In addition to preventing damage to your home’s foundation, rain gutters shield your home’s siding and landscaping from heavy runoff. In the winter, clogged gutters can also result in ice dams. So it’s crucial to regularly clean your gutters.
How to clean gutters? How often clean gutters? At least once per year, you should clean gutters. Especially if you have trees that hang over your home after a major storm. You will learn about easy ways to clean gutters.
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Why Clean Gutters?
Rainwater that collects on the roof is channeled away from the home’s foundation by downspouts, thanks to the vital function of gutters. Without gutters, water that accumulates close to the foundation may seep into the basement or crawlspace or may leak through windows.
Other than keeping them clean of debris, rain gutters typically require very little maintenance to function properly. A buildup of leaves in the gutters can result in clogged downspouts, which let the water overflow the top of the gutter channel and fall to the ground below. A worse scenario is when snow on the roof melts into the gutter and freezes there due to the winter’s melt and freeze cycles. These heavy, ice-filled gutters can occasionally separate from the roof because they are so heavy. So the reason why you have to clean the gutters are as follows.
Clean Gutters Safety
It’s not the safest method to remove leaves from a gutter while balancing on a telescoping ladder. The good news is that there are a number of clean gutters tools available that let homeowners clear the debris while still keeping their feet firmly planted.
Avoid using a stepladder, which can topple over if you lose your balance if you must use a ladder to clean gutters. Use a sturdy extension ladder instead, and have a helper stand at the bottom to stabilize it.
It is best to hire a gutter-cleaning service to take care of the job for any home with more than one story of height. These businesses are equipped with the right tools to safely access high gutters. Avoid attempting to climb onto your roof to clean your gutters; the risk is not worth it.
What’s The Easiest Way To Clean Gutters?
The leaves change color in the autumn, but they also fall to the ground and fill your gutters. Consider that there’s a better way to clean your gutters if you’re putting off this task due to the thought of crawling around the roof and clawing gunk with a gloved hand. Power tools are the two words we have for you. Consider using one of these creative clean gutters techniques, then get to work!
A Word of Caution
Make sure you use the utmost caution when working on high rooftops or ladders before pulling out your inventive gutter cleaning tools. Follow these tips to keep yourself safe:
- Use an extension ladder for high rooftops.
- Wear work goggles to protect your eyes, and protect your hands with heavy suede gloves.
- Except in extreme cases, we advise against walking on the roof. Leaning “downhill” from the roof to the gutter increases your risk of falling. It is safest to access the roof and gutters using an extension ladder. Additionally, we advise waiting until midday, when the roof is dry.
- To prevent your gutters from becoming clogged once more the next time it rains, make sure to clean the roof of any debris before starting on the gutters. Use a leaf blower or broom to accomplish this.
- If at all possible, have a helper hold the ladder while you clean the gutters.
- When cleaning the gutters, don’t forget to empty the downspouts as well. For this, a flexible rod with a brush on the end, like those used to clean dryer vents, works great. Run water through the downspout to make sure it is clear all the way out.
Leaf Blower
Using a leaf blower to clean gutters replaces laborious ground raking and eliminates the need for manual debris removal. The simplest method is to climb a ladder onto the roof and walk along the edge while blowing the leaves out of the gutter.
Using an extension kit is a safer approach. You can clean the gutters while standing on the ground because this extends and curves the reach of your leaf blower. When using this technique, you must wear goggles because you are directly below everything that is blown out. Be prepared for debris to fall on you if you use this messy, but effective, method.
Power Washer
The leaves may be sticky and wet if a storm came through before you had a chance to clean the gutters. The use of air compressors and leaf blowers is subsequently more difficult. The use of a power washer might be a more effective strategy in this situation. We advise using a telescoping wand with a u-shaped attachment at the end so you can clean the gutters from the ground up due to the force generated by a high-pressure power washer.
When you’re done, the downspouts’ bottoms will be covered in debris. You can pick this up with a rake or gloved hands, or you can “sweep” it away with a water broom. Your siding, windows, and anything else below may become covered in debris. Take patio furniture, etc., out of consideration. and be prepared to power rinse your home afterward, if needed.
Wet/Dry Vacuum
You don’t want to have to clean up a mess after cleaning gutters. Vacuum the debris using a wet/dry vacuum all at once. You can carry out this task while seated on a ladder or, once more, by purchasing an extension kit that enables you to access the gutters from solid ground.
Get Help with Gutter Cleaning
Even with inventive gutter-cleaning tools at your disposal, you probably dread having to do this. Give Mr. the task of cleaning your gutters if you lack the time or physical ability to do so. We provide expert gutter cleaning services, so you’ll never have to do it yourself again, handyman. Please get in touch with us right away if you’d like more information or to schedule clean gutters at your house.
Cleaning gutters is safe, so clean gutters in time! Be cautious, a leaf blower, power washer, and wet/dry vacuum, and get help with gutter cleaning are good ways to clean gutters. Do you know how to clean gutters?
