Quick, cheapo gutter cleaning

[JDgreen]

With all the snow melted off the roof, I wanted to clean the dirt and shingle granules out of the bottom of my gutters to prepare for the spring rains. If your gutters are not very clogged, the absolute best tool you can have for cleaning is one of those dollar polydusters for dusting household items. Use a hose clamp or duct tape to fasten the handle to a broomstick or long dowel, then get up on a ladder and run the duster down your gutters, if you have the right length handle you can use the duster to dry scrub the debris loose, and even go under the hangars easily. Then you blow the loose debris out with a shop vac or yard blower. Some people use a hose to clean their gutters, and if they are really clogged you need a scoop and hose, but for small jobs of cleaning my method works just SUPER.

 

[AndyMan]

Great idea, JD. You are right that it would be the perfect size to fit under the hangars, and it would be fluffy enough to push the big stuff down. If you do it often enough, the shingle stuff wouldn't be too much for it to handle. Once the rest of our snow is gone I'll try it myself.

 

[LandN]

i just walk around both roof levels with my 215mph/475cfm leaf blower and blast the junk from the gutters,during helicopter season and fall time i usually go up there a lot and blow them out, usually takes me about 5 minuites to do job

 

[Mark1]

My gutters have been plagged for years with tons of leaves.The leaf blower helps but I always seem to have to end up crawling the edges pulling out the sticks/twiggs & leaves several times a year. We had a couple of the bad culprit trees cut down but I still have to be up there several times a year.I have over 200 ft of gutter even tried gutter foam.gutter helmets and the screen stuff.all NG. I did find the best tool for reaching in and grabbing the stuff without getting my hands in the goo/slime/leaves & buggs is a long food turner I bought for the grill. It makes it a lot easier. Except the wife won't let me use the same turner anymore for the grill.

 

[JDgreen]

i just walk around both roof levels with my 215mph/475cfm leaf blower and blast the junk from the gutters,during helicopter season and fall time i usually go up there a lot and blow them out, usually takes me about 5 minuites to do job

That is how I clean the gutters on my in laws house and pole barn, the roof slope is very low and it's easy to walk around, not so on most of our roof though. I get the joke about "helicopter season" those little winged seed pods are a huge PIB.

 

[JDgreen]

My gutters have been plagged for years with tons of leaves.The leaf blower helps but I always seem to have to end up crawling the edges pulling out the sticks/twiggs & leaves several times a year. We had a couple of the bad culprit trees cut down but I still have to be up there several times a year.I have over 200 ft of gutter even tried gutter foam.gutter helmets and the screen stuff.all NG. I did find the best tool for reaching in and grabbing the stuff without getting my hands in the goo/slime/leaves & buggs is a long food turner I bought for the grill. It makes it a lot easier. Except the wife won't let me use the same turner anymore for the grill.

I only have one tree to fill my gutters with but it's a HUGE, HUGE black walnut, its in the front yard to the west of the house and the wind is usually blowing east meaning the leaves fill my gutters perfectly....

 

[Harriet]

My husband blows the roof off using our portable shop vac. It has two settings, one for vacuuming and one for blowing air. He does it about three times a year. If he aims right, he can bypass the gutters and avoid filling them any further. Then the gutters get a rinse with the hose.

 

[SeniorCitizen]

Guttering is STUPID and my house has 180 ft. of STUPID. I'll never own another house with STUPID.

 

[JDgreen]

Guttering is STUPID and my house has 180 ft. of STUPID. I'll never own another house with STUPID.

Agree with you it's a stupid thing to have and a huge PIB to keep clean, repaired, and in good working order. I've got 150 feet of (Stupid) myself but the alternative is a very wet basement....

 

[KennyV]

My husband blows the roof off using our portable shop vac. It has two settings, one for vacuuming and one for blowing air. He does it about three times a year. If he aims right, he can bypass the gutters and avoid filling them any further. Then the gutters get a rinse with the hose.

Taking the chance of suggesting ANOTHER robot.... this works very well...
iRobot: iRobot® Looj™ Gutter Cleaning Robot - the faster, easier way to clean gutters. Shop the iRobot Store for Looj Gutter Cleaning Robots.
And the original green colored model can be had often under $75... they work great and you only have to be at to one end of any gutter run to use it... :smile:KennyV