How often do gutters need cleaning in Saffron Walden? Twice a year

Twice. Once in late autumn after the leaves have come down, once in spring. That is the answer for most houses in Saffron Walden and the villages round it, and a 3 bed clean is £90.

I clean gutters round here and have done since 2022, so this is not a guess from a national blog. The oaks and sycamores around the town start filling gutters from late September. By November the overflow is running down the render and that is when the phone goes. The price list is on the gutter cleaning page.

Here is why twice, when the exceptions are, and what each visit actually involves.

How often do gutters need cleaning in Saffron Walden, and why twice

Leaves do not fall once. They come down in waves from late September to November, and a gutter that was clear in October is full again by bonfire night.

So the autumn clean goes in after the last of them, not before. That is the one that stops the winter damage.

The spring clean is the smaller job. It takes out what the winter blew in, plus the moss that has had three damp months to get going. If you only do one a year, do the autumn one.

When is twice not enough?

• You are under a big tree. Some houses on the older streets need an autumn clean and a December check, because one oak can fill a gutter on its own.
• The gutter is already overflowing. That is a blockage and it needs doing now, whatever the calendar says. I wrote up how to tell if your gutters are blocked and you can check it from the ground in two minutes.

When is once enough?

• No trees within about 30 metres and the gutters were clear last time. Newer estates on the edge of town are often fine with one visit a year, done in autumn.

What a visit costs and what you get for it

Every visit includes unblocking the downpipes and a leak check. The gutter is cleared from the ground, insured, and nobody goes up a ladder.

If I find something that needs more than a clean, a sagging bracket or a joint that has gone, I photograph it and tell you. I do not invent faults. Most gutters round here need a clean, not a repair, and I would rather say so than sell you one.

I cover Saffron Walden, Newport, Stansted Mountfitchet, Henham, Clavering, Hadstock and Great Chesterford. There are 13 reviews on Google from people whose gutters I have done.

So if yours have not been touched since last spring, the autumn clean is due now. Send a photo of the front of the house and your postcode, or call 07445 687783, and you get a price the same day from the gutter cleaning page.