Gutter cleaning
Gutter cleaning across the
Northern Rivers and the Tweed
House and roof gutter cleaning, cleared by hand and taken away
Nobody should be up that ladder. We will go. Gutters, valleys and downpipes cleared by hand, flushed and checked, and the debris leaves with us rather than sitting beside your bins. Easy to book, fast quoting, cost effective.
Book today
Gutter cleaning is the removal of leaves, bark, silt and debris from the gutters, valleys and downpipes of a house so rainwater runs off the roof and away from the building. TLB Cleaning clears gutters across the Northern Rivers, the Tweed and the Southern Gold Coast, as a one-off or on a set schedule.
Gutters here fill faster than most. Eucalypts, paperbarks and tea trees drop leaves, bark and seed capsules right through the year rather than in one autumn, and a wet summer turns that into a packed mat that holds water instead of moving it. That is why a gutter three streets away can be fine while yours is overflowing.
What our gutter cleaning covers on the day
You will probably be at work, so here is the whole job.
We look at what is actually in there
A gutter that looks full from the ground can be holding anything from dry leaf litter to a mat of soil with plants growing in it. We get eyes on it before we quote a schedule, because the two take very different amounts of time.
We also check the fall, the joins and the fascia while we are up there. If a gutter is rusted through or pulling away from the house, cleaning it will not fix the leak and we will tell you that instead of taking the money.
It comes out by hand, into a bucket
Debris is lifted out by hand into a bucket on the ladder, not blown off the roof into your garden and not flushed down the downpipes to block them further along. Wet litter is heavy and it stains, so it goes into a bag on a tarp rather than onto your lawn.
Then the bags come with us. You should not be left with four wet sacks of leaf litter beside the bins and no way to get rid of them.
We flush it and check the downpipes
A clear gutter is only half the job. Water goes through with a hose to prove the fall is right and the outlets are running, because a blocked downpipe puts the overflow straight back over the edge in the next storm.
You get told what we found: a sagging bracket, a rusted join, a downpipe that will not clear, a valley that fills every time. Small things now, rather than a wet ceiling in February.
Please do not do this one yourself
Most gutter jobs go wrong in the same few ways. The ladder is set on soft garden bed or on a slope, it leans against the gutter rather than the fascia and flexes when weight comes on it, and then somebody reaches sideways for the last arm length of leaves instead of getting down and moving it. That last reach is the one that hurts people, and it happens on single-storey houses.
A fall from gutter height is not a small injury. If you are going to do it anyway, do it with someone else at home, keep your hips between the stiles, move the ladder rather than stretching and stay off it entirely in wind or after rain.
What a blocked gutter actually costs
None of this shows up on the day it starts. It shows up in the storm after.
Water into the roof, not off it
A packed gutter overflows backwards under the roof sheeting as often as it does over the front edge. That water gets into the eaves, the fascia and sometimes the ceiling, and the first sign is usually a stain that appears after a storm and never quite dries.
Rot, rust and mosquitoes
Wet leaf litter sits against the metal and holds it damp, which is how a gutter rusts from the inside. Standing water in a blocked section also breeds mosquitoes through summer, which is a nuisance you feel long before you notice the gutter.
Ember fuel in the wrong season
Dry leaf litter in a gutter is fuel sitting on top of your house, which is why fire services ask people to clear gutters before the bushfire season. Booking it in spring rather than after the first bad day is the whole point.
And the tank, if you have one
On a rural block the roof is often the water supply. Debris, bird droppings and the first flush off a dirty roof all end up in the tank, so we tell you before we flush anything and work around the diverter if there is one.
If the roof feeds drinking water, say so when you book. It changes the order we do things in.
Packed, then cleared.
Drag the handle across the photo to see one run of gutter both ways.
After 
Before Illustrative sample, shown while we collect before and after photos from real TLB jobs.
Who turns up
The same small local team who does the rest of your cleaning, and the same faces on the roof as in the house.
- We are local, insured and there is one number to ring if something is not right.
- You get told what we found on the roof, in plain words, with no upsell attached to it.
- It can go on a schedule with your regular clean, so the gutters get done before the wet season without you having to remember.
That last one matters more here than most places. The rain that fills a gutter and the rain that finds your ceiling are usually the same week in February, and by then everyone is booked.
The rest of the outside
Gutters are usually booked with the roof, because the same trees cause both.
- Window cleaningGlass, frames, sills and tracks, inside and out, with the salt film taken off properly.
- Roof cleaningSoft washing that kills the algae and lichen at the root, on tile or colorbond.
- High pressure cleaningDriveways, paths, patios, pool surrounds and fences, at a pressure the surface can take.
- Exterior house washingWalls, eaves, soffits and window frames washed down so the whole house looks newer.
How TLB compares
You are not buying an hour of labour. You are buying somebody who will tell you what they saw up there and be reachable next season.
| Why TLB Cleaning is different | A national brand or app | An independent cleaner | TLB Cleaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who cleans your home | Whoever is rostered that day | The same person | Your own local team, known by name |
| When someone is away | A different contractor | Rebook for another week | Someone from your team covers, and we let you know first |
| How you book | Online only | Text or a phone call | Online, text, phone or email |
| Reminders | Automated | Usually none | Before the day, and again when we're on our way |
| Holiday lets | A standard turnover | Depends on availability | Worked straight off your booking calendar |
| Your schedule | Whatever slot is available | Whenever they can fit you in | A set day and a set team |
| Commitment | Often a subscription | None | No lock-in, no minimum term, no exit fee |
| Where they live | Wherever the contractor is based | Locally | In the towns they clean in, across the region |
Where we clean
Northern Rivers, the Tweed and the Southern Gold Coast.
Northern Rivers NSW
- Lismore
- Goonellabah
- Alstonville
- Wollongbar
- Casino
- Kyogle
- Nimbin
- Clunes
- Bexhill
- Dunoon
- Ballina
- East Ballina
- Lennox Head
- Skennars Head
- Wardell
- Evans Head
- Broadwater
- Woodburn
- Coraki
- Bangalow
- Byron Bay
- Suffolk Park
- Mullumbimby
- Brunswick Heads
- Ocean Shores
- New Brighton
- Billinudgel
- Federal
The Tweed
- Murwillumbah
- Tweed Heads
- Tweed Heads South
- Banora Point
- Terranora
- Bilambil
- Bilambil Heights
- Chinderah
- Fingal Head
- Kingscliff
- Casuarina
- Cudgen
- Cabarita Beach
- Bogangar
- Hastings Point
- Pottsville
- Uki
- Burringbar
- Mooball
Southern Gold Coast QLD
- Coolangatta
- Bilinga
- Tugun
- Currumbin
- Palm Beach
- Elanora
- Burleigh Heads
- Burleigh Waters
- Miami
If a town isn't listed, ask us anyway.
Easy to book, fast quoting, cost effective
Managed for you. A date that suits you, a confirmation in writing, a message when we are on the way, and told first if anything changes.
Book online in a couple of minutes, or send a text, ring us or email, whichever you'd actually do.
Condition drives the price on work like this, so the honest answer is a fast quote rather than an instant one. Tell us what you've got and roughly what state it's in, and we'll come back with a number quickly. Photos are usually enough. If it needs eyes on it, we'll say so rather than guess.
You'll know the price before we start, not after. If the job turns out smaller than you described, we'll tell you rather than hold you to the bigger number. If it needs more time than we quoted, you'll hear that before we begin.
How it works
- Tell us about the job.
- We confirm the price and agree a time and access.
- We do the clean, and you get a message when we're on the way.
- If something needs fixing, you hear it from us first.
Booking a gutter clean
1. When is the best time to get our gutters done?
Late spring, before the storm season, and again in early autumn if you have trees over the roof. Spring also gets it done before the bushfire season, which is when fire services ask people to clear their gutters. If your ceiling has ever stained after a storm, do it now rather than at the next change of season.
2. What do you do with all the leaves?
They come out by hand into a bucket, go into bags on a tarp and leave with us. Nothing gets blown into your garden, flushed down your downpipes or left beside your bins. If you would rather keep it for compost, say so and we will tip it where you want it instead.
3. Can you do a two-storey house?
It depends on access more than height: firm level ground for the ladder, room to set it at the right angle, and no power line in the way. If a section is not safe to reach we will say so and tell you what sort of operator can do it.
4. Do you need anything from us on the day?
Side access, the gate unlocked, dogs sorted out and cars moved off the driveway where we need to set a ladder. A tap we can use for the flush. If the roof feeds a rainwater tank, tell us when you book, because we work around the diverter.
5. What happens if you find damage up there?
We photograph it, show you and tell you what it is in plain words. Rusted joins, sagging brackets, a valley that fills every storm and cracked pointing on a tiled roof are the usual ones. We do not do roof repairs, so there is nothing in it for us either way.
How often gutters need doing, and what it costs
1. How often should gutters be cleaned?
Twice a year suits most homes, and once a year is enough only on a block with nothing overhanging the roof. With eucalypts, paperbarks or tea trees over the house it is realistically three or four times, because those trees shed bark and leaves all year rather than in one season. The roof tells you: if litter is visible from the ground, it is overdue.
2. What happens if you never clean your gutters?
Water stops leaving the roof properly. It backs up under the sheeting into the eaves and fascia, spills over the front edge onto garden beds and foundations, sits in the low sections and rusts the gutter from the inside, and breeds mosquitoes through summer. Dry litter also gives an ember somewhere to land in fire season.
3. Should gutters be cleaned by hand or with a blower?
By hand for anything damp or packed. A blower moves dry leaves quickly but sprays them across the roof and the garden, and it pushes fines straight into the downpipes, which is where the next blockage forms. Pressure washing a gutter does the same thing, and it can force water back under the roof sheeting.
4. Is gutter guard worth it?
It reduces the work rather than ending it. Good mesh keeps leaves and embers out and is genuinely useful under trees, but fine debris still builds up on top of it and in the valleys, so it needs checking. Guard installed badly can also hold litter against the roof.
5. How much does gutter cleaning cost?
Gutter cleaning is usually priced on the length of gutter and the access, with a minimum charge for small jobs, and it moves with height, roof pitch, how packed the gutters are and whether valleys and a second storey are involved. That's why we quote rather than publish a flat rate that would be wrong for most roofs. Ask for a price against a written scope rather than an hourly rate. Tell us the basics and you'll have a price back quickly, with no obligation attached to it.
Gutter cleaning
Book it before the wet season.
Tell us roughly how big the house is and what is growing over it. We will come back with a price, a date and an honest word on how often it will need doing. Book today.