How to Clean your Roof Gutters

Cleaning your home's gutters can be a wet and dirty job.

Although trees provide shade and aesthetic appeal to your yard, their leaves fall along your roof and wash into your gutter. Small animals such as squirrels and birds may also build nests near or in your gutters. The debris left behind can clog gutters and downspouts and cause costly damage if it isn't regularly cleaned out. You can hire a professional service to clean your gutters for you, but the job is easily done yourself as well with a few simple tools.

Things You'll Need

• Gloves
• Ladder
• Hose
• Narrow garden trowel
• Garbage bags
• Plumbers snake

Instructions

1. Lean your ladder against the gutters, ensuring it is sitting securely on the ground. It helps to have a second person at the base of the ladder as a safety precaution. Never stand on the top two rungs of the ladder. If it you can't reach the gutter without standing on the top rungs, find a longer ladder.

2. Carry a narrow trowel and a bucket or garbage bag up the ladder to the gutter. Hang the bag or bucket on the ladder to dump the debris into as you work.

3. Scoop out leaves and debris using the trowel in one small section at a time and place it in the garbage bag.

4. Step down and move the ladder along the gutter as you finish each section. Do not reach. Continue scooping out loose debris until you've covered the entire length of the gutter to the downspout.

5. Remove dried dirt and leaves from the bottom and the sides of the gutter by scraping gently with the trowel. Use a hose to run some water into the gutter to aid in loosening crusted on material.

6. Set the nozzle of your garden hose on its highest setting and set the ladder at the end of the gutter once more.

7. Spray the gutter to remove remaining dirt and watch the downspout. If there isn't a constant stream of water coming out, there may be a clog in your downspout.

8. Spray water directly into the top of the downspout to remove clogs. If the clog doesn't come free, insert a plumbers snake to remove it.

9. Continue spraying the debris from the gutter until the water that runs from your downspout is clear.

Tips & Warnings

• Most gutters should be cleaned once or twice each year, but if you have a lot of trees around your home, you may have to clean more frequently.

References

• Barrie Home Inspectors Tips; Clean the Roof Gutters on Your Own; Scott Rodgers; March 4, 2011
• Lawn and Order Saint George, Utah: Rain Gutter Cleaning