Anderson Cleaning Services

Gutter Cleaning

The importance of maintaining your gutter system

Gutters are something that most people take for granted. Let's face it, when it rains, do you stop and wonder where the water from your roof goes?

Of course not.....not until you see it flooding over the top like a waterfall or until it soaks you through as you walk out of your front door.

Over time, gutters can fill up with silt, leaves, grass, bird droppings and any number of other things. If you live in an area where there are trees nearby you will find this happens more often.

Ideally your gutter system should be emptied at least twice a year to keep it in good condition.

Often, people have the misconception that once they have uPVC gutters and fascias fitted, that is the end of any maintenance......forever. Unfortunately this is not the case. Algae and dirt can build up on the fascia boards and on the outside of the gutters. If left for a long period of time this can actually stain the uPVC causing unsightly marks that cannot be removed.

Overflowing gutters can also cause damp to affect the brickwork on your house,if left unchecked this could even lead to damp on the inside walls of your house, mould, wallpaper peeling off and a damp odour. Our suggestion is to avoid this by having your gutters emptied at the very minimum once a year. Obviously, environmental conditions will affect the number of times you need this done. If there are trees in the vicinity it is highly likely that you will have blocked and overflowing gutters on a more regular basis. This year in particular we have found that sycamore seeds (helicopters) have been causing lots of blockages.

Some customers ask about using leaf-guards or "hedgehogs". Our experience shows that in general these can sometimes make the problem worse. Leaves build up on them causing the rainwater to overshoot and miss the guttering altogether or they catch leaves that would have otherwise blown away. If you would like us to assess the effectiveness of these for your own guttering, please ask us when we are on site.