How to Remove Black Marks From a Rain Gutter
Cleaning your rain gutters will not only help make your house look more pristine, it may prevent the gutter from eroding and wearing down over time. Mold growth, animal droppings or metal corrosion may cause black marks on your rain gutter. Clean them as soon as possible to prevent the mark from spreading and perhaps becoming a permanent part of your rain gutter. Clean the gutters on a warm and sunny day so that they dry completely. This will discourage mold spores from landing back on the wet gutter and growing again. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Ladder
- Gloves
- Goggles
- Hose
- Baking soda
- Water
- Cloths
- Superfine steel wool
Instructions
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1
Place a sturdy ladder against the roof or house so that you can access the gutters. Place the ladder on even and solid ground. Never stand on the top two rungs of any ladder and never bend your hips away from the ladder to reach another area of the gutter.
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2
Put on work gloves and goggles.
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3
Climb up the ladder and remove all of the debris from the gutter. Move the ladder every few feet so that you can access different parts of the gutter without reaching.
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4
Place a hose at the end farthest from the gutter outlet. Turn the hose on and flush the gutter with water. This will remove the rest of the debris.
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5
Add just enough water to ½ cup of baking soda to make a thick paste. The paste should be the same consistency as toothpaste.
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Apply the paste to the black marks with a clean cloth. Rub the paste into the marks until you've removed them.
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Scrub the paste into the marks with a piece of superfine steel wool if they are still visible. Superfine steel wool is an abrasive tool that is tough enough to remove stains in metal but soft enough not to scratch the metal.
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Repeat the process with the rest of the black marks on the gutter. Be careful not to scrub too vigorously if your gutters are painted.
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9
Flush the gutter with water again to rinse away the baking soda residue.
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References
- Photo Credit cleaning gutters image by palms from Fotolia.com
