[Paul79]

Been speaking to a few people and they are telling me to add gutter cleaning to my list of services especially this time of year when leaves and such are a plenty. I’ve been doing some research and watching some videos on it but the thought of ladders to the roof is far from appealing for me.

Not only am I afraid of heights but I am also accident prone I’ll be honest so I’m wondering if this is viable and doable without even owning a pair of ladders?

[Mike Halliday]

No, all this gutter vacuum malarkey is a case of ‘the emperors new clothes’  we have a engine driven vacuum that is massively more powerful than the vacuums used by gutter cleaners and we still 80% of jobs still put ladders up.  People who have vacuums but no ladders are obviously not going to say they can’t do the job properly with just a vacuum.

Unless you can carry a set of ladders then I wouldn’t bother cleaning gutters

[zesty]

You can do it with a gutter vac, but a ladder comes in handy more often than you think!

[SB Cleaning]

As Mike said if you cant go up ladders dont bother, I use a vacuum and they are brill on some jobs but ladders are a must for really bad blockages,down pipes,pine needles etc

[Splash & dash]

No, all this gutter vacuum malarkey is a case of ‘the emperors new clothes’  we have a engine driven vacuum that is massively more powerful than the vacuums used by gutter cleaners and we still 80% of jobs still put ladders up.  People who have vacuums but no ladders are obviously not going to say they can’t do the job properly with just a vacuum.

Unless you can carry a set of ladders then I wouldn’t bother cleaning gutters

Sorry to disagree with you mike but we use  gutter vaccs all the time and only need a ladder very occasionally ,maybe worst case scenario one job in , twenty , by quoting correctly there shouldn’t be a problem just put up a camera and see what you are dealing with , make sure there is enough gap between the roof tiles and the gutter tk getbthe vac end in and away you go , we do hundreds of jobs each year and very rarely have any problems, it’s all about knowing how to do the job

[SB Cleaning]

No, all this gutter vacuum malarkey is a case of ‘the emperors new clothes’  we have a engine driven vacuum that is massively more powerful than the vacuums used by gutter cleaners and we still 80% of jobs still put ladders up.  People who have vacuums but no ladders are obviously not going to say they can’t do the job properly with just a vacuum.

Unless you can carry a set of ladders then I wouldn’t bother cleaning gutters

Sorry to disagree with you mike but we use  gutter vaccs all the time and only need a ladder very occasionally ,maybe worst case scenario one job in , twenty , by quoting correctly there shouldn’t be a problem just put up a camera and see what you are dealing with , make sure there is enough gap between the roof tiles and the gutter tk getbthe vac end in and away you go , we do hundreds of jobs each year and very rarely have any problems, it’s all about knowing how to do the job

Gutter vacs dont clear bad downpipe blockages mate, I've done loads where a gutter vac would be useless and they are no good for pine needles.

[Splash & dash]

No, all this gutter vacuum malarkey is a case of ‘the emperors new clothes’  we have a engine driven vacuum that is massively more powerful than the vacuums used by gutter cleaners and we still 80% of jobs still put ladders up.  People who have vacuums but no ladders are obviously not going to say they can’t do the job properly with just a vacuum.

Unless you can carry a set of ladders then I wouldn’t bother cleaning gutters

Sorry to disagree with you mike but we use  gutter vaccs all the time and only need a ladder very occasionally ,maybe worst case scenario one job in , twenty , by quoting correctly there shouldn’t be a problem just put up a camera and see what you are dealing with , make sure there is enough gap between the roof tiles and the gutter tk getbthe vac end in and away you go , we do hundreds of jobs each year and very rarely have any problems, it’s all about knowing how to do the job

Gutter vacs dont clear bad downpipe blockages mate, I've done loads where a gutter vac would be useless and they are no good for pine needles.

I agree sometimes you do need ladders but we do a lot of blocked downpipes without using ladder from the ground it’s all about technique, we fit inspection hatches in the bottom of the downpipes and then you can attack it from the top and the bottom from the ground , haven’t found one we couldn’t do yet ,and we do a lot of 3-4 storey stuff . Pine needles are never a problem we use 51 mm poles and clear thousands of meters each year with pine needles no issues at all we have contracts with over 40 hotels that we have been doing for over 12 years this way , all videos before and after confirm that the gutters are clear , side entry vac has never got blocked on them either , so I don’t know why you have had problems  ?... what vac and motor power are you using ?

[Mike Halliday]

I’m going to go back on what I earlier said, I would guess given enough time 90% of gutters could be cleaned from the ground with a gutter vac (with a good selection of ends) plus other equipment. The provision is......given enough time

I think how we clean gutters gives the best clean possible in the shortest length of time and this usually means putting the ladders up.  We can put them up then use various methods,  some times we feed drainage rods the length of the gutter and pull back the soil, sometimes we feed a thin, very stiff high pressure hose   along the gutter to  liquefy the soil so it runs away or is easier to vacuum  we use the same hose to jet up downpipes to unblock them. We tend to use the high pressure hose or rods when they tiles are over hanging too much so access with a gutter vac is not possible.

Over hanging tiles &  concealed gutters (where conservatories are built against the home or fitted into a corner) are the reason I believe you can never get away without carrying ladders

[Smudger]

Never say never, but I’d put ladder use at 1 in 50

It’s not all about power, sometimes it’s equipment and attachments - so many vacs are sold with too small a pipe (38mm) or use silicone hose as a gooseneck bend or underpowered vacs

All sold as gutter vacs

If you use an Ali gooseneck you can move overhanging tiles back into place - we have a gooseneck that is staged down especially for down pipes and easily drop to the swan, 99 out of 100 this will grab the blockage and pull out like spagetti

Most ladder access is for joint repairs or commercial valley gutters

Darran

[Splash & dash]

Never say never, but I’d put ladder use at 1 in 50

It’s not all about power, sometimes it’s equipment and attachments - so many vacs are sold with too small a pipe (38mm) or use silicone hose as a gooseneck bend or underpowered vacs

All sold as gutter vacs

If you use an Ali gooseneck you can move overhanging tiles back into place - we have a gooseneck that is staged down especially for down pipes and easily drop to the swan, 99 out of 100 this will grab the blockage and pull out like spagetti

Most ladder access is for joint repairs or commercial valley gutters

Darran

Ime glad you posted this Darran I was starting to think we were the only ones who can clear gutters with out using ladders on the majority of jobs , thought we must be doing something wrong 😂😂😂

[Smudger]

 

Darran

[mjm]

I have a cheap wifi camera attached to the Gardiner's gutter spike I run water through the gutter if water comes through the bottom of the gutter  then it needs replacing I don't do replacing 
If there's no water coming through the bottom of the gutter
Then I clean with gutter vac. Never used ladders   if the gutter is very thin then thegutter spike  does the thin bits
I hope I haven't  confused the thread. 🤔

[G & M]

How do you remove growth from under lead in the corners with a vac?
 Have any of you bought modular poles from China for your gutter vac and if not where would you buy them from?

[Splash & dash]

How do you remove growth from under lead in the corners with a vac?
 Have any of you bought modular poles from China for your gutter vac and if not where would you buy them from?

Sometimes yes you can remove it sometimes not , it comes out easier when it’s wet so if possible do it when it has been raining as there is more chance of getting it out with a vac , if not try loosening it with a gutter spike , Gardiners sell them cost about £16 and fits in the end if a wfp works very well .
As far poles we have taper fit poles from carbon fibre tubes they are now over 10 years old and still going strong .

[Smudger]

Can’t fault that answer