Gutter Cleaning - Daniels Real Estate

Originally posted 11/6/2018

Regular cleaning of your gutters is essential to their proper function. After all, the purpose of gutters is to channel rain water from the roof smoothly down to the ground without splashing. Rainwater splashing can lead to water damage on any wood siding and trim you have near the ground. Also, gutters that are leaking and backing up can damage your roof and fascia boards.

It’s generally recommended that you clean your gutters twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. If you see plants growing in your gutters, that’s a good sign that you need to clean them right away!

First and most importantly – a word about safety. You should never attempt to clean your gutters from the roof. Trying to maneuver around that close to the edge of your roof will likely result in a fall. It’s much better to use a ladder. Remember your basic ladder safety tips:

Always maintain 3 points of contact on the ladder
Never step on the top 2 or 3 rungs of the ladder
If you are using an extension ladder, be sure the top of the ladder extends at least 3 feet higher than your gutters
Make sure the base of the ladder is out at least 1/4th the height of the ladder
Consider using a spotter to help stabilize the base of the ladder
If you have a 2 or more story house, you may wish to forgo cleaning your gutters yourself and hire a professional

Once you are up there safely, begin by using your hands or a small hand spade to remove most of the debris from the butter. You may wish to put down a tarp first to help collect the debris so you don’t have to rake it up later.

Next, use your water hose to flush the remaining debris down the downspout. Move to the downspout and ensure that the water is flowing properly. If not, use a spray nozzle full force down the spout to clear the clog. If that doesn’t work, you may need to feed your hose up from the bottom and clear any clogs out that way.

Continue using the water hose and check to see if you have any leaks at the seams, end caps, or downspout joints. If you find any, caulk the leaks with an exterior grade caulk.

Finally, check all of the gutter attachment points and tighten or replace as needed.

As an alternative, there are telescoping attachment wands available to attach to your garden hose that will flush debris out of your gutter. There are similar attachments available for pressure washers, if you have one.

If you have a shop vac, there are curved attachments that you can attach to the blower side of the shop vac.

There are some options available to minimize debris build up in your gutters in the first place. One option is to install foam gutter inserts in your gutters.

Another is to install a cover on the top of your gutters. These covers are available in PVC and aluminum. Most act like a sieve, but there are some solid models that use the surface tension of the water to curve around the edge of the cover and into your gutters.

Believe or not, there are some alternatives to traditional gutters. One method is to use what are known as “rain chains” to replace your downspouts. These devices consist of a series of small cups, or even actual chains, to disrupt the downward flow of water, transferring it gently to the ground.

Another method is to use louvered attachments to replace gutters altogether. These products consist of a series of angled slats that disrupt the solid flow of water from the roof and change the flow back into a raindrop pattern. The drops fall gently to the ground, without disrupting the soil that way a solid stream of water would. Rainhandler and Rain Breakerz are two popular brand names for this type of product.

As a final note, make sure that the grading on your property is allowing the water from your roof to flow away from the sides of your home. Water pooling next to your home can damage your walls and even your foundation. Contact a qualified contractor to improve the grading on your property. If your grading is OK, but you just want to get the water further away from your walls, it is a simple task to install downspout extensions.

In addition to cleaning the inside of your gutters, consider cleaning the outside too. You can use a pressure washer if you have one. You can also spray periodically with a bleach solution, or with a specialized mold and algae cleaner such as Wet & Forget Outdoor.