Gutter Cleaning Tips that Will Save Your Time & Effort

Nobody wants to spend their long-awaited weekend cleaning gutters and getting their hands dirty. But it also is a very important chore that needs to be taken care of. As seasons change, you are obliged to clean your gutters to maintain living conditions. 

Irrespective of any season, it is important to periodically clean your gutters to avoid the growth of mould and fungus. It is recommended to contact professionals when it comes to gutter maintenance and cleaning. 

Gutter cleaning tips to save your time & effort

Don’t be a Tool 

Gutter cleaning is not at all like cleaning your house. It involves different steps and methods. Many proficient professionals recommend gathering all the right tools to make the cleaning process smooth and hassle-free. 

When cleaning roof gutters, use a sturdy ladder, you shouldn’t work with a clanky ladder that isn’t durable and lets you hover around the area while cleaning. Wear proper gloves and use green waste bags to get rid of the debris. 

Carry the tools you need when you climb up the ladder instead of popping back down every now and then. There’s a higher risk of you falling off the ladder and injuring yourself if you make one too many trips through the ladder. 

Roof First

Before you start cleaning your gutters and pipes, you must clean your roof. Your gutter contains leaf, mulch and fungus that falls down the pipes as these things can grow easily on the roof. When you climb on the roof,  carry a leaf blower if available. 

Preferably the ones that run on electricity to avoid tripping on wires and other electrical hazards. When you’re cleaning gutter pipes on the roof with a water spray, make sure you’re using the right equipment. If you use a setting that these pipes cannot hold because of their size, the pipes will break into pieces or crack which will only create more and more complications for you. 

Harness

You absolutely need to gear up to avoid any accidents. Climbing on the roof is scary enough, here you are also cleaning it. Take care of the height when choosing the ladder while cleaning the roof. Usually, many underestimate this step and it is considered dangerous. When using a brush or broom, you require certain pressure and force, hence, wearing a harness is a must. 

Use Hands

When cleaning gutters, their contents are going to be challenging to get rid of. There is a collection of decomposing leaves, branches, fungus etc that is going to be present in a thick slime consistency. 

If you try to wash this out with water, you’re going to have blocked downpipes, making the entire process difficult and pointless. Use your hands to get rid of this mucky residue and pack it into green waste bags before you proceed with anything else. 

Spray, Angles, and Nozzles 

These are a few things that you completely need to be aware of. You don’t want to put in so much physical labour and not get the results you want. While cleaning tar-like debris, your hands can help you scrape it out but not completely eliminate the residue. 

That’s where pressure sprays come into use. With the help of this device, you can ensure clean surfaces without any dirty leftovers. You just need to make sure you’re using it at the right angle with ideal fan-spray nozzles. 

Gutter Guards

Gutter guards are quite self-explanatory. These guards are used to prevent large debris like leaves and branches from entering the gutter and piling on, and to make sure that the existing contents of the gutter do not come out and spoil your surroundings. You can clean all the leaves and branches that will collect over the guard whenever needed with a broom instead of having to frequently deep clean. 

Downpipes 

Downpipes are like the hidden dirty treasures of a gutter. They’re also the main area that needs to be cleaned. Blocked downpipes can cause flooding with just light rains. Downpipes are used to direct collected water away from your property to prevent flooding. 

It is important to clean out your gutters first by hand and throw out the debris before spraying water. If you spray water right away, all your debris will try to go down these pipes but will never find a way out, creating the severe blockage. 

This blockage could even result in your pipes breaking down or cracking. A professional will have to be involved to fix that. So, simply avoid extra work and clean your downpipes after taking out all the contents. You can use various cleaning solutions available in the market for good results. 

Maintenance 

It can be very time consuming to clean your gutters, especially when you’re someone who dreads the task and always procrastinates. The key to good gutter maintenance is cleaning them in intervals so that the dirt doesn’t build-up to the point where you simply give up. It is also good for the life of your gutters and honestly, for your life too. 

Some people find cleaning therapeutic but we can understand why cleaning gutters can be a great task. Before you start your cleaning, you can refer to this list to make certain that you have everything you need. If you ever find yourself not willing to do this, you can easily search for ‘gutter cleaners near me and avail the of professional gutter cleaning services.