How do you clean your gutters?

[rolliefingersbarber]

I need to clean my gutters but the gutters at the top of my house are basically inaccessible by ladder (for me anyways).  Has anyone had any success with the various tools to clean gutters from the ground?  Thanks in advance.

[Jon Bon]

There are various tools and gimmicks out there, but for the most part there is no silver bullet, well there is, its a gutter guard of some sort. Nothing beats putting your own eyes on a problem IME.


1. Buy a nice ladder, DIY, and gutter guards
2. Pay a guy, Clean gutters and gutter guards

[SilveradoBojangles]

We had someone do it, it cost $100, and I'd gladly pay that not to have Boyjangles or myself fall off a ladder.

[GuitarStv]

Buy a cheap ladder, a couple feet of rope, and a couple bags of something heavy (soil/wood chips for the garden, concrete, gravel, whatever).

1.  Put the ladder in front of you.  When you're standing straight, put your arms out straight while holding the ladder (keeping the bottom of the ladder at your feet).  That's roughly the angle you should set the ladder at.

2.  Put the heavy bags of stuff at the base of the ladder so the legs won't slide around.

3.  Climb the ladder to the top.  Wrap the rope around the little pegs in your gutter and the closest rung of your ladder and tie it securely.

Now your cheap ladder is solid.  It's not going to slide out from under you, and it's not going to fall backwards while you're up it.  At this point it's just a matter of reaching in and pulling any stuck crap free.  Then you move the ladder over a few feet and rinse/repeat.

[PlainsWalker]

We had someone do it, it cost $100, and I'd gladly pay that not to have Boyjangles or myself fall off a ladder.

I am impressed that you found a company that was willing to do it so cheaply.

I recently called a couple gutter companies in my area to get quotes. All of them wanted $2 per linear foot for first story clean-out, $3 per linear foot for second story gutters, and $4 per linear foot for second story clean-out if there were gutter guards in place. I can reach the first story gutters and keep those clean. The ones I actually wanted help with were the second story gutters. All three companies I checked with wanted to charge for cleaning all of the gutters and wouldn't do just the second story gutters. For less than the companies wanted to charge I was able to get a 25 ft. multi-position ladder and DIY it.

My gutters have the gutter guards in place so I actually needed to climb up there, remove the screen, and dig out the junk. My parents picked up one of those gutter cleaning leaf blower extensions. With no gutter guards and with all the junk in the gutter being dry and loose it worked well. The rub with the blower extension is if it's been a while since a the last clean-out and the junk has compacted and turned to dirt it doesn't blow out easily.

[TrMama]

I call Alan. He's our gutter guy. I think it's about $300 a couple times/year to clean the gutters and spray the rest of the pine needles off the roof. We have a terrifying roof line and can't even get to most of the 2nd story sections of gutter by ladder. Alan gets up on the roof and walks around the edge, scooping the heavy, wet, PNW tree debris out of the gutters as he goes.

I tried doing it once. Got as far as getting up on the roof and promptly laid face down on the roof in the starfish position, frozen in fear. I can work though my discomfort with heights in most situations, but apparently the roof is where my lizard brain draws the line.

[thenewguy]

Growing up, what my dad used to do to reach our tall gutters was build a big "J" (maybe 18ft tall) out of 3" PVC pipe and attach it to a leaf blower via an additional 90* elbow. It took a little strength/balance to hold the whole contraption steady, but it was pretty effective at blowing anything and everything out of the gutters without climbing all the way up there. It did make a mess on the ground though!

[lthenderson]

Not a solution for the OP since they can't get on their roof, but I use a leaf blower. It is basically me walking the perimeter of the roof a few feet from the edge and aiming the leaf blower. The roof part takes me all of about three or four minutes. Takes much longer to rake up the debris down on the ground. I usually do it before I mow and just mulch it in to eliminate the raking.

[Rcc]

I put in gutter guards years ago. I inspect now once every other year and stopped worrying about it.

If you want to DIY - hows the pitch on the roof? Can you walk/crawl around safely? If so, maybe rent a scaffold for a weekend to get you up there?

[Prairie Stash]

https://www.amazon.com/Guardian-Fall-Protection-Qualcraft-00815/dp/B0032U3JXA?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_4

This is the top down system. The anchor bracket is installed at the ridge and you tie off to it. I feel completely comfortable wearing a harness and walking to the roof edge; when done correctly you can't fall off. Its a good idea to have the brackets installed when you reshingle (you can do it after), its a cheap permanent fix.

To make this work you need a single secure ladder access point, I'm not sure if you can't acess at all or just along the majority of the roof.  You can buy mulitple brackets, its best to have them at various points and switch anchors as you move.

With this system its like being tied off while rock climbing, its pretty safe and easy.

[bognish]

I use the walk around the edge of the roof with a leaf blower technique. My safety equipment is a lack of fear of heights and lack of common sense. I usually switch out my flip flops for shoes.

[Carless]

Dad fell off the roof once and almost died, so be careful.  After that he hooked up an attachment to a shop vac (giant candy cane shaped tube), and also had a commercial 'Tongs on a pole' thing, operated by a pull cord.  If you can get close with a window, the first one might be better.  If you're on the ground, the second one might work better. 

[gavint]

I did this as a job for a couple of years.

If you've got a walkable roof like on a 60's bungalow, you can walk around it with a blower.  There's a bit of cleanup to do afterwards, as it gets fired all over the place, sometimes back onto the siding and windows.  We did it mostly by hand though, off of ladders.  Rubber gloves are handy to keep warm and prevent cuts from the gutters.  Take a bucket up with you, hang it off the ladder, and a rag too to clean the gutter as you go along.  General ladder safety though, don't reach out too far.

You may need to undo the bends in the downspouts to get them unstuck.  We used a short length of quality hose with couplings on either end to shove down into the downspouts from above, banging them a bit to get them unstuck.  When that failed, we had to unscrew them, clean them, then reassemble them.

[Poundwise]

We installed these gutter guards about 4 years ago. They are da bomb.
https://www.costco.com/EasyOn-Gutterguard-5%E2%80%9D-Version---100%E2%80%99.product.100019377.html

Now the wind just blows all the leaves off.  We have oak trees all round the house; the only thing that gets stuck is the tassels, but eventually the rain washes those off too.  Our gutters still function beautifully. 

One year we got an ice dam over one room that caused leaks, but I think that was more a function of a poorly insulated roof in that area of the house; hasn't happened elsewhere or any other time except that once.

[Mgmny]

Just did mine this weekend and wore a helmet and just used gloves and grabbed everything out with my hands as I sort of scooted across the edge of the roof.

My uncle is still suffering the results of a TBI from falling off the 2nd rung of a ladder from 2 years ago, so I try to be careful.

I've installed gutter guards on the side of my gutters that get filled with apples and always seem to have problems keeping them in place, though they aren't screw-in like the ones from costco shown above.

[Sibley]

My house is 2 story. I have a ladder that can get me up there, but I'm not strong enough to get the ladder in place, though I can drag it around on the ground. I'm also not good with heights, and while I can get up there, I'm useless while I am up there.

My dad cleaned them this year for me. I helped from the ground as best I could. The 2 trees contributing most of the mess are now gone, and I have gutter guards in place (metal mesh) to help as well. I probably don't need to get up there next year at all.

[gavint]

Moving those big ladders is a bit of a grunt, the 32 footers weigh over 20 kilos, and there's definitely a bit of a trick to getting them standing up.  But, so long as the angle is right and the they're standing evenly, you can trust them.  If it's a bit iffy, get someone to hold the bottom of the ladder so it doesn't kick out.  Ladder stand-offs are a big help, really stabilise the thing and set you off from the house wall at a comfortable working position.

If you're afraid of heights and can't move the ladders, don't do it, it's not worth the danger.  it may be a false savings installing some kind of gutter mesh.  You can hire out the guy cleaning windows or doing gardening work in your neighbourhood to do it for you once a year, it will probably be pretty reasonable.  We were a team of three usually, and had a house done in an hour or less for bungalows, two to two and a half hours for a big two-storey.  Figure about 200 to 250 dollars a year for a big house, and it's done, no risk to you.  Weigh that against the cost of having gutter mesh professionally installed, the payoff period is probably pretty long, longer than the time they'll be problem free (they do still get clogged!).

Trough cleaning is just one of the jobs that need doing when you own a house, like replacing furnace filters.  Budget for it if you can't do it yourself. 

[Roadrunner53]

We bought the Gutter Clutter Buster about 7 years ago and my husband loves it. Every time he uses it he says he wishes he had this thing 30 years ago! Read the testimonials: https://www.gutterclutterbuster.com/index.php

[Fishindude]

If your roof is walkable, just get up there with a leaf blower and blow them out.
Moving a ladder so many times is a slow painstaking process.

[cheapbarb]

I use this thing and an extension pole for anything I can easily get from the ground.

https://www.amazon.com/Gutter-Sense-Cleaning-tool/dp/B005IY6IE0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

It gets most of the stuff in the gutters. But damn, I'd like to find gutter guards that actually work. Does anybody have any that have worked for them for years?

[Poundwise]

@cheapbarb Yes, see my response above!  The roofers installed them on the second story of our house for $300 (we were also having some other work done). Have been saving us money yearly on cleaning since. Even if they stopped working this year, they would have paid for themselves.

[Eyeracyr]

I don't do it. I call a person who do it

[johndoe]

BUMP

Portions of my gutter are 20' off the ground and I've grown tired of using a ladder to scoop the crap out by hand.  I'm not comfortable standing on the roof.  Does anyone have experience with air or water products to be used while standing on the ground? (Like a giant candy cane or shepherds hook that blows air/water back down at the gutter?)

[BudgetSlasher]

BUMP

Portions of my gutter are 20' off the ground and I've grown tired of using a ladder to scoop the crap out by hand.  I'm not comfortable standing on the roof.  Does anyone have experience with air or water products to be used while standing on the ground? (Like a giant candy cane or shepherds hook that blows air/water back down at the gutter?)

I have one of the gutter cleaner wands that attaches to a garden hose.

For the lower gutters over even ground I still prefer to get up on a ladder and scoop by hand using an A-frame ladder. The wand won't remove big items (like sticks), it take longer and multiple passes, and you will get wet.

For low gutters with uneven ground below them I use the wand.

For taller gutters I use the wand, some of them I have to extend the wand with a piece of pipe to be able to reach. That can be bit of a bother to control accurately.

I have also been known to lean out of a window that can see the gutters with a shopvac with multiple extension to sections of the gutters clean.

In prior houses with a low pitch I would just get up on our roof, but most of our current house is a 12:12 pitch with the only low pitch part being effectively 4 stories off the ground (walkout basement, two floors, and an attic) plus with the slope and the view lines the first ground you see on that roof is multiple stories more (~100 ft) drop.

[dabighen]

I use a "gutter viper" for years now.  Works great as long as you use after several days of sun to dry up the debris.  Water logged leaves and needles are too heavy

[J Boogie]

I have what I would consider to be the perfect system.

I have bottom mounted half round gutters. Brackets supporting the gutter from the bottom is essential to this technique. Most gutters are not supported this way.

Then I have a 20+ foot telescoping wand with a gutter swipe attachment. (pretty tall 3 story victorian I'm dealing with)

Without the usual gutter hangers in the way, I can just swoop all the leaves out easily. Might struggle with muck, but it's so easy to swoop them out twice a year I'll never get muck.

[Car Jack]

Being cheap and a big diy guy, I built one of those extensions for my backpack leaf blower out of a vinyl downspout and 2 45 degree dryer vent pieces and of course some duct tape.  Works well. 

[trashtalk]

Thank you all for this very informative DIY thread. I think I need to do this and we never have so I appreciate the knowledge share.

UPDATE: I just did the same ones I could reach from (deck + lightweight aluminum ladder). I did not fall or die and I got a fraction of a bucket of organic matter. Whoo! I will tackle the other gutters with the bigger ladder and proper sunscreen some other day.

[Dicey]

Uh, I married the right guy?

[skuzuker28]

Previously I got up on the roof with a leaf blower and blew them out.  Recently found a guy who will clean them out for $90, so may just do that in the future.

[Just Joe]

Our previous house had those little expanded metal screens. Honestly those captured alot of debris. Several times per year I'd need to climb up there and flip them over (open) and hand clean the gutter. They were not effective.

I installed the "Smart Screens" endorsed by the Canadian TV host Holmes. Never had to clean out the gutters again. They screw down so opening the gutters again to check is no small thing. Never got around to doing the rear gutter which still had the screens and still had a problem.

If your roof is steep then the Smart Screens may not be for your house. The water would run down a couple of valleys in the front and skip right over the gutter and the guards so YMMV. That was only during hard rains. I considered adding some simple "guard rails" (tin pop riveted to the edge of the gutter) but I was afraid that the water would puddle up and get back under the shingled and rot out the soffits.

I really wanted to redo the gutters and drop them an inch or two below the shingles. And/or use the next size up gutter b/c I felt the gutters in that part of the house were too small to handle the amount of water the roof caught in a heavy rain.

I haven't done anything at our current house but I carry/hold the ladder while one of our teens clean out the gutters. I will be adding these covers to part of the house at least. I sourced them last time from Ace Hardware on sale.   

[BudgetSlasher]

Depending on the gutter I have a few ways.

1) Ladder and my hands
2) There is an attachment for a hose meant for cleaning gutters.
3) There some first floor gutters that I clean using a shop-vac and several extensions from the second floor windows.
4) In a prior house with a low pitch roof I had no problem getting up on the roof and cleaning the gutter from on the roof.

[HamsterStache]

I hate paying for it, but I also don’t want to clean a two story house, nor do I have the right ladder. So I pay someone once or twice a year (probably should be more). Not a huge expense and I take care of the leaves on the ground myself ;-)

[Sibley]

My house is 2 story. I have a ladder that can get me up there, but I'm not strong enough to get the ladder in place, though I can drag it around on the ground. I'm also not good with heights, and while I can get up there, I'm useless while I am up there.

My dad cleaned them this year for me. I helped from the ground as best I could. The 2 trees contributing most of the mess are now gone, and I have gutter guards in place (metal mesh) to help as well. I probably don't need to get up there next year at all.

LOL. That was the last time I've cleaned the gutters, though I'm pretty sure they got cleaned out when the roof got replaced in 2020. I need to clean them this fall, something is stuck in the downspout. Problem is that I don't trust dad on the ladder anymore, so I'm going to have to hire someone.

I will be on the hook for doing my parent's gutters I'm sure, but their house is 1 story.

[catccc]

Uh, I married the right guy?

Lol, my guy married the right woman? 

We were having tons of rain just spill over the side of our gutter, and we both really thought it must be clogged near the downspout.
 Water was getting in our basement from it. I really did not want to shell out $$ to get this fixed, but also was slightly concerned about having either me or my husband do it, as it is a good 19-20 feet up on our two story home.  But we did!  It was a team effort.


I spent a long time researching different gutter cleaning devices before deciding to try the ladder.  I wasn't confident it would be enough, but when a friend offered to lend us an extension ladder, I thought we had to at least try.  I researched ladder safety online.  DH and I set up the ladder to my researched specs.  I did not want him up on the ladder, but was willing to go up myself, so long as he was at the bottom of the ladder for moral support and physical ladder support.  Given our statures, I thought it made sense for the smaller, lighter person (4'11", 95 lbs) to go up and the bigger, heavier person (5'11", 190 lbs) to stay down.  We put the ladder against the house.  We did not have a ladder support bracket and I was hesitant to put the ladder against the gutter, because that could be potentially slide-y or it could potentially damage the gutters.  (But if we had to put it against the gutters, DH could do a better job than I making sure the ladder didn't go anywhere, and I would be about 1/2 his weight on the gutter.)  Anyway, the ladder set about a foot below the gutter against the house got me high enough to reach into the gutter, feel around for the problem clump of pine needles and gunk, grab it and drop it to the ground.   I think I had another rung or two before the "don't climb past this one" rung, and I could have climbed to get a better look, but it wasn't necessary, and I was at the right position just under the gutter where I was.  Going up another rung or two would put me closer to the side of the house and I would have had to lean away from the house and the ladder to see the gutter.  I was not about to lean away from that ladder.  It all went well enough that I went back up with a little wrench in my back pocket and took apart some of the downspout to confirm we fixed the issue. 

Last time it rained heavily our basement stayed nice and dry.  Well, that side of it, at least.  We have another non-gutter related issue on the opposite side of the house.  But I believe we've identified the issue, which is half the battle, IMO.

[FLBiker]

Last house (ranch w/ low pitch) I just walked around with a leaf blower.  Now we have a 1.5 store Cape Cod with a wicked pitch.  I can get most of it from the ground, with the exception of the bumpout on the second floor.  I came up with a bunch of ideas (including the leaf blower PVC combo) but I ended up borrowing a drone last year -- there wasn't a single leaf in it, so I didn't do anything.  I still like the PVC idea, so I may do that in the future.  I also like the idea of the tongs on an extension pole.

[lutorm]

I cleaned them out with a pressure washer while I walked around cleaning our metal roof from algae and accumulated bird crap. But this is in Hawaii where most roofs have very low pitch. (The only trick here was to make sure you clean in front of you, because the wet, uncleaned metal is like ice. I once didn't pay attention and shortcut a corner that hadn't been cleaned and immediately had both feet slide out from under me. This was not near the edge, I was hyper aware of where I walked near the edges...)