When Should You Clean Your Gutters in Donegal?

Nobody looks at their gutters until water is coming over the top of them. By then it’s been running down the wall for a while.

Twice a year suits most homes

For most Donegal houses, twice a year is right:

• Late autumn, once most of the leaves are down — October or November. This is the important one, before the winter storms.
• Spring, to clear what the winter brought in: moss, silt and whatever the wind put there.

If there are big trees near the house, or the gutters haven’t been touched in years, they might need more.

Signs they’re blocked

• Water pouring over the edge during heavy rain instead of going down the pipe.
• Green or dark streaks down the render under the gutter.
• Grass or small plants growing out of the gutter.
• A downpipe that drips from the joints, or barely runs when it’s lashing.
• Gutters sagging or pulling away from the fascia.
• A damp patch inside, high up on an outside wall.

Why it matters more than it looks

A blocked gutter doesn’t stop the water. It moves it — down the front of your house, into the render and into the wall. That’s where many damp patches and black mould inside a house start. Fixing a damp wall costs a lot more than clearing a gutter.

Water spilling at the base of the wall can also sit against the foundations and footpath, and in a frost that’s where things crack.

Is it a DIY job?

On a bungalow with a steady ladder and someone holding it, plenty of people do it themselves. On a two-storey house, I’d honestly rather you didn’t. Falls from ladders cause serious injuries every year, and a gutter isn’t worth that.

What a proper gutter clean includes

• The whole run cleared — leaves, moss and silt, not just the bits you can see from the ground.
• Downpipes checked and flushed so the water actually goes somewhere.
• Debris taken away, not left in your garden.
• Photos sent so you can see they’re clear without climbing up.
• Any cracked joints or loose brackets pointed out.

On the gutter cleaning page you can get a quick estimate by house type. Fascia and soffits can be washed on the same visit, and pressure washing the driveway or patio is a good one to pair with it after the autumn.