I have searched a lot about how many of you clean gutters. I’ve seen many scoop it out by hand, which seems like it would take a long time, others use a blower or vac, but what if it has stagnant water or really wet material? What do you do about clogs in the downspouts? I personally use a pressure washer to clean them out. I haven’t noticed many using this method. Yes sometimes this method pushes debris out of the trough and on to the siding or sidewalk but when I finish everything is all hooked up to clean that off and look better then before. The pressure washer is perfect for clogs in the downspouts and i feel many times faster then scooping out by hand? What are your opinions?
I scoop by hand. No mess, No cleanup. Customers don’t see you making a mess (even if you are going to clean it up after).
If the yard is already a mess, i MIGHT use a leaf blower.
How are you pressure washing the gutters, from the ground with some sort of extension attachment or are you up on a ladder? I want to get into this and am looking at ways to effectively clean from the ground. I was thinking of setting up a gutter vac.
you can use one of those big long yellow noodles
Does the tip bend so it will reach into the gutter?
add one of these attachments Gutter Cleaner Attachment 14 Inch with 1/4 Inch QC Plug from PowerWash.com or [url=http://www.powerwash.com/gutter-ball-gutter-cleaner.html]Gutter Ball from PowerWash.com
When cleaning gutters we use a gutter scoop handle on a extension pole pulling debris towards us on a ladder.
We then grab it by hand and bag and perceive to flush gutters with a garden hose and spray nozzle checking all the the gutters are clear of any debris in the curvatures and downspouts.
When we are finished cleaning the gutters we blow down the front walkway, driveway and sidewalk.
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I walk the roofline if I can. If it is too steep, like 45 degrees, then we spray as far as we can from the ladder, move the ladder and work our way to the downspout.
I have tried the hook attachment but can’t view my work and you would be surprised at the kick back. I had it on a 6’ extension and it was all I could do to hold it upright. In fact it bent the extension and that was just with a 2.5 gpm 2500psi pressure washer. I’ve never tried the Gutterball but it has another nozzle to counter balance the force.
Has anyone used a Gutterball? What is the experience?
i think the question here is how often do you do the Gutter cleaning. if it was a on a regular basis i would probably look into how does the gutter vac work and should i buy one… it all depends on how high up these gutters are as well.
I think after you try several different methods on different style of homes and situations, you will find what works best for you.
walking the roof is always the fastest and easiest, wet or dry gutters.
over the years I found that scoop by hand works best for me 99.9% of the time, wet or dry.
the problem with dry leaves in my area is that the kinds of trees here drop leaves and small branches. so the blower doesnt get the branches out of the gutter and hand is most effective.
If we are washing the house we’ll use the pw’er to blow the debris out then we wash everything down.
If we’re not washing the house we’ll either do it by hand or use a blower. Each house will be different.
I cant imagine any attachment/gutter ball is out there doing anything better then the old fashion way, or it would be safe to assume we would hear more about it. The concept of pressure/water/ and gutter $h!t everywhere does not sound like anything easy to clean up. Educate your customer about how your gonna complete the job. People don’t clean their own gutters cause they are scared of ladders. If I was paying to getting gutters cleaned, id like to see a ladder,scoop/pole, the the debris bagged/removed. That’s what we offer. Gutter cleaning is one of those “keep it simple/stupid” things. Seems to work out pretty well.
[MENTION=2273]Dormatex[/MENTION] gutter vac 
As pressure washers, I think we’ve tried everything under the sun! We’ve used the gutter ball with great results although it can make a mess. We’ve tried a lot of products over the years, and that one works the best IMHO. Recently we were exposed to a product called “Catch and Cover” which is really nice to put down to “catch” the blown out gutter debris and “cover” the vegetation below. If the roof line isn’t too steep, we’ve also used a blower but we try really hard not to get on a roof! In the greater Atlanta area, we see roof lines from simple hip roof structures to very steep gables so we have to be prepared for anything.
I use both gutter cleaning methods based on pitch of the roof and the weather
Like any other situation…having the right tool is the best approach. So, buckets and scoops work most the time, extension poles and ladders if you can’t walk to the roof, water hose helps rinse, a snake helps downspouts, a shop vac has come in handy, a blower has come in handy, and a gutter vac has also been nice for big jobs. Find out what works best in your neck of the woods…
For those who do use gutter vacs, what brand?
I will blow gutters out whenever I can, whenever it’s feasible. Other than that, I use a gutter spoon and collect it into a bucket.
I have a blower with a vac feature and collection bag, but the bag will never stay on. The nozzles don’t fit well into gutters, so I tried to retrofit it, unsuccessfully.
This is what got me thinking that a gutter vac may be effective:
Gutter cleaning with pressure washing.wmv - YouTube
The easy way to clear leaves from gutters - YouTube
Anybody do this with success on regular basis?
Leaf blower hands down 99% of the time.
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See my avatar, lol
This is why I started this thread. I guess, Larry, you don’t have much stagnant water and wet sludge in the gutters.
Maybe it’s Canadian winters and ice that causes this for me. Because of this I’d say I use a pressure washer 99% of the time.
It is interesting to see what everyone’s technic is, but I’m surprised to see not many use a pressure washer I guess.
Shaun Jonas
Cityscape Window Washing
Edmonton AB, Canada
780 660 0105
