How To Clean Rain Gutters

While watching an episode of "Friday Night Lights" last night, I was struck by a scene in which football star Tim Riggins selflessly donates his time to clean and repair his (hot female) neighbor's rain gutters. OK, so they end up together -- I'm sure his motives weren't entirely philanthropic.

Yet the scene raises a great point in the DIY world -- it's always a good idea to clean your rain gutters, especially during the spring season when your area's rainfall may be at an increased level.

This DIY project doesn't rank high on the fun scale, but it's easy to tackle yourself if you have the right tools. You'll need a ladder to reach your gutters. And depending on the style of your roof, you may want to work directly from there as opposed to a ladder. If your roof is relatively flat, you can use it as a work surface--just be sure to wear non-slip shoes.

If your roof is steep and pitched, however, that's probably not the best idea--stick to the ladder, preferably an extension model so you can easily reach your gutters. Get a large bucket and attach it to your ladder with an "S" hook so that you have a place in which to transfer the debris.

Wear a pair of sturdy work gloves so that you can remove debris by hand. You may also want to use a putty knife to help dislodge built-up material, or even a whisk broom to create easy-to-move piles.

Once you've removed any dirt and debris from your gutters, give them a rinsing with a garden hose. This is a great time to check the condition of your downspouts, too, and make sure they aren't clogged. If you notice a potential blockage, it's probably built-up leaves or some other material. You may have to remove the spout's elbow joint to clean it out before reassembling.

How often do you clean your gutters? Is it high on your list of favorite projects, or would you rather delegate the duty to someone else?

Photo: flickr.com/photos/aechempati/4821824754

Katy Ryan | Comments () |

Rufus Mcclure

Rain gutter plays an important role in your house.
Cleaning this does not only mean emptying it from clog rain waters and debris.
It also involves cleaning down the exterior hose of your gutter, to prevent
build-up.

Cynthia Moore

Thank you for taking the time to talk about this, I feel strongly about this and I get pleasure from learning about this topic.

Victoria Morrow

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Carpet Cleaning Ransome

..it was so amazing!!

Jais

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information that by doing so, they protect siding, windows, doors, from
water.This is an amazing post.The written skill is so good.Thanks to share
this blog with us.Keep sharing.I will keep share in future.

Atlanta Gutter Covers

In our homes, it’ very important to conduct a weekly general
clean up to maintain cleanliness of our house and to know which part of our
house that need to be replace to avoid accident in the future. This thing is
very important because if we don’t it might cost us a lot of money in the
future, so I think let’s just clean our house and check it regularly.

chandler carpet cleaning

Is your carpet cleaning business running into
problems tempting customers? If so , you shouldn't be having this type of
difficulty. Folk are constantly damaging their carpets due to wear, tear, and
absence of correct upkeep. This can ruin the look of their interior and with
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help them out.

Anthony Blommel

Yeah, people usually say that spring season is the best time to do all household chores. Well, doing home tasks can be done anytime, that's why you always should be ready in doing those. You should be especially vigilant about repairing/cleaning your gutter. You can't tell when a roof problem may come your way. So it is advisable that you find time to check, fix, and clean your gutter.

Gutter Covers

Cleaning. If you don’t want your downspouts bursting with debris and water (and this is dirty water mixed with dirt), clean it up using a plumber’s snake. This will also help you know if there are any clogs or any potential clogs that will be cleaned up already. Flushing it down using a pressure washer or a hose will be a good help.

Galliena Gornet

It's really amazing that we will find something unexpected while cleaning gutters. I'm also curious on how the sock in that gutter of yours Preston. Cleaning gutters can be hard and frustrating, but I clean my gutter once in a while whenever I feel like it.

Preston

Just cleaned one run of gutters last night. It was blocked. Turns out I had a sock -- get that, a sock! -- in the gutter. Installed a wire cup in the hole to keep the downspout from getting clogged like that again, but definitely need a bucket and S hook for next time. I was holding a plastic bag in one hand with a glove and leaves in the other.

Charles & Hudson

Wonder what the story is with how a sock got up there. Interesting what we sometimes find in random places of a home.

The wire cup sounds like the perfect solution and you definitely want to avoid the mess of gloves and bags.

Venisse Quellette

LOL Where did that come from? I had a similar accident, only with plastic cups or tree branches - the thing looks like a beaver-made dam! Hahaha. I rather have someone to clean the gutters for me, though.