Maintaining and cleaning your business premises can feel like a never-ending task. Ensuring your staff and visitors enjoy their pristine environment will tend to take priority, while the saying “Out of sight, out of mind” could have been written by somebody who doesn’t enjoy cleaning (and has likely been used by many of those people).

Hidden areas of your building, however, must be included in your cleaning and maintenance regime. These jobs are often about more than just appearance, also affecting the repair and structure of your buildings. While they may not be at the top of your list, neglecting these tasks would be an expensive mistake. 

Make sure gutter cleaning should is on your work list, here’s why.

Gutter Cleaning – Maintaining Your Property from the Top Down 

Why?

Although your guttering and downpipe are only a small part of your property, they perform important service and must be well maintained to avoid serious problems. 

• Blocked gutters will overflow; with excess water causing damp walls, damage to facias and roofing, even affecting groundworks and drives.
• Vegetation which causes blockages in gutters and pipes will likely become stagnant and mouldy, mould which can then spread to the building fabric.
• Invading creatures are the next problem. Once twigs, moss and vegetation have settled in your gutter, these will become a home to birds or bugs. Not only can these cause damage and get into your building, but they are also likely to be costly to remove. 

When?

A simple answer to this is annually, although a better answer is ‘at least once a year’.

• While annual clearings are essential, your local environment will impact this frequency with lots of trees and wildlife potentially meaning you need to consider seasonal cleans.

• For most premises, twice annual cleans in Spring and Autumn are ideal, emptying your gutters of the detritus of fallen leaves and windfall.
• Keep an eye on your guttering for these tell-tale signs that a clear-out is needed:
  • Signs of life, normally birds but potentially other creatures
  • Signs of growth, moss builds-up and seeds can sprout
  • Signs of staining or mildew, on or around pipes and guttering
  • Signs of leakage, water flow, damp patches or wet ground
  • Signs of damage, on or around the guttering and pipes
  • Signs of stress, from build-up or blockage

How?

While there are tools which can enable the safe cleaning of your guttering and downpipes, you won’t be surprised that I’m not going to suggest you do-it-yourself.

This is a skilled job involving working at height and using specialist equipment. Entrusting this to someone within your team would bring risk, while ensuring the work is done effectively, with no damage to your property, is crucial.

The team at Workplace Cleaning Solutions are fully trained and insured, able to provide you with one-off cleans or regular visits – talk to us about how we can help.

Gutter maintenance, downpipe cleaning and external care. We can help you maintain your guttering and downpipes, giving you confidence in a job well done. Find out more here, with the details of our Gutter Cleaning Service – or get in touch with your local branch now.