How to Clean Your Gutters

With leaves turning and falling to the ground, and into your gutters, knowing the very simple basics of how to clean out your gutters will help you remain safe and your gutters/roof to last longer.

Dirty guttering will quickly send water running down the walls of your home, leaking through windows, doors and damaging walls causing mold and mildew to grow in and around your home. To prevent this problem, you will need to clean your guttering as regularly as possible to make sure that the water flow is a clean and smooth. Today we are going to go through how to clean your guttering.

1. Bucket, ladder, cloth, spade and hose

The first thing you will need when you are cleaning your guttering is the right equipment. A sturdy ladder with hooks for your bucket, a spade a cloth and preferably some plastic gloves will help you get the job done better. You will also need access to a hose, so practice safety and make sure the hose does not pose a threat to your stability or safety on your ladder whilst you clean.

2. Clearing out the debris

The best time to clean guttering is on a dry day when there is no rain forecast, as whatever debris has collected in your guttering will be easier to remove. Most often, leaves, bits of dirt and other grime will get into your guttering, blocking the water flow and causing a build up of muck. The best way to do tackle this is to remove any leaves and branches by hand into your bucket, and then use the spade to remove any other dirt build up that is in your guttering. Again, your bucket will come in handy for this and using a spade instead of your hands will keep you clean and tidy.

If your gutters have very little material (leaves and debris) in them, you might be able to get away without heading up to your roof to manually clear out the debris.  There are hose attachment products that you can use to clean your gutters from the ground, or from a short ladder on the ground.  Take a look at the following telescoping power jet wand at Amazon:

3. Flush

Once you have cleared your guttering of debris, you will need to flush your gutters with water to make sure the waterways have fully cleared and get rid of any smaller bits of dirt that may have remained behind after removing the bulkier grime. Flushing will also highlight any faults in your guttering in the form of broken or leaky guttering, blockages or faults. If you are finding that the guttering does not clear then you may have an issue with the drains.

4. Flush flowpipe

Your guttering will be fixed onto your home at an angle, flowing water downwaters (like a waterslide) towards the flowpipe. This flowpipe is removable, and so if you are finding that when flushing the gutters the water is not moving as fast as it should, the next thing to do is flush the flowpipe. The best way to do this is to remove the flowpipe and flush it with a strong jet of water until the water is flowing freely through it: getting rid of any debris that may be stuck inside. Do this over a bucket to make sure you capture any dirt that needs to be binned. Reattach the flowpipe, and reflsuh the guttering.

5. Clear drains

The next key to a good, clear and clean guttering system is clear drains. Any water that runs down from your guttering will go through the flowpipe and into the drain, and so any blockage at any part of this system will cause a build up of grime. Clear the drains to complete your guttering cleaning.