How Much Does Professional Gutter Cleaning Cost?

Last update: 6 months ago

Leaves, twigs, and moss. What do these three things have in common? Believe it or not, they all are natural enemies of your roof gutters. All of these organic materials are known to be at the root of water drainage problems for many homeowners. But how can just some leaves and a few twigs cause such troubles?

Over time natural debris builds up in your roof gutter system and starts to rot, forming a thick and muddy goo that blocks the water flow in your drainage. This leads to leaking or overflowing of the gutters, thus putting your home under the risk of water damage. To prevent this, a thorough gutter cleaning should be performed at least twice a year.

But how much does it cost to clean your gutters professionally in the UK?

Fantastic Cleaners offer gutter cleaning solutions with a price point from 23 pounds to 111 pounds, depending on several factors. In this article, you will learn what exactly are those factors, how does the procedure work, and what are the benefits of this service.

What are the Pricing Factors?

Here are the main factors that determine the final gutter cleaning cost for your service:

• The type of your property. Another element that takes part in calculating the cost of the service is the type of your property. The gutter cleaning prices for a terraced, end-of-terraced, detached, and semi-detached homes vary, due to the difference of their size.
• The height of the building. This one is in regards to the height of your drainage system. For example, if you need the service for a property located on the second floor, your final price will be a bit higher than if it was on the ground floor. Note that if a telescopic pole is used, its maximum reach is up to the 3rd storey of a building.
• Additional requests. If you want the downpipes of your system to be cleaned, you’ll need to request it additionally when booking your service, which also raises the price. The same goes for gutters located on conservatories or garages.

How Much Does Gutter Cleaning Cost? The Pricelist:

Each gutter cleaning service comes with a minimum booking cost of £46. When we calculate the price, we also take into consideration the area’s dimensions and the time of the appointment. All prices and deals are valid for areas within M25 (Greater London), United Kingdom.

What Does the Service Include and What Should you Expect from it?

Here is what our professional gutter cleaning service includes:

• A general inspection of the area we are dealing with plus pictures of the state of the gutters before the service takes place.
• Complete removal of all existing debris.
• Clean up of the air blown debris around your property.
• Collection of the cleaned out debris in bags and it’s disposal.
• After-photos, so you can see the end results yourself.

What You Should Do Before the Service Takes Place

There are a few steps that you need to take before the professional cleaner comes to take care of your drainage system:

1. Make sure that there is easy access to electricity so the technician can turn on the gutter cleaning machine.
2. Secure a parking spot. This step is important because the equipment the professionals carry for the service is on the heavy side. The closer the parking area to your home, the better.
3. You need to provide access to the building’s front and back entrances so all the gutters located across your house can be properly cleaned.
4. If the service is performed using a vacuum cleaning machine with a telescopic pole, you must ensure there are no gutter guards. If guards are present, they should be removed before the service takes place.

The Risks of Neglecting your Gutters

Neglecting your roof gutter maintenance can have a negative impact on your home’s state and health. This is what can happen to your property in the case of irregular gutter care:

• Moss, leaves, twigs, greeny seeds and bird guano will build up and block the downspout walls. In some cases, the greenery seeds can actually start growing and turn into plants, which can damage the construction of your gutters and roof;
• You risk water damage from leaky or overflowing gutters. If water leaks out of the gutter system it can destroy the foundation of your home, basement, and crawlspace;
• If you have any overflowing gutters located above your windows, they can and will stain the glass;
• Blocked gutters make the perfect breeding place of insects, small lizards, frogs, bacteria and fungi.

How Long Does the Service Take

The duration of our gutter cleaning services really depends on the type of property we are looking at. Here is a rough idea of the average time each type of property takes:

• Terraced – 1 h
• End-of-terraced – 1 h and 30 min
• Semi-detached – 2 h
• Detached – The time for detached homes depends on its size. It can be anywhere from 1 to 4 hours.

The Risks of Doing Gutter Cleaning on Your Own

You risk an injury from falling

While gutter cleaning by itself is an easy job, it is a dangerous one, due to the location of the drainage system. In order to reach it, you’ll need to climb a high ladder, which puts you at risk of losing balance and falling.

You can damage the exterior of your home

If you decide to rent a professional gutter cleaning machine and don’t know how to work with it, you can easily break a window or two with the telescopic tube, inflict damage on the actual gutters or to break the device’s camera.

You can electrocute yourself

There are a lot of wires located around roof gutters and if you come in contact with them while trying to clean the drainage, you win a one-way ticket to the ER.

Handy Gutter Maintenance Tips

• Inspect the gutters. Make sure to regularly check the state of your gutters. Clean out by hand any existing debris if you can.
• Fasten gutters. Repair any loose gutters. Replace the spikes with gutter screws with the help of a cordless drill. Gutter screws provide much more security, stability, and support than plain spikes.
• Seal holes. Check the joints and seams of your property’s gutters. If you find any holes, seal them with silicone caulk.
• Fix downspouts. Clean any debris out of the downspouts and make sure that all joints fit together properly.
• Water runoff. Use splash blocks, a downspout extension or an irrigation pipe to divert the water coming out of the downspouts.

Getting Professional Help

As you can see gutter cleaning is quite the tedious (and dangerous) task. That’s why we advise you to invest in a professional cleaning company to handle the chore for you. Fantastic Cleaners offer budget-friendly gutter cleaning service with a one-month guarantee against blockage. Book us today so you can protect your house and wallet from any unnecessary damages!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How often should gutters be cleaned?

A: You should get your gutters professionally cleaned at least twice each year. Roof gutters are a vital part of your property’s drainage system and they should be kept in a proper shape.

Q: How do I know if my gutters need to be cleaned?

A: If you see that your gutters or downpipes are overflowing, leaking or sagging, that’s a sure sign that you need to fix your drainage system. If you neglect the problem you risk roof leaking, basement floodings, cracks in the foundation of your house, insect infestation and a damaged driveway.

Q: Is there anything that can be done to avoid the need for gutter cleaning?

A: One of the things that you can do to reduce the build-up of debris is to invest in a leaf filter. Be advised that this method only decreases the amount of debris and still won’t save you the cost of gutter cleaning.

Image source: Shutterstock / by FER737NG