Cleaning gutters

I am really tired of cleaning out our gutters every year. Over the years I have seen various commercials for gutter guards, leaf guards, gutter screens and whatever.

Has anyone got any recommendations or warnings on the variety of "solutions" currently on the market?

Thanks

Reply to
Gordon Shumway
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I've had these on my house for about 8 years. Very pleased with the results as in no more gutter clogs or cleaning.

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Reply to
ItsJoanNotJoann

Reasonable price too. Thanks

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

the screen guards are a waste of money. had them on my moms house. true they keep out large leaves, but small stuff fragments and gets under the screen.

so you have to remove thescreen to clean the debris out.......

Reply to
bob haller

That's been my experience. It can be surprising how much little stuff can accumulate.

Reply to
Frank

They would be good where I live now ... lots of big leaves. However, in my previous house, we had lots of Maple trees and the springtime seed would hook in the opening and line up like little soldiers. I literally had to pick them out one by one. I now have Gutter Helmets and they seem to work real well.

Reply to
Art Todesco

True, but it means cleaning the gutters every 3-4 years, instead of every year. Still an improvement.

There are gutter-cleaning robots on the market now, but reviews are mixed as to how well they perform. I've watched video - the debris is flung out in all directions, meaning some of it lands on the roof, where it will eventually blow/wash back down into the gutter. And the more crud that's in the gutter, the worse the robot performs. Figures.

I've imagined a hinged gutter system, where one would use a pole to reach up and unlock the gutter at both ends, let the gutter hang free on its hinges, hose it clean, then use the pole to push/relock the gutter back into place. Or maybe gutters with removable bottoms, where you'd slide the bottom out from one end, let all the crud drop free, then slid the bottom back into place. I dunno - there's got to be a better way.

Reply to
Moe DeLoughan

I've tried various things with mine. I have the HD screens on lower gutters where most leaves go and when drainage slows down or stops can climb a short ladder, lift end screen and remove blockage at end. Sometimes a lot of gunk will accumulate and I have to remove several screens to clean.

I cannot reach the 2nd floor and when one clogged, I hired the Gutter Guys just for the 2nd floor. The 2nd floor in back had gutter replaced that blew off in a storm with one of those lip guard type guards and they rip those off and leave off to clean.

I figure in a year or so I will need a new roof and intend to get new gutters at the time. I'll see what roofer recommends.

I heard about the cleaning robots but how do you get them up there? Also like the Roomba who I find do not actually use suction but just sweep, all these things do is sweep.

I once made a section of PVC 4 inch pipe with an elbow to try cleaning with my leaf blower. It was not all that great.

Reply to
Frank

I've been using the gutter screen which comes on a roll for many years with good success. I have two huge sugar maples (one front one back) which drop their seeds annually. Many get in the screen slots and get their way in the gutter while a few get stuck. Running my hand over the top usually gets the rest through. Everything else stays out.

Since I haven't had any gutter clogs and the maple seeds are a small nuisance, I just stuck with using the screens instead of beating my brains with trial and error of other products.

Reply to
Meanie

They make (or you can make your own) a U-shape attachment for a hose which allows you to water jet debris out of the gutter. Not sure how well it works, but in theory it appears as if it will do the job, though could be messy splashing all around.

Reply to
Meanie

It rains down a mess on the user. I get up on the roof and use a backpack blower.

Less manly men hire someone to do the job.

:)

Reply to
Dan Espen

Those jets make a horrible mess. In the past, I've had excellent success using a long, flexible hose attached to a powerful shop vac. You can buy hoses for shop vacs that are similar to the kind you find at self-service car washes.

It also helps to have a son, grandson or great grandson to do the ladder work..........

Reply to
Stormin' Norman

Our biggest problem trees are two locust trees that have small leaves and they shed a lot of small twigs. The screen style sounds like it wouldn't be much of an improvement in that environment.

Reply to
Gordon Shumway

Our grandson is only five now. Letting him go on the roof is something he isn't ready for... yet.

Reply to
Gordon Shumway

Welllllll, maybe it's the product you are using or the type of trees around your house. But I can say what I've been using has been fantastic. No junk in gutters and no clogged downspouts which means no standing on ladders and throwing rotted leaves and twigs to then be picked up or mulched.

Reply to
ItsJoanNotJoann

Hi Gordon,

We live in the Pacific Northwest and deal with a combination of fir needles and alder leaves. I quickly learned that I needed some kind of gutter protection or I was going to be unclogging gutters every couple of months.

We have vinyl gutters so I initially used the vinyl screens that were made by the same manufacturer. They kept out the larger alder leaves, but the fir needles went right through. They also warped and shifted over time, which let debris between each panel and looked unsightly.

I have since replaced most of the gutter screens with a foam insert called the "gutter filter". I ordered mine online, but I've seen them at Home Depot lately too. They fit down in the gutter and are not visible from the ground. They fit tightly together so debris can't fall between sections. As far as keeping the gutters free flowing, they work great. I haven't had a single gutter clog since I installed them.

The problem with both the screen and the filter is debris still builds up on top. It doesn't seem to affect the operation of either system, but if left in place the debris breaks down and becomes a growing medium for weeds. So even though the gutters don't clog, I still have to clear off the top of the gutters once or twice a year. Better than nothing, but it's certainly not maintenance free.

For the roofs I can walk on, I use a grass rake to knock off the majority of the debris. Then I follow that up with a cordless leaf blower to blow off the little bits that remain.

For the steeper roofs, I just climb up with a ladder and clear the debris with my hand. It's usually quite dry since the moisture drains through the gutter filter. Then I clean up the mess on the ground with my leaf blower and a mower.

I did use my shop vac with an extension hose once. It did a great job cleaning out the gutter filter, but on a hot summer day all that debris passing through the hose caused numerous static electricity shocks while I was on the ladder. :)

Anthony Watson

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Reply to
HerHusband

I attached 2 2" quarter turn electrical PVC elbows to a wand segment and with a couple more wands I use the shop-vac to suck out the gutters from the ground. Two things though. First, it's a 1 story house. Second, the "leaves" were from a juniper tree. These leaves are stringy and break into pieces about the size of sand on contact. The gutter would fill with this stuff at least twice a year. That tree is no longer "available".

m
Reply to
Fake ID

Several Halloweens ago wife asked 81 year neighbor about missing teeth and he said he had fallen off the roof. I'm not a lot younger than that. My roof climbing days are over. Better a mess coming down on me than me coming down a mess.

Reply to
Frank

Best thing I ever did was have my eve troughs removed. Between the fall leaves and the winter snow/ice, they were a maintenance headache.

To replace them, I had a shallow trench ( 12" deep x 6' wide ) dug the along the length of the house (front and back). Next the trenches were lined with rubber pond liner and filled with pea gravel. Both trenches drain off to a dry well about 75' from house.

Reply to
Walter

70 here. Still feel like a 40 year old, in fact I'm in better shape than I was at 40. I have a split and I'm pretty sure I'd break more than teeth if I fell from most parts of the roof. But I use a back pack blower and have no reason to get closer than a couple of feet from the edge.

Lots of my neighbors use lawn services and handy men for all the home maintenance jobs. My feeling is, when I get there, it's time to move into a rental. I'm going to keep at it until I can't. If I kill myself falling of the roof, I win. No long slow painful death in a hospital bed. (Yeah, I know, I could get injured.)

I'm a believer in exercise. I swim a mile or more 3 times a week. Roofs are easy.

That mess that comes down is leaves and water. That stuff falling into my face and down my back is just too nasty for me. I get out the ladder, and get up there and do the job.

Reply to
Dan Espen

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