Basically, the more stories you have, the more reason you have to call a gutter cleaning professional. If you live in two-story houses or a three-story house, the project could take 2 to 4 hours. If this is a single-story house, you may be able to do it yourself in less than 1 hour. It goes without saying that larger properties will have more gutters around the perimeter.
A typical townhouse in Barnsley will take between 2 and 3 hours from start to finish, for example. However, the larger a property is, the longer it will take. It can take one to two hours for a professional gutter contractor to clean the gutters in an average home. The contractor may need more time to clean the gutters if there is a lot of dirt in them, if they have gutter protectors in place, or if many of the gutters are on the second or third floor.
Since they have to access the roof to clean the gutters, cleaning companies must take every safety precaution. Keeping gutters clean and free of debris is essential to keeping a home protected and free of leaks. Clogged gutters may need to be cleaned by hand, increasing the amount of time required and requiring a premium to be paid. Some cleaning services may charge a small premium of 5 to 10% if the gutters are wider than average.
But what exactly does it mean to clean a gutter? And how long has it been? Read on for more information. Gutters with joints have more areas where debris could accumulate than a gutter installation without joints. Dirt and small particles can still reach gutters, even with gutter protectors installed, so they need to be cleaned from time to time. In places where most homeowners have old sealed gutters, you may receive a discount on your cleaning bill if you install newer seamless gutters.
Cleaning gutters two or three times a year is the best way to keep them free of dirt and debris that accumulates during the different seasons of the year. However, extra large gutters can be 6 or 7 inches wide, meaning they can accumulate more waste than a narrower gutter. Always clean gutters in the fall after leaves fall, as leaves are the most common cause of blockages. However, gutter cleaning companies have pressure washers that are made to operate at different heights and designed to wash dirt down the downspouts.
If you have a strangely shaped house or several areas that don't have gutters, you can insist that the cleaning company actually measure the length of the gutters to get the most accurate measurement and charges. If you choose not to include cleaning the downspouts as part of the initial estimate, but the company ends up needing to clean the downspouts, this charge may exceed the estimate.