How often should guttering be vacuumed out?

Most houses do well with one clear out a year. If you have mature trees close to the roofline, two visits tend to suit better, with the main one booked once the leaves have finished dropping in late autumn.

Do you need to put ladders against my house?

No. The vacuum runs from poles at ground level, so nothing rests against your guttering, fascia boards or conservatory roof. Ladders are only used where an unusual layout genuinely calls for it.

Can I see what the gutters looked like before you started?

Yes. A pole mounted camera records the run before and after clearing, so you can see the debris that came out and the state of the brackets and joints underneath it.

What happens if the camera shows a problem with the guttering?

We show you the footage and point out what we have found, such as a sagging bracket, a split joint or a loose downpipe. You then have the information to decide what you want doing about it.

Do you clear gutters in wet weather?

Usually yes. Vacuum clearing is not stopped by rain, and wet conditions often make it easier to spot where a gutter is overflowing or running the wrong way.

Do I really need my gutters cleaned if they look fine from the ground?

Often, yes. Silt and moss build up in the bottom of the run long before anything shows from below. The camera lets you see the inside before you decide whether a full clear is worth doing.

Can blocked gutters cause damp inside the house?

They can. Overflow soaks the same section of wall every time it rains, and over months that moisture can reach the inside face of the wall as a damp patch.

Do blocked gutters cause mould?

Indirectly. Persistent damp from an overflowing gutter creates the conditions mould likes, particularly in corners of upstairs rooms and around window reveals. Clearing the gutter stops the water getting there.

Orange-gloved hand removing leaves from a gutter beside roof tiles

Gutter cleaning across the North East

High reach vacuum clearing from ground level, with camera footage of your guttering before and after.

What gutter vac clearing involves

Gutter vac clearing pulls the contents of your guttering out through a vacuum hose carried up on lightweight poles. The head is placed into the gutter run from the ground, and leaf litter, moss, roof grit and the sludge that forms underneath it are drawn down into the machine rather than being scraped over the edge onto your walls, windows and borders.

Working this way keeps weight off the guttering itself. Nothing leans on the brackets, the fascia board is not used as a ladder rest, and the run is emptied along its full length instead of only at the points a ladder happens to reach. It is the same method we use for gutter vacuuming in Newcastle on tall terraces and for gutter vacuuming in Darlington on high eaves further south.

The clearing also protects the roof and walls behind it, and takes away the damp nesting material that attracts pests and mould growth around the roofline. Shops, offices, warehouses and flats can book commercial gutter cleaning with the same ground-level method.

Do you need gutter cleaning?

Most people only think about their gutters when water pours over the edge in a downpour. By then the run has usually been filling for a year or more. If you can see plants growing along the roofline, staining down the brickwork or a downpipe that stays quiet in heavy rain, the guttering is almost certainly holding debris. Even with none of those signs, a house near trees benefits from a clear at least once a year.

Roof gutter cleaning is also worth booking after any roof work or moss removal, since material washed off the tiles lands straight in the gutter. If you are not sure, the camera footage settles it: we show you what is inside before deciding anything else.

Blocked gutters, damp and mould

A blocked gutter does not just overflow. The water it spills runs down the same strip of wall every time it rains, soaking the brick or render behind it. That wet patch can work through to the inside, showing up as a damp mark on a bedroom ceiling corner or a cold, musty wall. Where damp lingers indoors, mould tends to follow, usually as black spotting on plaster or around a window reveal.

Clearing the gutter removes the cause, though a wall that has been soaked for months will need time to dry out. Our guide to a damp patch on a wall from a blocked gutter explains how to tell the two apart from other causes of damp.

A local gutter cleaning company, from Washington

If you are searching for gutter cleaning near you, we are a local gutter cleaning service working up to 45 miles from our NE37 base. Town-by-town pages are on our gutter cleaning areas list. For shops, offices and blocks of flats, see commercial gutter cleaning. If water is backing up at one corner, a blocked downpipe may be the real problem, and a stand-alone gutter camera check suits buyers and landlords who just want to see the condition of the run.

For what affects the price, read our gutter cleaning cost guide. We are fully insured, and every gutter vac job comes with before and after footage.

Vacuumed, not scraped out

Debris is drawn into the machine rather than dropped down the wall, so render, window glass and planting below the gutter stay as they were.

Reach from the ground

Sectional poles reach standard two storey guttering and most awkward runs over extensions and porches without setting foot on a ladder.

Camera on the pole

The pole mounted camera gives you before and after photographs or video of the inside of the gutter, which is otherwise impossible to see from the ground.

The whole run emptied

We work the full length of each run, including the corners and the tops of the downpipes where blockages usually start.

Autumn and winter

Why autumn is the moment to book it

Guttering fills fastest between late September and the end of November. Leaves come off in bulk, they settle into the run, and the first heavy rain packs them into a dam at the outlet. A gutter that coped perfectly well all summer can be overflowing within a fortnight of the trees turning.

Once the weather turns cold, water sitting in a blocked gutter has nowhere to go. It spills down the wall, soaks into render and brickwork and finds its way behind the fascia. In freezing spells that trapped water expands, which is what puts joints and brackets under real strain during a winter storm.

Clearing after leaf fall and before the winter rain means the run is empty when it has the most work to do. It is far easier to deal with a full gutter in November than to deal with a damp patch on an internal wall in January.

What is included

Vacuum clearing of all accessible gutter runs on the property
Leaves, moss, silt and nesting material removed and taken away
Tops of downpipes checked and cleared where reachable
Before and after camera footage of the guttering
A note of any bracket, joint or downpipe issues we can see
Debris bagged and the ground left tidy

Signs your gutters need clearing

Water pouring over the front edge of the gutter during rain
Plants, grass or moss growing out of the gutter run
Staining or green streaks running down the wall below a joint
Damp patches appearing on an internal wall or ceiling corner
Birds repeatedly working at one section of the roofline
A downpipe that stays silent while the gutter above it overflows

How we work through a clearance

1
Walk the property
We look at each run, the downpipe positions and the access so we know where the blockages are most likely to sit.
2
Record the starting state
The camera goes up first so there is a record of what the inside of the gutter looked like before anything was touched.
3
Vacuum each run
The head is worked along the gutter, lifting out leaf mould, moss and the compacted silt that collects underneath.
4
Check the outlets
Downpipe tops are cleared so the water that reaches them actually gets away rather than backing up again.
5
Show you the result
The camera goes back up and you get the after footage along with anything worth knowing about the condition of the run.

If your property has an unusual roofline, an extension in an awkward corner or very high guttering, tell us when you get in touch and we will talk through how we would reach it.

Get a quote Call 07501060609

Gutter vac clearing questions

Boards looking green? See fascia and soffit cleaning

Helpful guides

Where we work

We clear guttering across Washington, Sunderland, Gateshead, Newcastle, Durham and the surrounding towns and villages.

See the towns we cover

Gutters and downpipes: guides and advice

Straight answers from the team that does this work every day. Browse every topic on the guides page.