Albany's gutter year
Soggy gutters most of the year
Rain falls on 121.2 days a year and Albany sees only 44.8 clear days. Leaves in the gutter rarely dry out, and moss and lichen from damp roofs wash down to join them, so gutters fill with a heavy sludge rather than dry leaves. Monier recommends cleaning at least once a year, and twice in tree-lined areas.
February is the window
February is the driest month at 20.3 mm, before the rain builds to July's 128.5 mm over 16.4 days. Dry gutters are quicker and safer to clean, and a late-summer clean leaves them clear for the whole wet season.
November can surprise you
The 20 November 2008 storms dropped 113.8 mm on Albany in 24 hours, a record going back to 1877, and the town flooded. Gutters left blocked through spring can't cope with a day like that.
Most of the fringe is on the fire map
The City of Albany's information sheet shows the bushfire-prone designation covering most land around the urban area. The NSW Rural Fire Service notes embers can travel more than 100 m ahead of a fire and recommends clearing roofs, valleys and gutters before the bushfire season.
What a proper clean includes
Sludge and leaves out by hand and bagged, every downpipe flushed through, and a check of joints, brackets and rust while they're at the gutter line. Ask for photos of anything that needs fixing.
Our national page on gutter cleaning has more detail. If moss on the roof keeps refilling the gutters, the roof itself may need a clean; see moss removal.
Old fibro roofs and gutter debris
If your roof is old corrugated fibro, it may be asbestos cement. ASSEA says rain washes asbestos fibres into the gutters under these roofs, and that the debris should be treated as friable, the more dangerous kind. Don't scoop it out yourself. Read is my roof asbestos? first, and tell whoever cleans the gutters what the roof is.
Before you book
- Can you come in February or March, while it's dry?
- Will you flush each downpipe and tell me if any are blocked further down?
- Do you take the waste away?
- My roof might be old fibro. How will you handle the gutter debris?
- Are you insured to work at height?
Our take
We'd book the main clean for February or early March, while it's dry, so the gutters go into winter clear. If the block is on the bushfire map, which covers most of the fringe, we'd add a clean in late spring before the hot weather. And if the roof is old fibro, we'd leave the gutters to someone who knows how to handle asbestos debris.
Want a roofer to take a look?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.