I was on my way to Box Hill to visit a customer when I saw a man up on a ladder with a rake trying to clean out his own gutters. The ladder was wobbling, he was overreaching with the rake and the leaves were just being thrown on the ground. I don’t know how the story ended, but I hope he finished his chores without any injury!
Sadly it’s a sight I see often – many people try to DIY their gutter cleaning, and while I may be biased I think this is definitely one job that is best left to a professional. Here’s why:
- DIY is unsafe – ladders on wonky driveways are just the start. Constantly reaching left and right can cause the ladder to become unstable, and if a strong gust of wind comes along you could easily wobble and maybe even fall off. If you happen to feel a bit of a shake the instinct is usually to grab onto something steady… which is often the guttering itself. One strong pull can tear your guttering away, which will be much more expensive than a professional gutter clean!
- DIY takes longer – you have to go up the ladder, clean where you can reach, go back down the ladder, move the ladder, go back up, clean, come back down, move the ladder, go back up… what a waste of your time. Gutter cleaning professionals have the equipment and the training that means they can get on the roof and clean your gutters safely while you stay inside and catch the footy.
- DIY is not as thorough – leaves are not the only issue in your gutters. Dirt and other debris will collect in the guttering and pipes and needs to be cleaned out as well. This can be difficult if you don’t have the right tools. And if you have a blockage in your pipes, you might not be able to reach the area anyway. Calling in the professionals will mean they have a truck full of tools that can get to any part of the guttering and pipes that they need to.
- DIY won’t necessarily fix the problem – a leaking roof can be the result of blocked gutters, but it could also be from many other things. If you are on a ladder looking at the level of your guttering you can’t always see the broken tile that is the real cause, or realise that the overhanging branch could be dislodging tiles when the wind is high. Our fully trained gutter cleaning professionals can point out these extra factors to you and even perform some repairs to your tiles, mortar or ridge cappings.
When you look at all these factors, it’s obvious that a professional gutter cleaning is the best option for quality, safety and time! I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how cost effective it will be – let us give you a free quote and see just how affordable it is to call in the professionals.