When it comes to home maintenance, it’s essential to understand how to clean gutters. Many homeowners overlook and even neglect their gutters. Gutters, like the roofing system, are an important aspect of a house’s overall health. Gutters do not only give a home a complete and appealing look, it has a major role in protecting the roof, walls, and landscaping. It channels and controls rainwater and ensures no water enters the home.
As a homeowner, you may have a long list of tasks to complete to keep your house in good shape. Gutter cleaning to remove leaves, sticks, and debris should be at the top of your to-do list. Gutter cleaning is critical for safeguarding your home’s structure and avoiding future costly inconveniences. If you’re a homeowner who isn’t experienced with gutter cleaning, here are some helpful tips to keep in mind while learning how to clean gutters.
Put On the Appropriate Clothing
The first thing to keep in mind when cleaning your gutters is that you should dress appropriately for safety. Cleaning gutters can be a difficult and dirty job.
Long-sleeved Shirts Are Recommended
Cleaning gutters can be a messy job, so wearing a long-sleeved shirt helps keep you covered. Long-sleeved shirts will also help you protect your skin from grime, from the heat of the sun, and other elements while cleaning the gutters.
Wear Working Gloves
Gloves serve a purpose beyond simply keeping your hands clean. Gloves are recommended to protect your hands from the sharp edges of gutter pieces and clamps. It will also keep you safe from dirt that is bacteria-ridden that can cause health problems, such as droppings of birds, pigeons, and squirrel droppings.
Wear Boots or Shoes That Are Non-slip
When cleaning gutters, using the proper footwear will reduce your risk of harm. Non-slip shoes or boots will give your feet more traction while climbing the ladder and moving around the roof.
Wear Protective Eyewear
If you don’t wear eye protection, you risk getting particles in your eyes. Furthermore, eye protection is required when cleaning gutters because we never know what can fly out of the downspout. Gutters that are neglected for quite some time will have a high chance that a host of animals and insects are already living within. Rodents, birds, frogs, wasps, and bees can move and fly away at fast speeds when disturbed. The last thing anyone wants while cleaning gutters is eye damage.
Use the Correct Ladder for Your Home Type
When it comes to cleaning their gutters, many individuals are unsure of the correct ladders to use or the size they require. Choosing the correct ladder will be determined by the height that you need to reach.
Recommended
A step ladder would be the best ladder for a single-story home or bungalow. A set of extensible ladders and, preferably, a ladder standoff would be required for a two-story property.
The Combination Ladder is one of the most flexible ladders for clearing gutters and doing a variety of domestic tasks. These ladders can be used as both a step and an extension ladder. Some combination ladders come with a built-in heavy-duty ladder leveler, which is vital for gutter cleaning chores.
Not Recommended
An orchard ladder should not be used because it only has three legs for stability and can easily become imbalanced. A wooden ladder is also not advised because it is typically unsteady and hard to maintain balance safely.
Keep an Eye Out for Potentially Dangerous Power Lines
Keeping an eye out for electricity wires when cleaning your gutters is important to avoid serious accidents.
- Conduct a visual check before climbing near a power line wire that lowers from a power pole to the roof when cleaning gutters around it.
- Check to verify whether the protective wire insulation hasn’t worn away from years of exposure to the elements and neighboring trees.
- Look up and around you. Always keep an eye out for electricity lines, especially when utilizing tall ladders.
- Never go up on the roof in bad weather.
Look For Any Possible Leaks
Clogged gutters are inconvenient, but leaky gutters are considerably worse, as the water may pour into your home’s walls. Due to rust and general wear at the weakest spot in the gutters, it’s usual for them to develop minor fractures and holes where are gutter parts screw together. You’ll frequently see drips pouring down from the joints if this is the case.
Pour a bucket of water into the gutters to check for leaks and see if the water is flowing as it should. Alternatively, you can use a hose to gently spray down the gutters to check for leaks and eliminate anything you may have missed previously. Scrape out the old caulking with an old chisel, carefully dry the area, and apply sealing to prevent rusting and corrosion.
Here are some frequent reasons for gutter leaks to help you figure out if your gutter is leaking.
- Aging Gutters
- Improperly Sloped Gutters
- Loose Gutters
- Clogged gutters for a long time
Keep an Eye on the Downspouts
Quality downspouts are just as important as a well-maintained gutter system. They can be extremely useful in protecting your home if you live in a rainy region. Downspout extensions allow rainfall to drain in a controlled manner rather than splashing everywhere and causing damage such as mold and mildew growth. When a gutter is clogged with leaves and dirt, the downspouts become clogged, forcing water to flow over the top of the gutter channel.
When cleaning your gutters, pay attention to the downspouts and ensure they aren’t clogged. Clogged downspouts allow rainwater to leak into the ground near your home’s foundation rather than being diverted away by the elbow at the bottom of the downspout.
Use the Appropriate Equipment
Gutter cleaning can be done in a variety of methods, depending on the type of house and the condition of your gutters. To clean your gutters successfully, you’ll need the right tools.
Using a Garden Hose
You can easily clean your gutters with a garden hose as long as they are not completely clogged. If you use a rigid tube with a curved end and an extension on the hose, you can operate while standing on the ground rather than on a ladder. Start at the end closest to the downspout and spray the whole length of the stream before returning to the downspout.
Using a Leaf Blower
Cleaning your gutters using a leaf blower eliminates the need to remove dirt by hand. Climbing a ladder onto the roof and walking along the edges, blowing the leaves out of the gutter as you go, is the simplest technique. You can lengthen and bend the reach of your leaf blower with an extension kit, allowing you to clean the gutters while standing on the ground.
Using a Wet/Dry Vacuum
Vacuuming the dirt out of the gutters with a wet/dry vacuum is another simple technique to clean them. This can be done while standing on a ladder or by using an extension kit that allows you to reach the gutters from the ground.
Using a Power Washer
If it’s been a long while since you last cleaned your gutters or didn’t clear your gutters before a rainstorm, the leaves can be sticky and damp. In this case, using a power washer to clean your gutter can be effective. Because of the force of a high-pressure power washer, a telescoping wand with a u-shaped attachment at the end is recommended for cleaning gutters from the ground. Once you’ve finished cleaning, the dirt may clutter the ground at the bottom of the downspouts and debris may accumulate on your siding and windows. You can easily sweep them or clean them manually.
Hire a Gutter Cleaning Professional
As a homeowner, you can certainly try to learn how to clean and maintain gutters on your own. However, if the work becomes too big and difficult, you should hire a reputable professional gutter cleaning service. The Bailey Boys Services is one of Sacramento’s most reputable and cost-effective gutter cleaning companies. They have helped many homeowners, including commercial building owners, in cleaning their gutters with excellent results.
With a reliable and top-ranked gutter cleaning service company, you won’t have to worry how much to clean gutters. Professional gutter cleaners use specialized tools and equipment to completely clean gutters. They’ve been trained to clean gutters on both commercial and residential properties, including those that are difficult to reach. When a professional clean gutters, they take certain precautions to avoid injuring other elements that can be costly to repair. It will save you money on the tools you’ll need as well as on repairs and maintenance.
Bailey Boys Services is made up of a team of highly trained local technicians that are gutter cleaning experts and can clean just about anything. Get in touch with Bailey Boys Services to learn more about their services.
