A typical gutter cleaning scenario goes something like this: One day during a heavy rain you notice that there is water running off of your roof in sheets on one or more sections. If the gutters were working properly that wouldn’t be happening, therefore they must be clogged. When the weather clears you realize that you have to do something about the clogged gutter but you do not have any special gutter cleaning tools. Can you proceed anyway? What is absolutely essential for gutter cleaning? The answer is yes, you can proceed, but you do need a few items no matter what.
You do not necessarily need the fancy gutter brushes, scoops, or wands to clean your gutters, but there are a few essential items. First you will need a ladder. You have to be able to reach your gutters in order to clean them. The other essential items include a pair of gloves and a trash bag. You have to have somewhere to put the debris once you clean it out, hence the trash bag. And you want to protect yourself when you are handling the mold and mildew covered leaves in the gutters, hence the gloves. You can use your own two hands to scoop out the debris. Once you clear the big pieces your gutter should work well enough until you can get back up there with a brush or a garden hose.
If you do not have a ladder, which is the hardest essential to come by then you do have one other alternative tool that you can use – the telephone. Call a gutter cleaning service to get the job done. However, keep in mind that it will probably take them as long to get to your job as it will for you to get your own gutter cleaning tools and do the job yourself.
by C. J.
30 Mar 2010 at 01:04
Why not consider the newer method of cleaning out rain gutters without a ladder? With the newly invented Gutter Clutter Buster anyone with a wet/dry vac that has a 2.5″ hose can fasten this attachment to the hose, place it in their gutter, walk down the gutter line and literally have the debris, wet or dry, “vacuumed out” while you stay safe on the ground. The best part is there will be “no clean-up” afterwards. All debris goes directly into my wet/dry vac and is then dumped either around my plants for an extra layer of mulch or into my compost pile. This saves me time, energy, and money all year long. Because it is so easy to do I do my gutters more often and the water flowing from my gutters into my rain barrels is much cleaner to use. I’ve eliminated the problem with mosquitoes and stagnant water in my gutters, as well.