Gutter cleaning; almost sounds like a dirty word. For those who have done it before, you know the dread of a weekend lost to gutter cleaning. It's a terrible job, a long time up a ladder with your hands in dirty, rotting leaves, and you never know what creepy crawly you might find. And for those who haven't yet cleaned their gutters, you don't know the horrors that await you!

But seriously, now that Autumn is nearly upon us; it's time to think about cleaning your gutters. You might ask yourself, why now?

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, February to June are when the most rain falls in Sydney. But that's not the only problem with Autumn; as the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer, the leaves of the deciduous trees begin to change. The once lush greens slowly fade, giving way to a symphony of colours. And while the idea sounds beautiful, those leaves will soon start to fall, filling your gutters. Plus, it will be even worse if you have pine trees nearby; it all points to the perfect storm for a dirty gutter.

The problem is that when you ignore your dirty gutters, they become clogged; rainwater will be stuck, with no escape, except for the places you don't want it to go. Water can be disastrous if not controlled.

So let's take a closer look at all the what, why, how and who of gutter cleaning.

Gutter cleaning removes all debris, filth, and leaves from your downspouts and gutters that obstruct the free flow of rainwater from your roof to a safe distance from your property. If not done correctly, the debris will block the downpipe, which is the water escape route of the guttering system.

It sounds simple. So, let's go onto the next step, the why.

Let's think about what gutters should do; guide water away from your property. So when they are blocked, that water would sit around your property, seeping into your home. You can imagine some of the issues water can cause, but you might be surprised by others.

If your gutters are clogged, water will be trapped, making small puddles or small bird baths. While a bird bath doesn't seem that bad, it won't only be birds bathing in them; other animals like rats, mice, and other rodents love standing water. Plus, other bigger, scarier animals like snakes and spiders, and small, annoying insects like mosquitos. While those creatures in your gutters aren't that bad, it's only a small step from the gutter to your home or workplace, and then things start to get more serious, especially when you live in Australia.

When your gutters need cleaning, the first thing that will suffer is your roof. As the trapped water has to go somewhere, it will eventually seep into your roof space. The first tell-tale sign to show will be mould. 

Mould and wood lead to one thing, rot. Once the roof rafters start to rot, trouble is imminent. If untreated, your roof will eventually give out, and a new roof is an expensive thing to replace.

And it won't only affect your roof but everything connected to it, like fascias and soffits.

The worse is that by simply cleaning your gutters, you won't have to worry about your roof.

The next stop after your roof is the exterior walls of your property.

Firstly the water slowly seeps down from your roof into your walls. But that's not the only way water will get into your walls.

Excess water will overflow the gutter and run down the wall. Eventually, a blocked gutter will start to buckle under the excess weight of the dirt and water stuck in the guttering, causing the trapped water to run into your wall space.

Your walls will become waterlogged, creating mould, algae and mildew. Then, from the outside, you'll see the paint peel, dark spots will start to appear, and over time, your walls will become hairy as the mould produces bigger spurs.

On the inside, you'll also see mould appear, which can cause health problems and allergies. Again, these will significantly affect smaller children and older people; this can cause serious problems, so please don't let it get that far.

The last and most detrimental damage is to the foundations, which will often only be noticed when it's too late. Falling water, or even puddles, will slowly wash away sand and soil, removing the support to parts of the foundation and causing cracks and subsidence. 

What are the signs of subsidence and foundation cracking? First, you'll see cracks appearing in the exterior walls; these commonly appear around windows and doors and will be wider at the top of the crack than at the bottom. In addition, doors and windows will start to stick or be harder to open and close, and you might see that the floors slopes where they didn't before.

Once your house starts to subside, the options are few and expensive; you'll need the help of the experts.

It's incredible how regular gutter cleaning can save you time and money. So if your gutters need cleaning, don't leave them any longer!

Generally speaking, gutters need to be cleaned twice a year, but in some cases, more.

For example, if you live in an area with many trees, especially pine trees. The needles from a pine tree are more rigid than regular leaves, and when you add them to the usual debris found in gutters, you end up with a reinforced gunk; it's like adding metal to concrete. 

If you need clarification on how often, talk to a local gutter cleaner, they know the area and will have an excellent idea of how often your gutters need cleaning without even looking.

The how-to depends a lot on your property and the tools at hand. The most basic tools are a ladder, gloves, safety glasses and a plastic trowel.

Next, you just need to remove as much debris as possible and flush out the gutters with plenty of water. The complicated part of gutter cleaning is personal safety.

So, who can clean your gutters? Well, it can be a not-so-fun DIY project for the weekend, but only if you are okay with working at heights. Remember, working at heights is dangerous and must be done with great care.

Why? They're trained and experienced at working at heights. Plus, most gutter cleaners provide other services, like roof reports and no-mess guarantees.