Here in Cairns and Far North Queensland one of the major problems we come across on people’s roofs are pigeon and myna bird infestations under and around their solar panels. The warm, confined space under your solar panels provides the perfect place for these pesky birds to build their nests. Very quickly a couple of pigeons can turn into a huge, noisy, smelly mess. The mess under the panels can be bad enough, but an infestation often leads to a whole range of other issues.

Droppings covering panels

With a lot of pigeons comes a lot of pigeon droppings which can end up covering your solar panels. This can severely impact their efficiency or damage them permanently, costing you quite a lot in the long run.

Droppings and discarded eggs clogging gutters

Droppings and old eggs that have rolled out from under your solar panels can also end up covering your roof, filling your gutters, and clogging your downpipes. Again, this is messy and smelly, but it can also lead to rusting gutters and water leaking into your ceiling cavity.

Health Concerns

On top of the damage pigeons can cause to your property, they also pose a very serious health risk to you and your pets. Pigeons are known to carry lice and diseases which can easily spread to you or your pets if the problem is left untreated.

How our Gutter-Vac team can combat these issues

Our team is equipped to safely and efficiently clean your solar panels and roof. We can also use our high-powered vacuum to remove any droppings and debris from under your solar panels and in your gutters. This mess is completely removed from your property and disposed of for you. Finally, Gutter-Vac Cairns can close any gaps between panels and install solar skirts which will prevent any pests from moving back in.

Often people are completely unaware that they have an infestation under their solar panels until the damage is already quite extreme. So, if you have solar panels and know that there is a high number of pigeons or myna birds in your area, or you suspect you may have an infestation, give us a call. We can check your roof for you and provide a free quote for any work that we think needs doing.

If you’ve been keeping up-to-date with the local news you will have noticed that bush and grass fires are occurring far more often lately due to the dry and windy weather. This weather is expected to continue for some time and so it is important that we are aware of the heightened risk of fires and do what we can to prepare and protect our homes.

A few things you can do to prepare for fire season

• Clean up and dispose of any garden waste such as leaf litter, dried palm fronds and lawn clippings from around your home and keep your lawn mowed short.
• Clear your gutters, roof and downpipes of leaves and other debris that could easily catch fire.
• Trim any trees or shrubs that are close to your home.
• Remove flammable material from around your house, such as doormats, furniture, toys and firewood.
• Consider displaying a Stable Water Supply (SWS) sign outside your home if you have a pool, dam or water tank on your property. This helps firefighters identify available water sources to use to combat fires.
• Check that your home and contents insurance is up to date and discuss your Bushfire Survival Plan with your family and neighbours.
• Seek out information. Do not assume that you will receive a warning.
  • Be aware of the Fire Danger Rating in your area and stay up-to-date by regularly checking your state department’s website and social media pages.

The following links provide useful information in regard to preparing your Bushfire Survival Plan and updates on bushfires in Queensland.

• https://www.ruralfire.qld.gov.au/BushFire_Safety/Pages/Create-your-bushf…
• https://newsroom.psba.qld.gov.au/ 

If you require assistance preparing your home for bushfire season feel free to give Gutter-Vac Cairns a call on 0424 624 461 or email us at cairns@guttervac.com.au for a free quote. We can remove any leaf litter and debris from your roof, gutters and downpipes and dispose of all the mess for you.

Did you know Gutter-Vac Cairns also does tank cleaning? For many Australian households, tank water is their only source of water, or at least, drinkable water. Therefore, having your water tank cleaned on a regular basis (every four or five years) is extremely important.

The above pictures are some before and after shots of a recent tank clean that our team did in Cairns. A build-up of sludge and grime in your tank, like in these before pictures, can result in rusting. While this can be costly because your tank will either need to be repaired or replaced, a far greater concern is the risk to your health if your water becomes contaminated and unsafe to drink.

It is important to remember that any pollutants in your gutters, such as dirt, rubbish, insects, moss, animal droppings or even dead animals can contaminate your water due to water flowing over them or actually carrying them down into your tank. If your water does become contaminated it is crucial that you have your tank cleaned immediately.

Because the quality of your water is directly related to the cleanliness of your gutters we also recommend that you have your gutters cleaned at the same time as your tank. This will mean that your entire rainwater collecting system is clean and contaminant free, and ensures that your water is as clean and safe as possible.

Our trained and qualified technicians can safely and efficiently remove any sludge, sediment and other pollutants from the bottom of your tank using our state-of-the-art vacuum machine, with no chemicals required. We can even clean your tank while it’s full so as not to waste water; or, if the water is contaminated, we can empty the tank first.

So, if you have a water tank and know that your gutters are full, or you’re concerned that your water isn’t as clean as it should be, give Gutter-Vac Townsville a call. We’ll be happy to provide a free quote and answer any questions you may have.

It is important that schools are proactive regarding the maintenance and cleaning of their gutters and drainage systems. We find that gutters on school buildings fill up very quickly with all kinds of rubbish. In the dryer months, leaf litter and rubbish in gutters can become a fire hazard, while during storm season blockages in gutters and downpipes can lead to water leaking into ceiling cavities, causing serious damage to school buildings.

Gutter-Vac Cairns works during the holidays and over weekends so that there is no disruption to the school day. However, our technicians do hold current Blue Cards if they need to attend the site during school hours.

If your school’s budget is not able to cover a full gutter clean all in one go then we can also provide you with a maintenance plan spread over the year. With the September school holidays fast approaching now is the perfect time to book your school’s gutters in for a clean. Give Gutter-Vac Cairns a call and we’ll be happy to provide a free quote and discuss a maintenance plan for your school.

“Great friendly service. Nothing was trouble and went out of their way to assist customer get best possible result. Friendly, professional with great advice. I would recommend to use most definitely” says Craig from Cairns.

We love getting feedback from our customers and it’s great when it’s positive feedback like this.

This particular customer was having his roof removed and replaced at the same time as having his ceiling cavity cleaned, so we had to work alongside alot of other tradesmen to get the job done.

Thanks Craig for taking the time to complete our survey.

You may have noticed that here in North Queensland there is a huge myna bird population. This is a problem for a lot of people as the myna birds like to build their nests on roofs and in gutters. Myna birds not only fill your gutters with things like sticks and leaf litter, but they also tend to build their nests out of any rubbish they can find, such as plastic wrappers and cardboard. This can stop your gutters flowing properly and end up clogging your downpipes.

While a myna bird infestation can look and smell terrible due to the rubbish, droppings and discarded eggs, it can also be quite costly. Blocked gutters and downpipes can result in water overflowing and leaking into your ceiling cavity; and, if you have solar panels, the bird droppings can stop them from working efficiently or damage them permanently.

If you’ve noticed a lot of myna birds around your house or neighbourhood, or you’re finding rubbish in your yard, there is a good chance you have birds nesting in your gutters. If that’s the case, there are a couple of things Gutter-Vac Cairns can do to help. First, we can vacuum out your gutters, cleaning away any rubbish and disposing of it for you. To prevent the myna birds returning we can also install gutter guard. This will keep them out of your gutters, and without somewhere to nest they will soon move on. Finally, if you have solar panels, we are able to clean them and install solar skirts to prevent birds from nesting under them.

If you have a problem with myna birds feel free to email us at cairns@guttervac.com.au or call us on 0424 624 461. We’ll be happy to provide you with a free quote and answer any questions you may have.

Did you know that Gutter-Vac Cairns does more than just gutter cleaning? We also do pressure cleaning of roofs, driveways, paths, etc. Here in North Queensland with the often wet and humid weather mould can be a real issue. This is particularly true on the Tablelands in places like Kuranda and Atherton where there are a lot of heavily shaded areas, surrounded by rainforest. Mould and other grime can make surfaces quite slippery and dangerous to walk on. It can also damage or permanently discolour surfaces and be harmful to your health. Our team at Gutter-Vac Cairns can help solve this problem by cleaning away the mould and other dirt or grime from your surfaces.

We can also use our vacuum system to capture and remove the dirty water for safe disposal. This means that if a surface has harmful chemicals or oil on it, there is no risk of those chemicals running off and contaminating the surrounding environment or waterways.

If you have a problem with mould give us a call. We’ll be happy to provide you with a quote and answer any questions you may have. PH: 0424 624 461.

July has been an exciting month for Gutter-Vac Cairns and Townsville as we at Gutter-Vac Townsville took on the brave task of expanding our business and taking over the Cairns franchise. We could not be more excited to get straight into work in Cairns, meet all our existing clients, build new relationships and continue providing the same great service that Gutter-Vac offers.

Some of the professional services we will continue to provide include:

• Gutter cleaning
• Roof cleaning
• Solar panel cleaning
• Bird proofing installation
• Gutter guard installation
• Stormwater pit cleaning
• Ceiling cavity cleaning
• Rain water tank cleaning
• Exterior building cleaning

These services are covered by a 100% satisfaction guarantee and we take care of everything for you, leaving no mess or clean-up for you to worry about.

Our Gutter-Vac technicians are fully qualified and insured, and with our growing team we look forward to taking on new residential and commercial jobs throughout the whole of North Queensland.

Well the Cairns Home Show has come and gone, and yes, the vacuum cleaning of ceiling cavities was high on everyone’s agenda. From the flammable ceiling insulation that was installed years ago, to the bird and rat problems that people in the north are having, cavity cleans and gutter guards were the talk of the town. You would be UNpleasantly surprised to know what’s in your roof.

It was a great weekend and awesome to be approached by happy clients and complimented on the service that Tim and I offer.

Many people over the weekend were seeking advice on gutter guards and what type of gutter guards would be best in their gutters, and how often they then need to be serviced.

Did you know that even if you have a gutter guard in place, you still need to have your gutters cleaned? ‘Set and forget’ is not the way that gutter guards were designed and don’t believe anyone that tells you any different.

Gutter Guards are great for keeping leaves and foliage out of your gutters, but no matter what sort of gutter guard you use, debris will still make its way into your gutters. The debris will break down and the fines go through the gutter guard, you will then find a build up of mud, dirt and sludge.

This mulch is the perfect place to then grow new trees. The seeds from nearby trees enter your gutters either by the wind or by bird droppings. These seeds then have the perfect environment in the sludge to begin to grow. Before you know, you can have a plant growing through your gutter guard from your gutters.

This build up in your gutters is also causing damage and rust to your gutters and down pipes and could very easily cause water damage to your fascia and ceilings.

To prevent this, even with gutter guard in place, you need to have your gutters regularly cleaned.

If you are interested in finding out which type of gutter guard is best for you, then please give me a call on 0424624461

Well the Cairns Home Show has come and gone, and yes, the vacuum cleaning of ceiling cavities was high on everyone’s agenda. From the flammable ceiling insulation that was installed years ago, to the bird and rat problems that people in the north are having, cavity cleans and gutter guards were the talk of the town. You would be UNpleasantly surprised to know what’s in your roof.

It was a great weekend and awesome to be approached by happy clients and complimented on the service that Tim and I offer.

Many people over the weekend were seeking advice on gutter guards and what type of gutter guards would be best in their gutters, and how often they then need to be serviced.

Did you know that even if you have a gutter guard in place, you still need to have your gutters cleaned? ‘Set and forget’ is not the way that gutter guards were designed and don’t believe anyone that tells you any different.

Gutter Guards are great for keeping leaves and foliage out of your gutters, but no matter what sort of gutter guard you use, debris will still make its way into your gutters. The debris will break down and the fines go through the gutter guard, you will then find a build up of mud, dirt and sludge.

This mulch is the perfect place to then grow new trees. The seeds from nearby trees enter your gutters either by the wind or by bird droppings. These seeds then have the perfect environment in the sludge to begin to grow. Before you know, you can have a plant growing through your gutter guard from your gutters.

This build up in your gutters is also causing damage and rust to your gutters and down pipes and could very easily cause water damage to your fascia and ceilings.

To prevent this, even with gutter guard in place, you need to have your gutters regularly cleaned.

If you are interested in finding out which type of gutter guard is best for you, then please give me a call on 0424624461

Well the Cairns Home Show has come and gone, and yes, the vacuum cleaning of ceiling cavities was high on everyone’s agenda. From the flammable ceiling insulation that was installed years ago, to the bird and rat problems that people in the north are having, cavity cleans and gutter guards were the talk of the town. You would be UNpleasantly surprised to know what’s in your roof.

It was a great weekend and awesome to be approached by happy clients and complimented on the service that Tim and I offer.

Many people over the weekend were seeking advice on gutter guards and what type of gutter guards would be best in their gutters, and how often they then need to be serviced.

Did you know that even if you have a gutter guard in place, you still need to have your gutters cleaned? ‘Set and forget’ is not the way that gutter guards were designed and don’t believe anyone that tells you any different.

Gutter Guards are great for keeping leaves and foliage out of your gutters, but no matter what sort of gutter guard you use, debris will still make its way into your gutters. The debris will break down and the fines go through the gutter guard, you will then find a build up of mud, dirt and sludge.

This mulch is the perfect place to then grow new trees. The seeds from nearby trees enter your gutters either by the wind or by bird droppings. These seeds then have the perfect environment in the sludge to begin to grow. Before you know, you can have a plant growing through your gutter guard from your gutters.

This build up in your gutters is also causing damage and rust to your gutters and down pipes and could very easily cause water damage to your fascia and ceilings.

To prevent this, even with gutter guard in place, you need to have your gutters regularly cleaned.

If you are interested in finding out which type of gutter guard is best for you, then please give me a call on 0424624461

Gutter-Vac Cairns have taken out the ‘National Single Franchise’ award at this year’s Annual Conference.

Although last year we were awarded Runner Up, it was a huge surprise this year with all the outstanding Gutter-Vac Franchisees throughout the country. There was a lot of discussion as to what makes a winning team, and almost everyone agreed that customer service was of the utmost importance.

Tim and I have continued to expand into the unknown, doing more and more ‘out of the box’ jobs. Pressure washing, soft washing, roof and external house cleans and most importantly, gutter cleaning are still on our to do list, but we are attending to more and more cavity cleans. More recently we have been working closely with a few insulation installers and have agreed that the old blow in, or paper insulation needs to be removed. Not only is it flammable, but it is also host to all kinds of things that we just don’t like to think about (mouse and rat dropping for example). And don’t be fooled as to how much of this blow in insulation is up there in your roof, it seriously expands to easy fill a huge skip bin. In other words, your home vacuum is just not going to cut the mustard, and to be honest you really don’t want to be going into the ceiling space.  We can have the ceiling cavity vacuumed and cleaned within a day.

As always following closely behind the Gutter-Vac National Conference, is the Cairns Home Show (no rest for the wicked they say Timbo). The last few years we have focused on different thing. Our first year at the Home Show we stuck to our training and ran with… you guessed it, vacuum cleaning gutters. The second year we looked more closely at Gutter Guards and Gutter Protection Systems, both fixed and slip in brushes. The amount of interest in Gutter guard is growing every year, and there is a system for every gutter, depending on the type of trees around and the shape of your roof and gutter. Chat with Tim at the Expo, he is the expert. However, this year our focus is going to be on the removal of insulation and vacuum cleaning of ceiling cavities. It’s the perfect time of the year for us to be in the ceiling, and it saves you paying stupidity tax in the middle of summer…Just a thought 🙂

So, look for our big red Gutter-Vac trailer and drop in on us at the Home Show.