Mildura's rain arrives all at once
Little rain, few rain days
The airport averages 273.6 mm a year on just 65.9 days. A gutter can go a long time between drinks, so whatever lands in it stays there.
Then a record downpour
Mildura's highest daily rainfall is 155 mm, on 5 February 2011. More than half a year's average fell in one day.
January 2022: Mildura and Irymple
Storms overnight on 26 to 27 January 2022 brought 80 mm, the largest January daily total recorded at Mildura. The local VICSES unit took 120 calls between 9 pm and 5 am, including 22 for building damage in Mildura and 16 in Irymple.
November 2016: the supercell
A supercell storm on 11 November 2016 brought more than 485 requests for help to VICSES. Storms like that can arrive with little warning, so there's no time to clear gutters once one is on the radar.
Why timing beats frequency in Mildura
In a wetter city you clean to stop sludge building up. In Mildura it's different. Debris sits dry for months, and the risk is concentrated in the storm months. The Mildura storms on record here fell in November, January and February, so a clean in September or October covers you for the season.
Working on a ladder in Mildura's heat is a hazard of its own. January averages a 33.3 °C maximum and passes 40 °C on a number of days a year. Metal gutters and roofs get hot enough to burn, and heat saps concentration. That's another reason to get the clean done in spring.
What you can do, and what to hand over
You can
- Look along the gutters from the ground in spring for leaves, nests or plants growing in them
- Run a hose into each downpipe from below, early in the morning before the heat builds
- Clear a single-storey gutter from a ladder if you're steady, the ground is firm and someone holds it
- Check after each big storm that every downpipe is still running
Leave to a roofer
- Two-storey gutters, or any gutter on a hot day in summer
- Box gutters and valleys, reached only from the roof
- Gutters bent or pulled loose by storm wind
- Downpipes blocked underground, which is a plumber's job
Questions to ask before you book
- Can you come in September or October, before the storm months?
- Will you flush every downpipe and show me they're running?
- Do you charge extra to travel out to Irymple, Merbein or Red Cliffs?
- Will you tell me if any gutters are sagging or holding water?
What we'd do
We'd book one proper clean every spring, ideally in September or October, and check the downpipes from the ground after every big storm. If the gutters fill with leaves within weeks, we'd add gutter guards rather than pay for more cleans. For general ladder safety, see gutter cleaning.
Want a roofer to take a look?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match it with a Find My Roofer certified roofer who specialises in that kind of work, and they call you to quote. Your number goes to them alone.