My neighbors and I have many big healthy mature trees. It’s great for shade and ambiance, but it’s lousy for filling up the gutters. Because of the mix of tree species, I find that I need to clean the gutters at least three times a year. In the spring the Crab Apples fill the gutters with flower petals. The Maples drop seed pods in mid-summer and then of course all the deciduous trees drop leaves from early September through late November.
Options for Gutter Cleaning
Paying someone to clean the gutters that often can get expensive. I don’t know about you, but I’ve decided I want to minimize my time on a ladder, especially outdoors. I got to thinking about what my options were for gutter cleaning tools that didn’t involve getting on a ladder.
Several years ago, I bought a terrific tool. It is a well made and sturdy aluminum extension pole.
The pole itself is made from three pieces of rigid aluminum that easily slide inside each other and has well engineered locking handles to hold each pole in position. It is about 6 feet long when contracted like this, but extends to 16 feet.
You can easily change the length without using tools.
The end of the pole has two different types of attachment methods, accepting both tapered or threaded sockets.
The extension pole is primarily marketed for household cleaning tasks like washing windows or skylights, cleaning cobwebs out of your cathedral ceilings, or wiping down dusty blinds. When I bought it, I got a squeegee, a glass mop and a soft cobweb brush. I started wondering if they made a gutter cleaning tool that fit onto either of the standardized mounts.
For example, to attach the squeegee, you just slip it over the end and it snaps in place.
The top black knob keeps the tool in place and prevents it from twisting. To remove the tool, you just depress the black button shown next to my thumb.
So I searched on ‘gutter cleaning tool’ and ‘gutter cleaning attachment’. ZIP! No results. Deeper investigation was required. After a long search I came up with what looked like a perfect tool to try, so I ordered it.
Highly Effective and Safe Gutter Cleaning
I wanted everyone to see how well this tool works, so there is nothing like a video to show it in action!
Transcript of Video
In this video, i’d like to let everyone know about a simple way to clean gutters on your house in the safest possible way: no ladder is required!
My neighbors and I have big trees that constantly drop debris into my gutters – and not just in the fall! Because of the mix of tree species I need to clean the gutters at least three times a year. Hiring people that often is not a thing. I also don’t want to get on a ladder, so I came up with this method which works grea!
I got this nicely made aluminum extension pole for cleaning windows and dusting cobwebs out of the cathedral ceilings in my house. It is simple to attach a squeegee, a window cleaning pad or this soft brush for removing cobwebs. This extension pole has two styles of standard ‘universal’ attachment points, but I couldn’t find the right tool by searching on ‘gutter cleaning tool’.
What I did find though, was this brush that is designed for cleaning the tops of pipes in factories or warehouses. It easily screws onto the end of my extension pole and turns out to be great at gutter cleaning. The shape of the brush allows it to just hang on the edge of the gutter if you want to rest your arms or need to do something else for a bit.
You can easily just flip leaves out of the gutter – or drag the brush through the gutter to collect a bunch of leaves. Twisting your wrists is an effective way to flip the debris over the side. Gutters typically have a support hanger about every 6 feet so you can work your way up to each one from each side. Depending on how your gutters are made, you might be able to see the support locations.
This gutter cleaning method works both on long straight runs of gutters and inside corners with no problem. In this location I need for the pole to be a bit longer, so I can easily extend it out a bit by twisting these handles, extending the top portion a bit and then tightening.
You want to be careful near downspout locations not to shove leaves down the opening. In my case, I have downspout strainers installed, so I just try to sweep the leaves away from the strainer and over the side.
Because the brush screws on, it may loose up when you push against one of the gutter hangers, so you may need to tighten the brush occasionally.
Here I’m using that twisting the wrist method to flip those leaves out of the way.
I have the 16 foot version of this lightweight aluminum extension pole. They make choices from 13 feet up to 30 feet. I’m going to link the 18 foot version in the show notes because that one should be long enough to do second story gutters unless you have exceptionally tall ceilings or have to stand on a hill side.
I’ll also include a link to the gutter cleaning brush since you can’t find it by searching on gutter cleaning attachment. Stay safe and stay off of those ladders. Thanks for watching!
Selecting your Extension Pole for Gutter Cleaning
Gutter cleaning can be easy and safe using the method I show in this video! The key is to have a well made extension pole and the right attachment. In my video, I use a 3-piece Unger extension pole that can be expanded to 16 feet long. The current version of this pole is their 18 foot version that you can find here:
This is a well made and sturdy extension pole with three sections. It will expand to 18 feet, yet only weighs a bit more than 3 pounds. The nylon adjusting handles are simple to use and the end of the pole accepts both threaded and slip-on tool attachments. Many different types of tools are made to perfectly fit this pole (but are not included).
Eighteen feet should be long enough for most adults to reach to most second story gutters unless you have very high ceilings or have to stand on a slope. Note that there are a lot of cheaper versions that you will be shown as ‘similar items’, but they tend to flex badly and won’t last. There are also heavy duty versions that frankly are so heavy that you won’t want to hold them in the sky long enough to do the job. Some are designed to work only with their own attachment systems instead of being more universal or standard.
Finding the Gutter Cleaning Tool
The gutter cleaning brush that I use is not marketed for gutters, so it took me a while to find it. The base of the brush is made from sturdy twisted wire and can be bent or straightened to best fit the shape of your gutters. This brush screws onto the Unger extension pole.
Save yourself the hunt and find it here:
This industrial quality brush was originally designed to clean the tops of pipes or ledges in factories or warehouses. In my world, I have found it to be the perfect tools to clean debris out of the gutters around my house. The tool screws onto the end of an Unger extension pole and the brush can be bent to fit the shape of your gutters.
Other Tips for Gutter Cleaning
This method for gutter cleaning works best when the leaves or other debris is dry. I try to remove as much material out of my gutters before the rain and snow sets in. However, the brush does work when things are wet. In fact, if the downspouts are completely plugged, you can just slide the brush back and forth and slosh the water and the debris over the slide if you have to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is gutter cleaning important?
Regular gutter cleaning can prevent water damage to your roof caused by clogged gutter and backups of soggy wet debris mounding in corners. Clogged gutters can also contribute to foundation erosion and pest infestations.
Gutters that remain clogged in the winter can contribute to ice dams that can damage your roof by forcing ice and water underneath the roofing material.
How often should gutters be cleaned?
In most parts of the United States, gutter should be cleaned at least twice a year.
Depending on the types of vegetation surrounding your home, some homeowners may find that they need to clean gutters more often than twice. Homeowners that have few deciduous trees (such as desert locations) may not need to clean gutters as often.
How do I know if my gutters need cleaning?
Signs of gutters needing attention include visible debris sticking out of the top of gutters, sagging gutters, water flowing over the side of gutters during storms, and even birds or squirrels nesting in the gutters.
Can I avoid cleaning gutters by paying for gutter covers to be installed?
You may not need to clean the gutters as often, but most gutter cover systems still allow some debris to enter the system and they make it harder to clean gutters out. Some of this is dependent on the type of debris you have in your area, but things like pine needles are good at getting stuck in the best of gutter covers.
Note that once you have a gutter cover system installed, the only way to clean it out is someone getting up on a ladder.
Why are icicles forming on my gutters?
The most likely reason that you see icicles forming in winter months is that water from melting snow is being directed to a single spot on your gutter system. Clogged gutters are the primary reason this happens, although other drainage issues can also contribute to icicles.
Icicles can be pretty, but they are definitely not good for your roof as they can be an area that is driving ice and water underneath your roofing material. This can cause damage to the roof underlayment, the insulation, promote mold and pest infestations.
Ladder Safety and DIY Gutter Cleaning
Each year in the U.S., more than 500,000 people are treated and about 300 people die from ladder-related injuries.
To learn more about the quote above, you can visit the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website as they discuss ladder safety month. The safest way to clean gutters yourself is to NOT use a ladder!
Stay safe by staying off of ladders whenever possible! Coming soon: more ideas for DIYers to keep their feet on the ground.
Once you’ve flipped all those leaves out of the gutters, you may appreciate some help getting them bagged up and gone. Be sure to see this tool that will assist with keeping the lawn bags open: Leaf Bag Chute – A Helpful Tool!
