[Slacky]

For those of you with gutter vac experience how easy is it to vac out gutters with pine needles.

Thing is I want to be able to offer this service but am aware lots of houses here, in Canada, have gutters full with them.

So what’s the score, please. Easy or hard? Techniques to make it easier?

[Soupy]

It depends.

Generally pine needles in the gutters is bad news, particularly if it's not been cleaned in a while and if it's wet. During the summer months we keep gutter cleans for rainy days so these tend to be full and obviously wet.

During winter we do our regular maintenance cleans, these are scheduled in advance and done annually so pine needles are less of an issue.

We have 2 vacs a skyvac interceptor and a skyvac atom. The interceptor in top working condition (new hose / seals etc) generally makes light work of pine needles.

[Slacky]

Is that the Sonic Atom or Mighty Atom? And how does that do with pine needles?

I doubt I’ll be getting a larger model as larger over here requires a generator.

[Soupy]

Is that the Sonic Atom or Mighty Atom? And how does that do with pine needles?

I doubt I’ll be getting a larger model as larger over here requires a generator.

The interceptor comes with a generator built in.

The mighty atom in new condition works as well or better than a used and abused interceptor. A new / newly serviced interceptor is a different class though.

Biggest issue with the interceptor is that it's big and cumbersome. If I were starting again I'd be looking at as big a vac motor as possible but a van mounted gene / some way of powering the vac that you don't need to lug round the building, possibly a battery bank.

Particularly if you are looking to minimise the use of ladders

[Slacky]

I need a vac I can man handle on and off the truck, so in reality the interceptor is out of the question, even with ramps.

I’ll be going for the Sonic Atom I think. They sell a tool called the Viper over here, it looks pretty good. Is that available from skyvac in the UK?

[SB Cleaning]

Is that the Sonic Atom or Mighty Atom? And how does that do with pine needles?

I doubt I’ll be getting a larger model as larger over here requires a generator.

Those vacs won't touch pine needles....you need the Gvs Predator or Skyvac and even those will struggle if it's really dry....better off clearing pine needles in the wet weather ,they suck up easier.

[colin bird]

hi slacky just wondering how your finding it picking up work in canada ? also do potetial customers have any issues with you being a brit ?
how are you going about finding work ?

[Spruce]

hi slacky just wondering how your finding it picking up work in canada ? also do potetial customers have any issues with you being a brit ?
how are you going about finding work ?

He'd be in trouble if he was an American atm.

[Splash and dash]

To remove pine needles in summer months the blow function on the interceptor is very good and a quick way to clear gutters , not sure how many gutter vacs have this function but it’s very useful  also for  removing moss from roofs after scraping. Just blow it down the roof .

[Slacky]

hi slacky just wondering how your finding it picking up work in canada ? also do potetial customers have any issues with you being a brit ?
how are you going about finding work ?

Hiya, I haven’t really tried up until now. I got my website together about 2 months ago and got the truck decals on. Since then it’s been a drip drip of work coming in, which now is beginning to increase.

The absolute beauty of the work here is that every property is unique, none of that repetitive, 3 bed estate poop that used to do my head in. And also so much of the work round here is in glorious, beautiful locations. I so wish I’d came out here years ago, if window cleaning is boring for you in the UK this really is the place.

So I did this place a couple of weeks ago, outsides and a handful of inside windows, £365.00 ($635.00). Took 3 hours.







Got these two places to do Tuesday, just outsides, £300 ($550.00).




I’m waiting on a quote for a driveway clean. Two days work, the quote was £825.00 ($1,500.00)

Regarding the being a Brit over here. It’s difficult to answer that, cos I think if someone had an issue with that they’d just not call you, it says on my website I’m a Brit. Saying that, whenever you speak to most people here they seem to say ‘oh my husband is from Manchester, or my mother is from Liverpool, Ipswich, Birmingham…..’ or wherever.

[Slacky]

hi slacky just wondering how your finding it picking up work in canada ? also do potetial customers have any issues with you being a brit ?
how are you going about finding work ?

He'd be in trouble if he was an American atm.

I’d have been necklaced by now.

[Slacky]

I've gone for the SkyVac 85 in the end, with a 6,500 (7,250) watt jenny.

https://tmgindustrial.ca/products/tmg-industrial-7250-watt-digital-inverter-hybrid-portable-generator-dual-fuel-capability-gas-lpg-epa-emissions-compliance-tmg-gdi70

[Spruce]

hi slacky just wondering how your finding it picking up work in canada ? also do potetial customers have any issues with you being a brit ?
how are you going about finding work ?

Hiya, I haven’t really tried up until now. I got my website together about 2 months ago and got the truck decals on. Since then it’s been a drip drip of work coming in, which now is beginning to increase.

The absolute beauty of the work here is that every property is unique, none of that repetitive, 3 bed estate poop that used to do my head in. And also so much of the work round here is in glorious, beautiful locations. I so wish I’d came out here years ago, if window cleaning is boring for you in the UK this really is the place.

So I did this place a couple of weeks ago, outsides and a handful of inside windows, £365.00 ($635.00). Took 3 hours.







Got these two places to do Tuesday, just outsides, £300 ($550.00).




I’m waiting on a quote for a driveway clean. Two days work, the quote was £825.00 ($1,500.00)

Regarding the being a Brit over here. It’s difficult to answer that, cos I think if someone had an issue with that they’d just not call you, it says on my website I’m a Brit. Saying that, whenever you speak to most people here they seem to say ‘oh my husband is from Manchester, or my mother is from Liverpool, Ipswich, Birmingham…..’ or wherever.

I'm guessing that you need to earn a full year's 'wage' during the spring to autumn months as winter will be a no go.
In winter you will need to do driveway snow clearing like they do in northern USA.

[Slacky]

I’m getting the feel that spring, summer are hectic, possibly more so than the UK. Autumn is busy but winter will be just tick over. I’m currently clocking three days a week which I figure isn’t bad considering how short I’ve been working here.

Once I’ve built up a customer base I think there’ll be more regular work, but you’re right, the warmer months will def be when the income is solidified.

There seems to be a basic rule here, which plenty of trades fail to fulfil, so it seems. It’s, turn up when you say you will.

Often in the summer they don’t turn up because there’s so many things apart from work to do round here. Leisure time basically.

We don’t get the snow here like people think canada gets all over. We’ve had one fall of snow, it stayed for a week then was gone. I can count the nights of minus temps on the fingers of one hand, I bet you’ve had more frost in the UK than we’ve had.

I’ve picked up a few shops to do the windows on fortnightly, I can’t understand why no one else who’s already here hasn’t bagged them.

[AuRavelling79]

How are your post-fall injuries healing Slacky?

[Slacky]

Everything is resolved pretty much except the shoulder.

Although I still have occasional moments, I guess they’re called flashbacks, which unsteadies me. I guess they affect me physically because they can bring on a sense of anxiety and ‘what if’. Saying that, a reminder of what happened isn’t necessarily a bad thing.


Shoulder is very very very slowly improving. It is definitely the slowest element of the whole recovery process. No issue now at all with my ribs, but the shoulder remains defiant in improving at the rate of plate techtonic movement. Funny innit, I enjoy the sound of it creaking and grinding, I take these as signs of improvement.

Considering the type and length of surgery I underwent recovery will be slow, but I question it every day. Work is helping, I have repeats events which I can use to assess improvement. 4 months ago I had difficulty climbing in to the back of my truck, because of insufficient strength, that’s not an issue now. It’s just an example. I can now reach the second shelf in the kitchen cupboard which I couldn’t do 6 weeks ago. I can even wipe my arse with my right hand now, cool huh 😎