Gutter Cleaning Tools

Its not the most glamorous job, but with the proper gutter cleaning tools, you can have your gutters clean and ready for service.

Gutters can become clogged with twigs, leaves, and dirt, which can prevent the gutters from doing their intended work: diverting rainwater away from your house. If the gutters are clogged, water can spill over the sides of the gutter and land at your foundation instead of following the down-spouting away from your house.

Too much water at your foundation can erode the ground around your home and allow your basement to flood. The water could also overflow the gutter and soak friends and family as they enter your home, making your house an unpopular destination for guests in bad weather. Further, clogged gutters can be unsightly, and while they are not an aesthetic addition to your home, they do require regular maintenance.

When it comes time to clean the gutters, you can either hire a local gutter cleaning company or perform the task yourself using a few simple tools.

The simplest method of cleaning your gutters involves two elements: you and a ladder. You simply put up a ladder that reaches your gutters (which may be a challenge on a two-story house), and use your hands or a plastic scoop to remove debris from the gutter. You then move the ladder to the next section of dirty gutter, and scoop debris again.

While this method is affordable, it can be dangerous as people can fall from ladders. It can also be very time consuming because you need to move the ladder so frequently. You will also need to touch the "gunk" that has collected in your gutter, which is definitely an incentive to avoid cleaning your gutters. You may want to invest in gutter cleaning tools to make the job safer and easier and much less messy.

One popular type of cleaning tool allows you to work from the ground to scoop the debris out of your gutter. For example, Gutter Sense attaches to an extension pole that is long enough to let you reach from the ground to your gutters, even on two-story houses.

With Gutter Sense, you place the tongs end of the tool into the gutter, pull the cord to close the tongs around debris, lift the debris out of your gutter, and put it on your garbage can. You then repeat those steps at the next section of dirty gutter.

Gutter Tongs are another example of this type of cleaning tool. The Gutter Tongs tool works on two poles attached in the center just above the tongs. Place the tongs into the gutter, open the Gutter Tongs jaws to collect debris, and remove the debris from the gutter. Like Gutter Sense, you repeat those steps at the next section of the gutter that needs to be cleaned.

Some people prefer to pressure wash their gutters to remove organic material and other residue, such as the grains from roofing shingles. Use a pressure washer with a telescoping wand, as using a pressure washer on a ladder could cause you to fall.

Connect the high pressure hose to the telescoping wand, then connect your gutter cleaning wand, which is a u-shaped extension that directs the water down into the gutter while you are standing on the ground. Turn on the pressure washer, and let the high-powered water flush the debris out of your gutter. The pressure of the water may spray some of the gutter debris on you, so wear eye protection and old clothes.

Some products combine the tongs and pressure washing method. The Bailey Eaves Trough kit uses a pressure washer-type hose with a small, rake-like attachment to be used in the gutter. You put the rake/hose end of the tool into the gutter, and pressure wash the smaller debris through the gutter and into the downspout, yet you also have the flexibility to remove larger twigs and leaves with the rake.

The proper gutter cleaning tools can make even this mundane job a lot less work than the ladder and scoop method. Since gutters should be cleaned twice a year, the investment you make in a tool will quickly pay you back with peace of mind and properly-working gutters..

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