Blog | Refresh Exteriors

You may think that cleaning your own gutters is straight forward. Well read on... There are a host of reasons why you should consider using a professional who has experienced the pitfalls you may experience when trying to clean your own gutters. It's not just the tools required that you may not have to hand but also your valuable time that may not be readily available. Preparation is key to a successful outcome. So before you think "I'll just climb up my ladder and get going" think on! Which leads me nicely to my first tip... Make sure you have the tools available to do a professional job.

Are you Prepared for Gutter cleaning?

Apart from a ladder that's tall enough to reach your highest gutter ,here's a quick check list of the equipment you are likely to need:-

Protective Gloves - Your hands are often the best tools at your disposal for scooping out the muck in your gutters, as they afford you more dexterity than any other cleaning implement you could use. However, depending on the material of your gutters, you could be dealing with rough edges, there’s likely to be stagnant sludge to scoop out, potentially thorns and other sharp debris, and there’s even the possibility of finding dead animals up there too. None of these are things you really want to be touching with your bare hands. Get a good set of garden gloves, or at least a pair of marigolds, to keep them safe while you work.
A Trowel - If you aren’t all that keen on using your hands to clear out the gunk, even with gloves on, a small garden trowel can be used to scoop up the worst of it.
A Bucket - While you could just scrape out the debris and let it fall to the ground (assuming there is no chance of it landing on an innocent passerby), if what you are scooping out is a wet, sludgy goop, it’s likely going to make a mess on the floor and splash up your walls. This then leads to more cleaning you have to do once done with the gutters. A far better, and safer, idea is to have something with you (be it a bucket or even just a plastic bag) to put the messy stuff into, and then dispose of it properly when you climb down the ladders.
A Ladder Bucket Hook - If you do decide to take a bag or bucket up with you to collect the rubbish, you’ll ideally need some method of holding it that doesn’t tie up one of your hands. For ladder safety purposes, you should always have one hand free to grip the ladder and steady yourself. So, the safest option is to get a special hook that will let you hang the bucket from the ladder while you work.
Tarpaulin - Even if you are using a bucket to collect all the stuff you scoop out of the gutters, some of the debris is still likely to fall down to the ground. Having a tarpaulin layed out under where you are working will make it easier to clean it all up afterwards.
A Rake or Yard Brush - This isn’t essential, but it will allow you to perform an extra bit of cleaning that can help prevent future build ups of material in the gutters occurring as quickly (see Step 2 of our guide below).
Hose Pipe - Being able to flush your gutters out with water is an important part of the cleaning process below. Pouring water out of a bucket into the gutter can work too, but having a hose pipe to use is the preferable method.

Oh, and one last thing which may not seem so obvious.

A Nice Dry Day - While this will be somewhat out of your control, trying to plan your gutter maintenance around the weather is advisable. Cleaning them out on a dry day, when the wind isn’t blowing too strongly, will make for a far presenter and safer experience.

Are you "ladder safe"?

Always perform a visual inspection of your ladders before each use. If you spot any dents, splits or cracks, loose joints or locking mechanisms, or anti-slip feet worn smooth, your ladders may no longer be safe for use and should be replaced.
Avoid working alone if you can. Having someone to hold the base of the ladders and keep them steady makes the job a lot safer. If help isn’t available, take extra care to make sure your ladders are properly braced.
When positioning your ladder, ensure its feet are on firm, level ground and not tilted to either side.
DO NOT be tempted to place them on your lawn or in a soil border. You may think you have them safely wedged, but the soft ground could easily give way once you start climbing up and leave the ladders dangerously unbalanced.
For extension ladders, overlap at least three rungs for good stability.
Place the top of your ladder against the wall at an angle of around 4:1 (i.e. 1 metre out at the base for every 4 metres up).
DO NOT rest your ladders up against your guttering or the edge of your roof. This can be very dangerous, as the ladders could easily slip or bounce against them and become unbalanced. It can also cause damage to your guttering, which really isn’t ideal when you’re up there trying to look after them in the first place.
Make sure you are wearing sensible shoes with a good grip. DO NOT climb up any ladders wearing sandals or flip-flops...no matter how nice the weather is.
If you can’t avoid leaning your ladders against the gutters, for whatever reason, I would strongly recommend investing in a ladder stay or stand-off. These devices attach to the top of your ladder and then rest against your wall, pushing your ladder out just enough to stop them touching the gutters while still keeping them stable.
When up on your ladders, DO NOT overreach to either side to try and reach further along the gutters in an effort to save yourself some time. Doing so can cause the ladder to become unstable and you risk having a potentially serious fall. Keep your waist in between the rail of the ladder and reach only what you can from there. For anything beyond that, climb down your ladder, reposition it further along the gutter run, climb back up, and then continue your cleaning.

Are you ready?

With all your preparations made, your ladders positioned safely at one end of your gutter run, and your bucket securely in place, follow the steps below to give your gutters a good clean.

Note: Start with the down pipe end and work your way back along the gutter run, as this will save you some ladder work later on.

Step #1

Grab your rake or yard brush (I’ll explain why in a moment) and climb up your ladders until you reach a height from which you can safely observe what’s hiding in your gutters. Take your time and get yourself into a comfortable position before starting any work. You want to be able to safely reach the first section of guttering without having to overreach. If you feel you aren’t in the ideal position for this, climb back down and reposition your ladders. DO NOT put your safety at risk to save a bit of time.

Step #2

Start by cleaning any debris off your roof - this is why you brought the rake/yard brush Using your implement of choice, try to gather up any leaves, twigs or clumps of moss that are sitting around up there just waiting to become a future blockage in your gutters. Be careful not to overbalance yourself if using a long handled rake or brush though. Only gather up what is easily reachable. Remember our priority here is to clean the gutters. Giving the roof a bit of a brush will just help keep them clean for a bit longer.

Once you’ve gathered all that you can off the roof. It’s time to move on to the gutters. Depending on how much rubbish you have in your bucket at this stage, it may be worth climbing down and emptying it before you continue.

Step #3

Using either your hands (and a good pair of garden gloves) or a small garden trowel, scoop out any leaves, sediment, twigs, gravel or other debris currently inhabiting the section of gutter in front of you and put it in your bucket. If using a trowel, try not to be too heavy handed with your scooping as it could damage the gutter.

If there is a lot of debris up there and your bucket starts getting too full or heavy, do make sure that you climb down and empty it before continuing on.

Can you use a leaf blower to clean your gutters?

Technically, yes. However, while it may seem like a good idea to help clear out any dry material up in your gutters, you will run the risk of blowing some of it into the downpipe and potentially causing a blockage that wasn’t previously there. We recommend sticking to the manual method if possible, as the time the leaf blower saves you could become a “false economy” situation if you then end up having to spend longer unblocking your down pipe.

Step #4

Once you have cleared out as much of the gutter as you safely can, climb down the ladder and move it over to the next section. Repeat Steps 2 & 3 and then move on again. Keep repeating this process until you reach the end of your gutters, clearing out as much of the gunk and debris as you can.

Step #5

Now, if you followed my recommendation and started at the down pipe end, you should have your ladders positioned at the opposite end of the gutter from the down pipe. If this isn’t the case, you’ll need to move them back there for this next step.

Grabbing your hosepipe (or bucket of water if you don’t have one that will reach the roof), and ensuring the water is turned on, climb back up to the gutters and use it to flush any of the finer bits you missed down towards the down pipe. Depending on the water pressure you have, you may need to repeat this process in stages along the run to pick up some of the more stubborn sediment left over.

Let the water run for a minute or two to make sure it is flowing properly down the spout. This can help you determine whether you need to unblock the down pipe or not. Ideally you’ll want to have someone with you to stand at the bottom of the down pipe to watch or listen out (if your pipe is connected directly to the underground drain) for the water coming down. If flow is strong and constant, it’s a good sign that the down pipe is clear. If, on the other hand, the water is only trickling down, then you know there is a blockage somewhere that needs removing.

Note: If you are using a bucket to do the job, be careful not to overfill it as you’ll have to carry it up the ladder one handed. Try to create a steady flow of water by gently tipping it out if you can, and be prepared to have to repeat the process a few times to get the gutters clear.

Can you use a pressure washer to flush out your gutters?

Again, technically, the answer is yes...but we wouldn’t advise it. Depending on the type you have and the power behind its water jet, you could end up damaging your gutters (depending on the material they are made from) if the stream is too forceful.

You can get specialist gutter washers, that are essentially a long pole with a hose running through them, that can be used from the ground and provide a safe level of pressure if your hose isn’t really up to the task. These are also useful if you are doing the job solo, as it means you can better observe the water coming out of the down pipe as you go. However, the downside is that you can’t see into the gutter while flushing it out, meaning that it can be easy to miss bits.

In Closing...

Perhaps now you may realise there is a whole lot more to "giving your gutters a quick clean". You need the right tools, possibly a head for heights, time on your hands and quite a lot of patients.

If you want to tackle the job yourself, go ahead. Or call in the experts, save yourself a lot of time and hassle. Why not book an exploratory appointment with me today:- https://www.refresh-exteriors.uk/book-me

Or call me on 07823 532004

I'd also be delighted if you left a comment below.

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