subject: Cleaning Your Gutters - A Guide To Great Technique [print this page] You won't run into a lot of homeowners who cherish the simple chore of cleaning their gutters. For most, it is something that must be done, but they don't have to smile while doing it. If you see this necessary task as something of a day-wrecker, you might find that there are better ways to go about it. By using a few unique tools and techniques, you can get this chore out of the way without making a whole day out of it. Here's a guide to great cleaning techniques.
Timing
You don't need to get up on the house and clean the gutters every other weekend. If you do, it might be time to invest in a tree trimming service, because you have entirely too much debris flying around in the air. Generally speaking, you can get away with relegating this chore to twice a year: once in the fall and again the next spring. The fall cleaning should be done towards the end of the season in an effort to get rid of all the tree debris that will inevitably have collected in your troughs. The spring cleaning will take care of what collected there in the winter, which may be more substantial than you imagine. In the summer and winter, you can relax and trust that the system will take care of itself.
Technique
Two of the best tools you can use when cleaning gutters are a hanging bucket and a good scoop. Cleaning leaves and debris out with your hand is for the birds. If you're doing it this way, it's no wonder you hate the thought of getting out the ladder. Use the bucket and the scoop and quickly move along the troughs. You don't need to get every pine needle out along the way. The debris that you miss can be easily cleared out with the hose once you're finished. When you have a full bucket, climb down from the ladder and empty it into a garbage bag. It's best to do this as you go so you don't add "raking the yard" to your list of chores.
Reducing Debris
Of course, if you want to make cleaning your gutters really easy, all you have to do is cut back on the amount of debris that winds up in them to begin with. How can you do that? Invest in screens. These get installed over the tops of the troughs and stop everything except water from getting in there. There are other accessories, such as brushes and caps, that do much the same job for varying levels of pricing and success.
