Gutter Cleaning in East Maitland: 7 Tennis Balls and a Blocked Downpipe ($350)

Oct 7

2 min read

Annette's older tile-roof home in East Maitland has gum trees out the front, and they had filled the gutters and valleys with leaves. The downpipes were covered in debris. There was also something you don't see from the ground: 7 tennis balls sitting in the gutters, and one of them was right on top of a downpipe.

The job at a glance

Customer: Annette
Location: East Maitland
Property: Older home with gum trees out the front
Roof type: Concrete tile, with roof valleys
Problem: Gum leaves and sludge in the gutters and valleys, downpipes covered, 7 tennis balls in the gutters (one blocking a downpipe)
Service: Vacuum gutter and valley cleaning, downpipe openings cleared, tennis balls removed
Price: $350
Result: Gutters, valleys and downpipe openings clear

The problem

Gum leaves had collected in the roof valley, where two slopes of the roof meet and carry water from both.

Roof valley on an older tile roof in East Maitland filled with leaves and debris before vacuum gutter cleaning — Before: leaves and debris along the roof valley

In the gutters, the leaves had broken down into a thick black sludge with sticks through it. Wet sludge like this holds water against the gutter and spills over in heavy rain.

Gutter on an older East Maitland tile roof packed with black sludge, gum leaves and sticks — Before: black sludge, gum leaves and sticks in the gutter

The tennis ball on the downpipe

Balls end up on roofs all the time, from kids, dogs and backyard cricket, and they roll down into the gutter. Most just sit there. But a ball that rolls to the downpipe outlet sits on the hole like a plug. Water then backs up along the gutter and spills over the edge, no matter how clean the rest of the gutter is.

That's what Mark found here. One of the 7 balls was sitting right over the downpipe, buried in gum leaves.

Tennis ball sitting in a leaf-filled gutter in East Maitland, blocking the downpipe outlet — Before: a tennis ball in the leaves, sitting over the downpipe outlet

What Turbovac did

Mark vacuumed out the gutters and valleys, cleared the debris off the downpipe openings, and took out all 7 tennis balls.

The result

The same East Maitland gutter after Turbovac vacuumed it out, downpipe outlet open again — After: the same section of gutter, with the downpipe outlet open again

Roof valley on an East Maitland tile roof after the leaves and debris were vacuumed out — After: the roof valley vacuumed out

Tennis balls pulled out of the gutters of an East Maitland home, laid out on the lawn — Tennis balls taken out of Annette's gutters

What it cost

$350 for the whole house: gutters, valleys, downpipe openings and the tennis balls. Quoted up front, with no surprises on the day.

Kids, dogs or a backyard cricket pitch?

If balls go up on your roof and don't come back down, they're probably in your gutters. Combine that with gum leaves and you've got a blocked downpipe waiting for the next storm. Get your gutters cleared before summer: call Mark on 0431 103 323 or get a fixed-price quote at turbovac.com.au.

Related: Gutter cleaning in Maitland, and a Mount View, Cessnock rental full of gum leaves ($360).