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best way to clean gutter / fascia etc? off ladders by hand not WFP! ?

RHYS2015

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Anyone got any tips on best things to use to clean them up?

My old boss used to use soapy water & elbow grease but after a nightmare job today im sure there must be an easier way?

Also when pricing i see people quoting £20 front then £20 back to empty & clean?! Isit just me or does anyone think thats ridiculous? I would rather stay in bed than waste my time for that amount of money...

My prices start at £40 a side to empty & clean. (Goes up if awkward positions, and big houses)

Just to empty **** out it starts at £25 a side

I think thats quite reasonable & seem to be picking up work steady

Any help be appreciated TIA

 
Virosol or ubik sprayed or use an old applicator to apply

Then soapy rag and the dirt will fall off

Make sure it's washed off and it will be spotless

Magic sponge to remove any grey staining

 
Sounds good pricing to me. it's dirty, hard work and element of danger. It's not for everyone. I'm doing one Friday, I'll wfp them, then detail off ladder

I've been using weak solution of screwfix degreaser with brush or applicator.

 
Found this on youtube

Good idea and i have a spare coil of air hose and a harris pole and sprayer already..methinks some shed time on saturday

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So on a average house how long does it take you lot to clean gutters out and wipe them all down?the tiger striping can be a pig to remove unless using a solvent!and charge roughly for full house

 
That's a good idea on the vid but why the tap at the top of the pole. Unless yer 15ft you can't turn it on or off??

Also I always use tfr.

I put a bit on the brush & it's brilliant.

 
Haha daveyboy I no what you mean,I've done gutters before where there's barely anything in um

There's local window cleaner round my way,flash van gutter vac etc turns up surveys them but charges from £250 seems expensive

 
If he can get the custom, that's good, drives the prices up for the rest of us.

I find time it takes depends on a lot on access issues mainly, both tile over hang, ladder placements (hedges, steps, awnings in the way), and with vac, contents... Works well with light dried matter, bad with deep rooted weeds and mud

 
if you can get good money for it all well and good. in my own area i get a decent slice of the gutter market by being fairly cheap. i simply must keep my lads busy busy the full diary comes first everytime over price is how i work . course i cant do it for peanuts not with 3 lads wages insurances etc but i do gutter clean out for a tenner per side of house and gutter clean [ie undersides] at 15 per side . now and then i will quote someone over the phone 20 per side clean out ,thats my try-on,but i never get these i sense they feel its just too high price . usually i get lots of recommendations resulting in further work and neybours shout over can we do theirs which Always get done right away .

 
My prices vary on my mood,and whether it ties in well with other jobs. Generally £60 for a clearout, and 40 for a soffit, facia clean, if done together I often make it cheaper these days, maybe £80. I use a long brush.Anything that doesnt come off with a scrub stays on, and they always look good from the ground. I use a long brush from the ground,dunk it in a bucket of ubik mixed with whatever soap I have. Scrubby scrubby with the soapy mix. Change out the water for fresh and go over it again, and then sometimes give it a third going over with more fresh water. Its a bit of a faff, would obviously be better off with a backpack or wfp setup, but I prefer it to going up and down the ladder each time to wipe along.

 
I'm the opposite @TolishAPurd as I hate cleansing them, but prefer to clear them out, it's much faster to clear them out than clean them, so I charge £40 a side for clear out, and around £60 a side to clean,

If doing them together, then I'll knock off £20 a side and usually go in at £80 a side,

Not much point doing it any cheaper as its a minging job at times, I think we all should charge a lot more, in general were all too cheap when it comes to gutters, when you consider that window cleaners are pretty much the only people that do it, we haven't got that much competition to worry about.




@RHYS2015 One things for sure, doing gutters wfp is horrible, it's so awkward and naff (in my experience & opinion) so doing them off a ladder is much easier and you get a much better result, drying them off with a nice scrim, they come up a treat, I find wfp just takes ages, they keep dripping dirt from under the gutter etc, try using some ubik on a spray bottle to coat the gutters favias first, then they'll just wipe off lovely with a cloth.

Watched a bloke over the road from me wfp some gutters and fascias, he looked like a right show, it looks so awkward and ridiculous :rofl: I could see he was getting stressed, I thought to myself 'just get a bloody ladder and get up there and calmly wipe them down'

He didn't, and it took him ages, and the result wasn't exactly perfect :rolleyes:

 
My mood and the amount of work I have on makes a massive difference for me, also if they are a regular customer for other stuff its also cheaper, I kind of look at it, decide if I actually want/need it, how long it will take how much of a **** it will be then make it up on the spot.

 
Maybe this is me cause I don't hear people mention it much, but only 50% say of houses I encounter can be 100% done off a ladder safely. Maybe they're trying me last cause I've got some access gear like the vac and wfp.

I agree with Jake the clear is easier than the clean but the clear is the essential so they won't pay a lot for a clean unless they're very house proud or the clean is a bad one IMO

I see roofer vans and some builders advertise gutter clears, and the prices I've seen mentioned in adverts seem similar, like 'from £15-20 a side'. But I've found people do like to book a clean and clear package. Maybe the roofer would sell a clear and roof health check package

 
I have done a few this week (not sure why everyone wants it done all of a sudden)

Tuesday i done:

empty front & back on a 3 bed semi £40 but took about 3 handfulls out of each side..

Next job was a gutter repair for a neighbour of the 1st job, £20 to re attach a seal which had popped out.

Then a clean out front & back and fix a leak on a 3 bed detached £95

Onto a 2 bed bungalow then 2 sides full clean & empty £100

Then managed to fit a 3 bed semi in (front, back, side and little extension to rear) that was a full clean and empty but as there a regular on the window round i done that for £110 (and there a lovely old couple who tip every month )

So all in all not a bad day... but i did have a friend working for me that day aswell so managed to get through them quick,

Got another 9 booked in over the next 2 weeks think the cheapest is £60. Then the most expensive £350..

Also bagged a connie roof clean for tomorrow for £250 so been a very good week just hope the work keeps coming /emoticons/smile.png

 
Funny isn't it, I have 5 gutter clears on next week, and did 2 this week. Hadn't done one for maybe 3-4 weeks before that.

 
I try & stick to my prices but alot of the time i just pick a number when quoting the job hence the random prices lol! A few local companys charge £20 a side for empty and clean local to me, but to be honest i seem to be picking up work at a steady pace & there vans are parked on there driveways everytime i go past.. so tells you something!

Cheap & cheerfull isnt always the way forward, i would rather have a day off than work my ass off for £20 a side..

 
Usually i do quite a few in the spring so everyones houses looks fresh for the summer but this last 2 weeks my phone hasnt stopped...! Mind you i only been properly self employed a few months so maybe now with recomendations & advertising and a facebook page (with customers reviews) its just getting better ? Who knows lol

 
using a pole i can wash gutter,fascia and soffit in 20 mins to half hour with some ubik scrubbed in. £20 is fine for me doing that.

 
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