Gutter Cleaning Tips

Essentially, cleaning your gutter means removing the debris that collects there over the course of time, so should you use a gutter scoop to make the job easier? A lot of people choose to wear gloves and use their hands to do the job. But, there are tools available to help if you do not want to get your hands dirty or worry about puncturing gloves.

Gutter scoops are just what they sounds like. It is a short, but relatively deep shovel or spade, usually made of plastic that you use to lift debris out of your gutter. Because it needs to fit in the gutter the utensil must not be wider than your gutter. Gutters range anywhere from two and a half inches to five and a half inches in width so the scoop needs to be slightly smaller than your gutter width to function properly. Make sure you measure before you purchase. These tools will usually start with just a flat plastic bottom and then the sides will get gradually taller as you move towards the handle. Make sure that your gutter scoop can hold a good amount of debris. You do not want to be slowed down by having to scoop very small amounts over and over. You can accomplish your task much fast if you can take larger scoops out each time. Another way to save time is to find a gutter scoop with a very long handle so that you can reach further down the gutter without having to move your ladder. The most time consuming part of cleaning the gutters is going up and down the ladder to move it. A long handled gutter scoop will allow you to reach a larger area of the gutter without moving.

You can purchase these tools from a variety of places. The most likely place to find one would be a large home improvement chain store like Home Depot or Lowes. You can also find them at many online retailers or general purpose stores like Target or Wal-mart. You shouldn’t have to pay more than five or six dollars for a serviceable product.

Alternatives to buying include using your hands or a garden trowel or making your own. Your hand is the cheapest alternative, but it is slower than using a scoop. Most scoops will be able to hold several handfuls of debris and will make the chore go faster. Garden trowels have the same problem. They are small enough to fit in the gutter, but they do not hold a large volume of debris. Another downside to using a trowel is that they do not have the steep sides to hold the debris in place. Even if you manage to get a large scoop of debris, it will fall off the sides before you can get it to the bucket or garbage bag. Making your own is probably your best alternative. Fabric softeners bottles area good choice because they are thin. You should leave the cap on and turn the bottle on its side. Then cut the bottom off at an angle to make the sloping sides of the scoop.

Whatever tool you decide to use, make sure that you make the choice. Cleaning your gutters is extremely important and cannot be avoided. I would recommend using a gutter scoop to make the job go faster.

If you do not want to have to clean your gutters twice a year or if you do not want the chore to be as hard to complete, one option is to install some kind of gutter protection or gutter guard systems. The type of gutter protection that you choose will depend on the type of debris that collects in your gutters and the pitch of your roof.

Most people protect their gutters with a gutter cover installation or gutter guard. Some people call these devices leaf gutter guards. A cover for your gutters has many small holes in it that let the water get through, but not leaves or other debris. It can also consist of simply a mesh screen covering your gutters. Depending on the size of the debris, you will need to look for certain sized holes. If your gutters are usually clogged with small pine needles then you will want smaller holes than if they are usually clogged with larger leaves. However, most gutter guards allow at least some debris to get into your gutters so you will still need to clean them out periodically. These rain gutter guards vary widely in price. You could do it yourself and install a wire mesh covering for about $250 or you could spend more than $2,000 for a manufactured option. Amerimax gutter guard products are quite popular and they have several varieties that vary in price and effectiveness.

One very popular system for gutter protection is one based on the water adhesion principle. A guard extends from your roof over your gutters to the edge and leaves only a small opening precisely engineered to allow only water to enter your gutters. The surface tension of the water makes it adhere to the gutter protection system longer than the debris and as the debris falls over the edge and falls away, the water enters the gutter system and is carried safely away by your downspouts. This particular product can be very expensive depending on the size of your house. The average 1,500 square foot house has about 160 linear feet of gutters and this product costs from eighteen to twenty dollars per foot. That comes out to a price tag of $2,880 – $3,200. Nevertheless, some people think it is worth the money. Most gutter guard reviews of these types of products rave about how well they work.

One final gutter protection option is a foam filter. This product is typically shaped like a triangle and fits into your gutter so that it cannot be seen from street level. Since the foam is filling the gutter, most large debris such as leaves and twigs cannot clog your gutter. The foam allows water to flow through it freely so there should not be any overflow of water. One downside to this type of material is that smaller debris can get in the cervices left around the foam and cause more clogging problems than if the filter was not present. This option is much less expensive than the other options though and can be installed by anyone where other systems might require a professional installation.

There are many options in terms of gutter covers. Your budget and type of debris you’re dealing with will determine which gutter guard is right for you.

The most important piece of equipment you need to clean your gutters is a ladder. Unfortunately, that ladder is also the way you are most likely to get hurt completing the task. Thousands of people suffer ladder related injuries such as broken bones, bruises, or cuts every year according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. They say that hundreds of people even die from injuries sustained on a ladder. You want to make sure that you are safe when using a ladder when cleaning your gutters as well as taking other safety precautions.

Most importantly, you want to make sure that the base of your ladder is on solid, level ground and not on any ice, snow, grease or mud. The rule of thumb for where to place your ladder: for every four feet high that the ladder is going to go up, the base of the ladder should be one foot away from the house. So, for a typical one-story house, the top of your ladder will be about 10 above the ground and the base of the ladder will be about 2.5 feet from the house. This means that you need a ladder that is between 10 and 11 feet long.

Make sure that you always face the ladder when moving up or down and never carry anything in your hand while climbing. You will probably need a garbage bag and gloves to clean your gutters so you should carry these things in your pocket or wear the gloves when climbing up and down. I find it works best to attach the garbage bag to a rope and then tie the rope to my belt loop while I climb. Then when I get to the top I can raise the bag up and down. Experts will tell you that you must always maintain three points of contact when on a ladder. That means that either two feet and one hand or two hands and one foot must be touching the ladder at any given moment. Therefore, once you get the garbage bag up to the top, use the rope to tie it to the ladder so you can hang on with one hand and clean out debris with the other.

There is one other safety concern that I can think of. I recommend that you wear gloves when cleaning out your gutters because you will be exposed to molds from the wet leaves and debris in your gutters. That moist environment is the perfect place to grow mold and bacteria. Most people will be fine if they wear the gloves and may only suffer the occasional sneeze. However, there are people with severe mold allergies that might suffer worse side effects. If you are one of those people then I recommend that you let another family member or a professional clean your gutters and downspouts.