How often should you clean your gutters in Warrandyte?

Steps

1. Start from two cleans a year. For most homes near bush that means one in early spring, before the Fire Danger Period, and one in May after the autumn leaf drop. Spring is the CFA's timing; May catches the oaks, elms and other deciduous trees in the older streets once they've finished.
2. Look at what's overhead. Eucalypts are evergreen, but they drop leaves, bark and gumnuts all year and more in hot, dry spells. Smooth-barked gums like manna gum and candlebark shed long ribbons of bark that lie across a gutter and catch everything else. Pines drop needles that mat together and hold water.
3. Check how far the canopy reaches. If branches hang over the roof, plan on at least two cleans a year. If the nearest big tree is across the road, one clean a year may be enough. Check again after autumn to be sure.
4. Watch the first heavy rain after autumn. From inside or under cover, look for water spilling over the front edge of the gutter, especially at corners and next to downpipes. If it overflows, it's due.
5. Add a check before extreme fire days and storms. The CFA says to make sure gutters are clear before a day rated Extreme or Catastrophic. VicSES says to keep gutters, downpipes and drains clear before storms.
6. Gutter guard changes the job, not the need. Fine litter still washes through the mesh and leaves mat on top, so guarded gutters still need a look at least once a year.

If that didn't help

• Overflowing within a couple of months of a clean? It's often the downpipe rather than the gutter. See checking a blocked downpipe.
• Grass or seedlings growing out of the gutter means soil has built up from rotted leaves. That gutter is well past due.
• Not sure what you can see from the ground? Try the signs your gutters are blocked walk-round.