How to Clean Gutters, Soffits, and Fascias: A Beginner’s Guide to Water Fed Pole Systems -

The Difference Between Gutter Clearing and Gutter, Soffit & Fascia Cleaning

Cleaning gutters is a general term most people associate with clearing debris from inside the gutter itself. This service is essential as it helps prevent blockages, leaks, and potential damage, making it a mandatory task for maintaining a healthy gutter system.

On the other hand, Gutter, Soffit & Fascia Cleaning focuses on cleaning the external surfaces of the gutters, soffits, and fascias to remove grime buildup. Using a water-fed pole system, this service leaves the gutters looking fresh and makes the overall appearance of a home more eye catching.

What Is a Water Fed Pole System?

A Water Fed Pole (WFP) system is a telescopic pole connected to a water source, often a backpack system like the Gardiner model I use. It’s paired with a brush and purified water, making it an effective tool for cleaning various surfaces.

Originally popularised for window cleaning, WFP systems have expanded their uses to include cleaning gutters, soffits, and fascias and a whole host of other exterior cleaning tasks. With the right setup, you can not only clean external gutter systems but also offer window cleaning and other services which require such a setup, adding another potential revenue stream to your business.

I primarily use my WFP system for gutter, soffit, and fascia cleaning. It’s an excellent solution for reaching high or awkward areas safely from the ground, offering great results without compromising on safety or efficiency.

Why This Service Is a Perfect Addition to My Business

Visible Results:

While clearing debris from inside the gutters is necessary, the results are not immediately obvious to homeowners. However, cleaning the external surfaces delivers a striking transformation that’s instantly noticeable, giving customers a clear and tangible improvement to appreciate.

Enhanced Curb Appeal:

Clean gutters, soffits, and fascias enhance the overall appearance of a property, which homeowners love. It’s not just about functionality—clean, polished gutters significantly improve the way their home looks

Marketing Opportunities:

Offering this service creates a great chance to capture before-and-after photos or videos for marketing. Highlighting these transformations helps showcase the value of the service and attracts more customers. I think it’s a great way to sell gutter clearing by offering the two services together.

Customer Satisfaction:

By combining gutter clearing with external cleaning, I can deliver a more complete solution. Customers benefit from both properly functioning gutters and a fresh, clean look. Most of them clean up like new, which makes a huge difference.

By offering both services together, I provide my customers with the best of both worlds—well-maintained gutters that are not only effective but also visually appealing. This dual approach ensures their home is protected and looks its best.

How I Use a Water Fed Pole (WFP) System for Gutter Cleaning

A WFP system combines water pressure and a brush head to effectively remove dirt and grime from surfaces. Here’s how I typically use my setup for cleaning gutters:

1️⃣ Filling the Backpack:
I start by filling my 22-litre backpack with tap water. For gutter cleaning, purified water isn’t necessary in my opinion. Would it be a better option, yes, but it’s not mandatory as it’s more for window cleaning than anything else.

2️⃣ Adding Cleaning Products:
To the tap water, I add a mix of Fairy Liquid and TFR (Traffic Film Remover). This creates a soapy solution that’s excellent for tackling stubborn grime on gutters, soffits, and fascias. Stronger solutions may be needed from time to time.

3️⃣ Applying the Cleaning Solution:
Using the WFP system, I spray the gutters with the cleaning mix, ensuring thorough coverage. I let the solution sit for 5–10 minutes to allow the TFR to break down the grime and dirt buildup.

4️⃣ Scrubbing and Rinsing:
After letting the solution work, I use the medium-bristle brush attachment on my WFP system to scrub away the dirt. I then rinse down the gutters with clean water to remove all the loosened grime.

5️⃣ Drying Fascias and Soffits:
Once the gutters are clean, I switch to a separate extendable pole fitted with a towel or drying attachment. This step ensures the fascias and soffits are streak-free and free from drip marks, leaving a polished finish.

By following this process, I can achieve a professional-quality clean that leaves guttering systems not only functioning properly but also looking fresh and well-maintained. The addition of drying the fascias and soffits is a small extra step that makes a noticeable difference in the final result.

Advantages of Using a WFP System

1. Safety and Accessibility

One of the greatest advantages of a Water Fed Pole (WFP) system is its ability to clean hard-to-reach areas safely from the ground. While this might seem like an obvious benefit, it’s worth noting that window cleaners traditionally relied on ladders and buckets for years before WFP systems revolutionised the industry.

For services like gutter, soffit, and fascia cleaning, a WFP system is practically essential. Personally, I can’t imagine offering this service without one—it just wouldn’t make sense. Using a WFP significantly reduces the time spent on ladders, which I always try to avoid for safety reasons.

If you’re interested in understanding more about ladder safety for gutter cleaning, please visit our dedicated page below. Safety is always a top priority, and tools like WFP systems play a crucial role in ensuring it.

Ladder saftey and accessories

2. High-Quality Results

Using a Water Fed Pole (WFP) with water and a bit of cleaning product makes cleaning gutters, soffits, and fascias so much easier. The combination of scrubbing and rinsing does a great job at removing dirt, algae, and other debris, leaving most gutter systems looking as good as new.

The WFP system is super versatile and handles even stubborn grime without much hassle. It’s a must-have for anyone offering exterior cleaning services, and the results really do speak for themselves, your customers will appreciate the fresh, clean look each time because it’s actually noticeable.

3. Efficiency

A Water Fed Pole (WFP) system makes cleaning large areas quick and thorough, saving time for both you and your customer. Its speed and ease of use make it a must-have for this kind of work. That said, a WFP fed from a larger tank in the van would be a lot faster than using a backpack which we will look at later.

Like I mentioned earlier, I couldn’t imagine offering gutter, soffit, and fascia cleaning without one. Trying to do this by hand, especially when working alone, just doesn’t feel practical. The WFP system simplifies the process, allowing you to focus on delivering great results while staying safe.

4. Environmentally Friendly

Many Water Fed Pole (WFP) systems use purified water or, at the very least, regular tap water combined with mild products like TFR (Traffic Film Remover) and simple, Fairy Liquid. This means there’s no need to rely on harsh chemicals to deliver effective cleaning results.

With this approach, you can achieve a professional finish while being mindful of environmental impact. It’s a win-win, as you’re able to clean thoroughly without introducing strong chemicals that might be harmful to plants, pets, or surfaces, unlike other exterior cleaning services. This makes using a WFP system for this service, a safe, effective, and eco-friendly solution for gutter, soffit, and fascia cleaning.

5. Versatility

In addition to cleaning gutters, soffits, and fascias, Water Fed Pole (WFP) systems are incredibly useful for cleaning conservatories, solar panels, and more. Because they use quick lock detachable heads, it’s easy to alternate for other types of services. it’s a solution for various exterior cleaning challenges.

6.Making the most of time

Although it takes longer than gutter clearing alone, or at least it does for me, It’s still a valuable chargeable service. I’ve found it to be a great way to earn some extra income alongside my gutter clearing services.

In fact, it’s well worth it, as you’re already on-site with everything set up and ready to go. Why not make the most of the opportunity by offering something else seen as though you are on site anyway. I have it as an option to every customer who requests “gutter cleaning”?

Disadvantages of Using a WFP System

1. Initial Cost

Investing in a high-quality WFP system can be costly upfront. I purchased my entire setup from Gardiner, which includes the backpack, Water Fed Pole, and all the necessary accessories. My setup cost £487 + VAT, so it wasn’t the cheapest option. This did include the water fed pole, the backpack and all the components for a functioning setup. More information on this later.

That said, there are more affordable options available on sites like Amazon and eBay. However, I personally chose to invest in a higher-end setup for better quality, which naturally comes with a higher price tag.

It’s important to consider the long-term savings in efficiency, versatility, and longevity which make the investment worthwhile in the end.

2. Water Usage

These systems use a substantial amount of water, which could be a concern in areas with water restrictions. I know that window cleaners often have tanks fitted in the back of their vans which I briefly referred to earlier, and have their WFP directly connected to that, but since I have a lot of equipment for other cleaning jobs, I’m hesitant to install a tank myself.

As I don’t primarily use the WFP system for cleaning windows, I usually rely on the customer’s outdoor water supply for cleaning the guttering system. However, this can be an issue if they don’t have one, as the 22-litre tank may need to be refilled several times to complete the job which is quite annoying if I’m honest, especially when you want to crack on with the job.

Positives for the Negatives

Now let’s address some of the negatives above with some positive insights.

Initial Cost: Yes, it’s an additional expense, but you can easily recoup the cost if you use it solely for gutter services. Even better, you don’t have to purchase a top-brand WFP like Gardiner—there are plenty of cheaper options available that I assume will work just fine. I’m hesitant to give any recommendations at this point as I haven’t actually tried any others that are cheaper.

Water Usage: Properly cleaning a gutter system will require a significant amount of water. If you have a pre-filled tank in the back of your van, this won’t be an issue. However, if you don’t, there are a couple of ways to manage if the customer doesn’t have an outdoor water supply.Firstly, you can bring along some 25L water drums, preferably five or more, filled in advance.

Secondly, you could ask a neighbour if you can use their water supply. They may let you use it for free, but if not, offering a small payment might help sweeten the deal.

Time: Make sure you charge accordingly as it may take you longer than expected to externally clean the guttering system due to refills etc, especially when using a backpack setup.

My Thoughts on the Gardiner WFP

In this section, I’d like to share my thoughts on the Gardiner system that I use. At the end of this section, I’ll list all the components I purchased to create a complete working setup from Gardiner for cleaning gutters, soffits, and fascias.

SLX-27 Telescopic Pole: A Reliable Choice for Exterior Cleaning

I use the SLX-27 model of telescopic poles, with “27” indicating its length in feet. This model can extend up to 27 feet, with a working height of approximately 32 feet, depending on your height of course. This is more than adequate for most domestic guttering systems, typically ranging from 20–25 feet in height.

opted for the SLX model instead of the CLX (the next model down) after reading recommendations in a Facebook exterior cleaning group. The SLX is lighter, and in hindsight, I’m glad I took their advice, lighter equipment makes a big difference when you’re using it daily, or at least for this specific type of work it does.

Weight and Comfort

While the SLX pole isn’t particularly heavy, you may notice some strain in your shoulders when it’s fully extended and used for extended periods. This is something to keep in mind when investing in a water-fed pole (WFP) setup. This is why a lighter piece of equipment is usually better.

I also have an aluminium pole for taking before-and-after photos, and it’s noticeably heavier compared to the carbon fibre SLX pole. it’s not a branded pole or anything, just a generic extendable pole, but it’s noticeably heavier when extended. The lighter weight of the SLX makes it far more manageable during longer jobs.

Build Quality and Performance

The build quality of the SLX pole is excellent, as you’d expect for the price. Made from carbon fibre, it’s much lighter than older aluminium extendable poles.

There is a bit of flex when the pole is fully extended, but I’ve found this can actually help when cleaning gutters externally.

Maintenance Tips and Observations

So far, I’ve had no major issues with the SLX pole. The one thing I’d emphasise is the importance of cleaning it thoroughly after each use.

Be sure to remove any grit or dirt from the extension sections. My pole is now completely scratched and scored from dirt getting trapped between the telescopic pieces. This is my own fault for not washing it down properly after use.

This might be unavoidable over time, I’m not entirely sure, but it’s worth trying to minimise the damage to keep the pole in the best possible condition.

The Gardiner Backpack

The Gardiner backpack holds up to 22 litres of water, which is usually enough to complete the pre-clean on a standard three-bedroom semi-detached house.

It’s easily portable, even when full, allowing you to move it around the house with relative ease to reach any area you need.

Although it’s designed as a backpack, I wouldn’t recommend wearing it that way. Save your lower back and place it on the ground in your work area instead.

Water Capacity: Convenience vs. Limitations

As mentioned, one fill of the backpack generally covers a standard three-bedroom semi-detached house.

However, in some cases, you may need to refill it multiple times, depending on the level of dirt and grime in the guttering system.

This can make some jobs quite time-consuming if you’re having to stop and refill it several times to achieve a satisfactory clean.

Although this is a chargeable service, it can still feel frustrating waiting for it to refill before you can carry on. Perhaps it’s just my impatience, but for me, this is the only real downside.

Battery Life: A Strong Performer

The battery life is excellent. I’ve managed to clean three houses in a row on a single charge, so it’s definitely reliable in that regard.

I’m not sure how long the battery will last before it starts to degrade, but for now, I’m very pleased with its performance.

As long as I charge it the night before, I know it’ll be good to go for the entire day.

Full list of The WFP System I Use

If you plan to use the WFP system for more services, you would naturally be adding to this list. For now, this is what I use for a basic setup, ready for cleaning gutter systems.

Conclusion

Offering this comprehensive service has increased customer satisfaction and enhanced the appearance of homes, making it a valuable addition to my services.

Adding Gutter, Soffit, and Fascia Cleaning alongside gutter clearing has significantly improved my business.

This combination not only ensures gutters work efficiently but also provides a polished, professional finish that customers appreciate.

Although the WFP system requires some initial investment, the safety, efficiency, and noticeable results make it well worth the cost.