Trades Terms and Conditions.
