How to clean a gutter

Cleaning out the gutters around your home is often one of the last things people think about when it comes to home maintenance. Keeping your gutters clean is more important than many people may realize.

Just by simply doing this simple task on a regular bases you can avoid having to pay for unnecessary home repairs such as repainting , fixing rotted wood caused by water pounding, and even expensive roof repairs. Cleaning out gutters in most cases is very easy as long as you know the basics.

There's really only a few tools you will need to get the job done and more than likely you already have them laying around the house. Tools: Stepladder, work gloves, lawn bags, garden hose & spray nozzle, lawn blower, and you might want to wear a pair of safety goggles.

Inspect gutter

If your roof is not pitched steeped, you should be able to climb up the ladder and reach the gutters by walking around the roof with ease. Now, start inspecting your gutters and when you come upon a pile of leaves, sticks, and other things while your wearing your gloves just clean out all you can putting it into your lawn bag. I suggest, you don't worry about what's left you can't pickup with your hands because we will deal with this in the next step. When the bag is full just tie it up and drop it off the roof looking to make sure no people are in the way.

Clear debris

Now, that we have cleared all the heavy leaves and other debris from the gutters, you need to clean out your drain spouts. There are two popular methods for doing this, some people like using a lawn blower to clear out the debris which in most cases will work but it can be a bit more messy and always make sure you wear safety glasses if you select this method. Personally, I suggest using the garden hose with a spray nozzle as it is safer when it come to protecting your eyes and body from blowing debris. Whichever you use from the roof you want to clear all the spouts with water or air until you see they are clear.

Blow or spray

Once this has been accomplished you can now go back around the gutters and finish off the job by either blowing or spraying out any smaller leftover twigs or leaves that are left after cleaning them out by hand. It's recommended that you clean out your gutters twice per year, once in the spring and again in the fall should keep them in top-notch condition.

Now, that you have cleaned out your gutters it is a great time to inspect them for leaks or any other type of repairs they might require.