So you’ve decided that enough is enough and it’s finally time to take care of your gutter cleaning! Whether your gutters have been overflowing for months or it’s simply time for your scheduled six monthly clean, this is the go-to guide for anyone considering tackling their gutter cleaning. If you’re wondering whether cleaning your gutters is a job you can DIY, you can find some advice on that in our article here.
We’ll be talking about cleaning gutters that don’t have gutter guards installed. We have a guide for taking care of that over here.
So safety first. Let’s go over a quick checklist to make sure your home maintenance project won’t turn into a trip to the ER. Do you:
- Have a stable ladder in good working order?
- Have a one-storey house?
- Have enough space around your house to safely move a ladder?
- Feel comfortable and stable working on a ladder?
If the answer to all these questions is a resounding ‘yes’, then you’re all good to go! If the answer to any of these questions is a ‘no’ or a ‘maybe’, wisely consider asking for some help to clean your gutters.
Quick Guide: How To Clean Gutters
- Planning. Ensure it’s not raining and that you have the right gear.
- Set up your ladder.
- Use a leaf blower to blow out dry leaves.
- If your gutters are very full and clogged or there’s mud, scoop the debris out by hand or with a gutter scoop. It can be handy to carry a bucket around to place the debris into. When full, empty the bucket into your green bin or compost pile.
- Move your ladder to the next position and repeat steps 2-4 until you’ve moved your ladder around your entire house.
- If there’s debris in your downpipes, use a hose with a jet nozzle to clear them.
- Clean up. Use a leaf blower or broom to tidy up your pathways. Use a hose to rinse off the edge of your gutters if there’s mud on them.
- Done!
Let’s dive into a bit more detail on each of these steps.
Step 1: Planning
The weather
The first thing to consider when planning your gutter cleaning is the weather. Whilst there’s technically nothing stopping you from cleaning your gutters in the rain, it’s a miserable experience. I’ve been caught too many times gutter cleaning in the rain, and whilst I have occasionally taken out a raincoat and continued on, it’s not fun. Safety also becomes an issue. Rain means that your ladder will be slippery and considering that you’ll be climbing up and down your ladder dozens of times to clear your gutters, there is considerable risk of a slip.
Lastly, leaf debris is harder to clear in the wet. A lot of debris can be removed by a leaf blower if things are dry, but water makes everything stick together and a leaf blower can no longer remove all of the debris. And even if it can, it can make an absolute mess. Mud removal in the wet is also very challenging. When dry, the dirt can just be grabbed by hand/scoop or blown out with a leaf blower, but in the wet, well, have you ever tried picking up mud? Not easy! A hose will flush the mud away., But again, water and heights don’t mix well. All things equal, choose a dry day if at all possible.
Equipment
Ladders
The other major thing to consider when planning your gutter cleaning is equipment. We recommend an A-Frame ladder. This is because placing a ladder against the gutters of your house and then leaning against them is rather dangerous, leading to many falls. The ladder can slip out from underneath you, or the ladder can give way to the left or right when leaning across. I’ve seen these accidents happen before my own eyes and it’s pretty scary. You can get something called an outrigger that works with some brands of ladders which is also a solution to this problem. In my gutter cleaning business, we always use either an outrigger or an A-frame ladder. Better safe than sorry!
Scoops, buckets, and scrapers.
For many gutters, all you’ll need is a bucket and your hands! Always wear gloves when gutter cleaning. Too many sharp things to cut yourself on.
A scraper like this *green tool* can be helper as it can get into tighter spots than your hand, and it allows you to reach further, meaning that you can clean a longer stretch of gutter with each ladder position. A scoop like this *red tool* is very handy for removing mud.
Gloves
You don’t want to cut yourself on an sharp edges (most commonly on Colourbond roofs). And if there are any insects or sticks in your gutters, gloves will help keep your hands safe.
Leaf Blower
For blowing out dry leaves. It can speed up the job in many situations.
Step 2: Setting up your ladder
You want to set your ladder up on stable ground. Give it a good test before climbing up. If there’s any wobble, consider getting a ladder that has legs that adjust, finding someone to hold the ladder for you, or clearing the ground to provide a stable surface. Never climb onto the top level of your ladder as it can become top heavy and fall over.
Step 3: If there isn’t too much debris in the gutters, use a leaf blower to remove dry leaves.
Is a leaf blower needed to clean your gutters? Whilst appearing like an essential item, gutters can definitely be cleaned without them. Gutters filled with plants, mud, and heavy debris usually cannot be cleared with leaf blowers as they simply don’t have enough power to remove the debris, and even if they do, it creates far too much mess.
That being said, if your gutters are filled mostly with leaves, no mud, and the debris is pretty dry, then a leaf blower can be a very quick and efficient method to clear your gutters. If it’s been less than 3 months since your last gutters clean, and it’s been a few days since any rain, a leaf blower is the quickest and easiest way to clean gutters.
Step 4: If the leaf debris is heavy or there’s mud, scoop the debris out by hand or using a scoop into a bucket.
This is where things get messy! Make sure you’re wearing gloves. If you’re thorough enough, you may not need to use a hose to flush your gutters out afterward, but if there’s a lot of sloppy mud left over, a flush out with the hose can be a good idea.
Step 5: If there’s debris in your downpipes, use a hose with a jet nozzle to clear them.
I’ve found that 99 times out of 100, blockages in downpipes can be cleared by getting the hose in there and shaking it around! If around 30 seconds or so of blasting water down there, really getting the nozzle in there, if the debris still doesn’t go away, it’s probably time to call a plumber. This is pretty rare though and in my years of gutter cleaning, I can count on one hand the number of times I haven’t been able to clear a blockage with a garden hose.
Step 6: Use a leaf blower or broom to tidy up your pathways, and a hose/broom to clean off the edge of your gutters if there’s mud on them.
Step 7: Done! And ongoing maintenance.
All finished! Enjoy your clear and problem-free gutters. When should you look at cleaning your gutters again? If there was minimal mud in your gutters and no major blockages, that means you left a good amount of time between cleans. If there was indeed mud there or the water didn’t have a clear path to the downpipes without overflowing, then it’d be a good idea to shorten the time between cleans.
If you’ve read this far and everything sounds doable, then you’ll be all good to go – happy gutter cleaning!
Need help?
If you’ve decided that this all seems like a little too much for you to take on at the moment and you live on the Central Coast or surrounds, give us a call on 0431 114 827 or send us a quote request and we’d love to provide you with a free gutter cleaning quote.
