You’ve been putting it off, haven’t you. The gutters. A candidate for least-glamorous job on a house, but unfortunately you just have to do it.
Why? Because if you don’t, your house will literally rot to pieces.
Ok, that’s a bit strong. But it’s also true. If you don’t get the gutters cleaned, the water won’t drain properly, and it can rot your fascias.
I know because it happened to me. That is my fascia when we moved in. And then I got my gutters cleaned, and god it felt good. Here’s what I learnt.
How do you clean gutters?
There are three main methods.
- The slow, manual way.
- The fun, mechanical way.
- The speculative, hopeful way.
The point of gutter cleaning is to sweep out all the debris from your gutters. This debris will be leaves, bird poo, moss, all sorts of crap. Plus anything that’s grown in it. So it’s a simple job. Just a high one.
Method 1: Go up a ladder and remove it.
If you’re:
- good with heights
- own a long ladder
- don’t mind tediously moving it round your property
then you can just climb up and scoop the debris out.
A ‘long ladder’ by the way is 6m+. You can get one for about £150-£250. But of course you’ll need to store it, and also ladders are pretty dangerous (you might want a helper to hold the bottom). Also it’s not so easy if your house is over 2 storeys.
Method 2: Get a pro to hoover it out.
This is the fun one. A professional will rock up with a vacuum cleaner, attach metres of pipe to the end of it, and hoover the debris out.
It’s brilliant. You have never seen a vacuum cleaner like it, trust me.
They’ll also attach a camera to the end. This helps them aim, but it also lets you see just how absolutely disgusting your gutters were, you pig.
Also it only took about 30 mins for our house, whereas I can see the ladder method taking at least an hour.
Method 3: take your chances with magic Amazon devices
There are millions of other products that claim to provide gutter-cleaning from the ground. All sorts of scrapers and grabbers and hoses and so on. For instance:
- Selections Gutter Cleaner Debris Leaf Clearer
- McCauley Gutter Cleaner Pro
- Unibos Telescopic Gutter Cleaner
Most of these do not get great reviews. Then again, they’re cheap.
How much does gutter-cleaning cost?
We paid £180 in June 2024. That’s for a 3-storey house in London.
You can definitely get a cheaper price, but £100-£200 is the going rate for a one-off. It’s a simple job. The cost comes from labour and travel time for the cleaner, and – if you read the cleaning forums – the very minimum they can charge is ~£70 a job.
One cheaper way is to ask your window-cleaner. They will often clear gutters too, and price much lower (more like £20-£60) as they’ve already travelled to the property.
Best gutter cleaning services in the UK
We used Ben’s Gutters, and they were excellent.
Quick, punctual. Showed us before and after pictures. Also noted a broken tile, which I wouldn’t have spotted from the ground.
Ben’s are a big company, and cover most of the UK. I can recommend them. If you want an alternative, you could also try Fantastic Cleaners, who seem to get good reviews.
There will be plenty of other smaller firms operating in your area if you give it a Google, or do it the old-fashioned way and ask a neighbour.
What happens if you don’t get gutters cleaned?
Water won’t drain during downpours. It will spill out of the sides of the gutters, and can run into the house.
This is how the roof is constructed:
So your issue is that soffits and fascias can become sodden and rot. Replacing them is quite costly – about £100 per metre for fascia, and £100 per metre for soffits. So you’re better off preventing the damage in the first place.
How often should you clean gutters?
Most gutter cleaning services say twice a year. But then they would, wouldn’t they.
The real answer is: enough that the gutters can flow properly.
That might be twice a year, it might be far less regularly. Depends how many trees are nearby, and how much moss is on your roof.
One tell-tale sign is that your gutters are overflowing during heavy downpours. So go outside and have a look when it’s raining. It should be flowing nicely down the downpipes.
Alternatively, invest in a ladder, drone, or camera on a long stick, and have a look!
