Gutter Cleaning: Step By Step Process of How to Clean Gutters
There is no specific time for gutter cleaning. If you have not looked into your gutters for a while, this means you may need to clean your gutters now.
We know that gutter cleaning is a type of house cleaning activity that no one really likes or enjoys. However, the fact is that you cannot avoid doing this activity. Delaying or ignoring the cleaning of your gutters may lead to several serious issues.
The main function of gutters is to remove water after rain from the roof of the house. If the gutters are not clean or filled with debris etc, the water will not find its way to drainage and it will keep standing on the roof.
The standing water will become a cause of mold and mildew on the roof, walls, and foundation of the house. It can even cause flooding that will weaken the foundation of your house. That is why cleaning gutters on a regular basis is important in order to prevent bigger issues in the future.
Effects of Standing Water
As mentioned above, standing water due to clogged gutters can be very damaging. Some damages it can do are described below.
· Flooded Basements
Flooded basements are an obvious result of clogged gutters and standing water on the roof. When gutters are not clean, water does not find its way to flow freely. In this situation, water keeps on piling in the gutters and it spills from the front and back edges of the gutter. This spilling water will obviously reach the exterior walls of the house as well. This will become a cause of seepage and the water will eventually enter the basement of your house. This water in the basement will start weakening the foundation and structure of your house.
The water in the foundation and structure of your house will become a major cause of mold and mildew. This is a serious damage that need immediate services of a roof specialist.
· Rotten Wood, Termite Infestation, etc
Fascia board, soffits, and eaves of your house have wood. This wood can become rotten with time due to the standing water. In this situation, you will then have to remove the gutters entirely to resolve this issue.
We know that mosquitoes love to breed and live in moist atmospheres. Therefore, clogged gutters are their favorite place.
Similarly, termite also grows in wet places. Clogged gutters mean you are inviting all these types of pests to breed and grow inside your gutters.
The only solution to all these problems is to keep your gutters clean.
Steps for Gutter Cleaning
We know that gutter cleaning is always on your to-do task list but it is one of the most unpleasant activities related to house cleaning. Therefore, we have gathered the information for you and devised a simple step-by-step process that you can use for gutter cleaning.
Follow the below steps for easy gutter cleaning.
1. First Position your Ladder
First, you have to position your ladder on the ground under the gutter so that you can reach the exact point. It is recommended that you should position the ladder near the downspout of the gutter. First clean the twigs, leaves, debris, etc from the downspout. In this way, the standing water in the gutter will drain out easily.
You can also forward your hand from the downspout inside the gutter and pull out more debris and leaves etc. In this way, more water clogging the gutter will flow out freely.
2. Remove Debris
Now that you have positioned your ladder at a proper spot, climb up the ladder to reach the opening of the gutter. Once you have reached the opening, the goal now is to scoop out as much debris as possible. For this purpose, you can use any one of the different methods listed below.
- You can use a scoop to collect the debris and collect it in a garbage bag. A gutter scooper is a simple tool for collecting garbage etc and it is easily available in the market.
- Another method you can use for cleaning is a leaf blower. It is a simple machine like a general blower that will help in blowing away the leaves and small twigs etc.
3. Paint Scraper
Now it is time to remove the tough debris at the bottom of the gutter. This can be easily done with the help of a 3” paint scraper. You only have to extend your arm to reach the gutter bottom and inner sides to scrape the tough debris sticking around the sides and the bottom.
4. Wash the gutters
Now that you have removed all the debris and objects, the last step is to wash the gutters to wash away any remains. For this, you will need a garden hose with a curved attachment. Attach the curved end with the garden hose. Position the end at the opening of the gutter and start the water. Water will come with pressure and the gutter will be squeaky clean after this process.
Final Words
We hope that the above-mentioned steps will help you a lot in the gutter cleaning process. However, in order to make sure that the cleaning is done properly, you have to look after a few days of cleaning if there is still standing water near or inside the gutters. This may be an alarming sign that you need an expert to check your gutters.