How to clean your gutters safely

Cleaning out a building's gutters is a necessary annual task, follow these safety tips or call a professional.

Fall, after the leaves have fallen, is the season when gutters need to be cleaned out in preparation for the rainy, snowy season ahead. If the rainwater doesn’t flow properly through the gutter and downspout system, costly repairs can add up from rainwater damage or freezing.

When you are ready to  clean out those clogged gutters, do it safely.

• Practice Ladder Safety
• Always let someone know you will be using a ladder to work on your roof or gutters.
• Use a safe and sturdy ladder, preferably one with a small shelf to hold a bucket to collect gutter debris.
• When opening up a step ladder, make sure the extension-hinge arms are fully extended and locked in place
• Use a garden hose with a pistol-grip trigger spray nozzle.  This type of spray nozzle allows you to adjust the water pressure with the use of just one hand.
• Get A Gutter Scoop. Scooping out the leafy debris seems to be the best overall method for cleaning out gutters.
• Stay away from using a metal scooping tool because the bottom of the gutter can be damaged and scratched. Scraping the bottom of a steel gutter can introduce areas to rust, and if the bottom of the gutter is already rusting, the rusting process could speed up.
• Protect Your Hands. Gloves can help protect hands against dirty, rotting leaf debris that often contains bird and squirrel droppings that are ridden with bacteria. Gloves can also prevent cuts from the torn metal shards of an old, ragged gutter. Cotton gloves can soak up dirty water that exposes skin to bacteria. Rubber gloves can get poked or torn by metal shards in the gutter. Thick, suede glove material is recommended because it is superior to cotton, thin leather or rubber gloves.
• Protect Your Eyes. Eye protection is a must because one never knows what might fly out of the downspout when cleaning gutters.

Clean Off The Roof

Power wash all debris off the roof first. Otherwise, the next rain will wash the debris down into the clean gutter, clogging it up. Also, debris left on the roof can lead to water damming up in valleys, around the chimney or near heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, which can cause erosion and roof leaks over time.

Unclog The Downspouts

Make sure the downspouts are clear. After all the gutters are cleaned out, run the water hose down the downspout at full pressure. If the water backs up out of the top, a clog is present. Normally, it can be unclogged by tapping on the side of the downspout. But, if that doesn’t work, the downspout and back need to be removed, and it should be flushed from the bottom.

Schedule Semi-annual Cleanings

It's best to make sure your steel gutters are cleaned at least twice a year: Once in the fall and again in the spring. This helps eliminate the possibility of water damage from rainwater runoff due to a clogged gutter. Also, to reduce the possibility of rust corrosion. Even though it may not rain during the summer, if there is debris in the steel gutters, the rusting process can speed up. It’s difficult for rust to speed up with clean gutters. The faster the rusting process, the sooner new gutters will be needed.

Be Mindful Of Power Line Hazards

Conduct a visual inspection of any electrical cables where they connect to the roof near the gutter. This is to ensure that the protective wire insulation hasn’t rubbed off through years of wear-and-tear by weather and nearby trees. If the cable appears to have damage, do not attempt to repair it; instead, call a licensed professional electrical contractor to fix it. If there is an electrical wire problem, do not attempt to clean out the gutters until the wires are fixed.

Invest In Gutter Guards

Using a quality gutter guard can eliminate the need for cleaning out gutters.

And remember if you don't feel safe cleaning your own gutters, call a professional.