Wet and Dry Vac to clean gutters

[matthelliwell]

Has anyone ever used a wet and dry vacuum cleaner to clean out their gutters?

I've got a two story houses and the gutters on two sides of the house forever get blocked with pine needles and oak leaves due to the surrounding trees (not to mention moss from the roof). Unfortunately getting a ladder up to clean them out is a pain due to the surrounding shed, water feature, fencing etc. Also in the Autumn they really need doing every couple of weeks. So I'm after an easier way to clean them out which doesn't involve ladders.

There are to be plenty of commercial systems which use a vacuum cleaner to suck out the rubbish. They would seem to be ideal if they weren't =A3600 upwards (eg

far as I can tell they are just a vacuum cleaner, a long hose, an appropriately shaped head and a long pole. Is there any reason why a normal domestic wet and dry vac wouldn't work? I might have to empty it out halfway through due to the smaller volume but I can live with that. I'd just need to find an appropriate hose and head.

Thanks

Matt

[Dave Liquorice]

Every two weeks? Do they actually block and overflow? I think you'd be better off working out why they block and overflow. Do they have the correct fall to the down pipes? Gutters are frequently installed level or even up hill to the down pipes, this is incorrect. The correct fall will carry the vast majority of most debris away when it rains.

[The Natural Philosopher]

if you live under trees..its amazing how may leaves come down and ALL seem to end up in the gutters over a 4 week period.

[GAP]

I'm surprised that no-one has yet suggested you fit your gutters with that black plastic mesh you can buy in the DIY sheds to stop the leaves settling in the gutters. The idea is you end up with a convex curve of mesh above the level of the gutter, any leaves landing on that will dry up and blow away. And it mostly seems to work in my experience. Of course that won't stop (all) the pine needles, but as a previous poster said if you have a reasonable flow then they should get washed away in the absence of big leaves blocking the gutter. Whether you'll then end up with blocked drains or soakaway is another issue of course :-)

Graham (Ecstatic that this house isn't surrounded by trees like the last one!)

[Chris J Dixon]

At an exhibition I did come across a stall where a guy was selling open cell plastic foam for this purpose. He assured me it had a 15 year guarantee. I asked him if he saw himself still selling the stuff in 15 years' time.

Chris

[matthelliwell]

I've tried the mesh and the pine needles stick through the holes and block it up. It is then a pain to have to go around pulling them out. And the large Scots Pine next to the gutters sheds needles all year.

I've also checked the fall of the gutters. They could do with being a bit steeper but they would still get blocked, though less often. Also I don't fancy tackling the gutters just yet as the house has plenty of other things which I need to do first.

Matt

[newshound]

So to answer the original question, I reckon a wet and dry vac would be just fine, probably with the standard size hose. You might have to fiddle around to make a suitable u-bend to get into the gutters from below, but this is uk.diy!

[struggler]

With what is the roof clad? Ours is red tile and the main problem we have is the sand which is washed off the tile forms a basis for a sort of rotted leaves and sand mixture in which the wind blown seed grminate.

[matthelliwell]

Clay tiles which delight in shedding moss and grit. I've just tried attaching the hose pipe to the end of a long pole and hook (actually one of these:

That did a good job of moving the mess to a big lump at one end but was less successful and actually getting it out of the gutter. May be an extra long wand for the pressure washer would do the job (though in a somewhat messy way).

The problem with the vacuum idea so far is trying to get hold of a sufficiently long hose.

Matt

[rbel]

I am about to install (next week) some hedgehog gutter stuff

as an experiment in our most vulnerable gutters. We have oak and beech on one side and pine on the other so blocked gutters are a common occurrence - they need clearing three times p.a.. As leaf fall is just starting I will know how effective it is fairly soon.

[PeterC]

It looks good. Please let us know how it does.

[David123]

Yes, that's something I've done for several years. I fashioned a long tube from some old waste pipe with a suitably sawn-off s-bend at the top end, and a compression straight-on at the bottom to connect to my vacuum cleaner. I needed to duct tape some bamboo canes to the outside of the pipe to make it sufficiently stiff.

It's very effective, although I do get some strange looks from any passing neighbours. I like to think they're looks of admiration...

----- David - long-time lurker on uk.d-i-y, but virgin poster

[matthelliwell]

That's good to hear. I was looking at the gutter hedgehog stuff and I'd have to buy about 20m of the stuff to cover the worst effected area so I wouldn't be saving any money over buying a new vac.

Can you explain to be exactly how you connected the waste pipe to the vacuum cleaner? That's the only part I'm not sure of before I fork out some money.

Thanks

Matt

[matthelliwell]

Actually I've just found I can get 5m or 9m extension hoses for a Numatic Charles vac off ebay so with a suitable rigid pole and nozzle I think that might do the job.

Matt

[Alan Braggins]

I'm still trying to imagine how a gutter gets enough leaves in it that normal rainflow doesn't clear them away, but not so many that a wet and dry vac gets clogged so quickly that it's useless. But if it works for you....

[Dave Liquorice]

Hum, so the leaves get stuck into the bristles on the top and sand/dust etc from the tile and atmospheric fallout get held in the in the bottom of the gutter...

Even if the leaves to dry out and blow away they will also break up into smaller bits that drop between the bristles to be held firm. Can you tell I'm a little sceptical?

[The Medway Handyman]

I'd be interested as well.