Cleaning your gutters can be a dangerous chore. Learn how to protect yourself (and your home) with these 8 gutter cleaning safety tips.
Plus, you’ll learn the importance of routine gutter cleaning and get answers to frequently asked questions about gutter safety.
1. Use the Correct Ladder
The most suitable ladder for gutter cleaning is tall enough to reach your gutters comfortably and strong enough to hold your weight. Sturdy ladders made from lightweight materials are best because they are easy to carry and move around your home.
Use a ladder to reach your gutters comfortably while standing upright. A four-legged ladder is appropriate for most one-story homes, but an extension ladder works best for homeowners with two-story homes. Extension ladders are available to rent from your local home improvement warehouse. Never clean your gutters by climbing onto your roof.
Newer ladders often have safety accessories, like feet designed for uneven ground and locking systems to prevent sliding and collapsing.
Avoid step-ladders, stools, and ladders that can’t support your weight.
Carefully position your ladder against your home’s brick or siding. Avoid placing the ladder against your gutters; otherwise, you might damage them.
2. Remember the Rule of 3
Another valuable tip for ladder safety is the rule of three: Always keep three points of contact with your ladder. That means either two feet and one hand, or two hands and one foot are securely on the ladder at all times. Maintaining three points of contact with your ladder at all times will significantly reduce your risk of falling.
When carrying your leaf blower up a ladder or power washing your gutter, the rule of three will help keep you safe.
3. Move Your Ladder Every Step of the Way
It might feel like a chore, but the safest way to clean your gutters involves frequent repositioning. Resist the urge to clean too much gutter space while standing in the same place. Overreaching will throw off your center of gravity and cause you to fall. Always keep both of your hips inside the ladder railings. Decrease your risk of falling by clearing away what you can without overextending.
4. Protect Your Hands and Eyes
Wearing gloves makes dry leaves, branches, pine needles, and other prickly debris easier to handle. Plus, gutter debris like thorns, twigs, and insects can cut, sting, and bite your hands. Wearing rubber gloves to clean your gutters will speed up the task and protect your hands.
You should also wear protective glasses or goggles. When you’re blasting away gutter gunk, you risk getting debris in your eyes. A pesky speck in your eye could cause you to fall from your ladder and injure yourself.
5. Stick With Non-Slip Footwear
Don’t just grab your old flip-flops or worn-out mowing sneakers to clean your gutters. Use footwear with non-slip soles instead. The rubber shoe will grip the rungs better than leather-soled shoes. Plus, wearing non-slip shoes or boots will help you keep your balance while you flush your gutters with a garden hose or leaf blower.
6. Be Aware of Power Lines
As you clean your roof and gutters, pay attention to any power lines near your home. Visually inspect your power cables for tears in the insulation, but maintain a distance of 10 feet for safety.
Call an electrician to report any damage, and wait until after the repairs are finished to clean your gutters.
7. Follow the Buddy System
Ask a friend or family member to hold the bottom of your ladder for added stability. A buddy can also hand you tools like a hose or leaf blower. And if anything goes wrong, a person is there to help or call for assistance.
8. Hire a Professional
It takes balance, strength, and stamina to clean your gutters. Plus, you risk the threat of electrocution from nearby power lines. If you’re unable to clean your gutters safely, let a professional gutter cleaning service handle it for you.
Why Clean Your Gutters?
If you ignore your gutters, they can become clogged with water and debris, causing them to bend and separate under the added weight of the clogs. Additionally, idle moisture can cause your gutters to corrode and rust, shortening their lifespan.
Your gutters were built to last 20 to 50 years (depending on the gutter material). Proper maintenance and cleaning will protect your investment and extend the life of your gutter system.
Here are other reasons to clean your gutters:
- Prevent water damage: The primary threat dirty gutters pose to your home is water damage. You should clean your gutters twice a year to prevent them from overflowing. On a sunny day, spray your gutters with a high-powered hose equipped with a spray nozzle to blast away gunk and debris. Then check your gutters for leaks. Neglected gutters lead to water damage inside and outside your home.
- Ward off pests: A gutter full of rotting leaves makes an attractive nesting site for wasps, ants, and other pests. Large infestations can be expensive to remove and may damage your property, so save yourself the headache and keep your gutters clean.
- Protect your roof and fascia boards: A clogged gutter leaves no place for water to flow, forcing water onto your roof. Pooling water on the roof leads to internal water damage, roof rot, and costly repairs. When your gutters fill with water and debris, they become too heavy and will break away from the fascia, causing damage to your roofing system.
- Improve curb appeal: Clean gutters highlight your home’s exterior, while clogged gutters detract from your home’s curb appeal. You’ll avoid saggy gutters, torn-up landscaping, and water stains on your siding by cleaning your gutters.
- Protect your flower beds: Water that overflows from your gutters rather than draining down a downspout may damage and overwater your garden beds.
- Prevent ice dams: When the snow and ice from your roof melt into your leaf-filled gutters, it stagnates and refreezes, creating ice dams that block water flow. Water collects under your roof’s shingles, causing damage to your roof, fascia, and soffits. As heavy icicles form, your gutters may detach from the roof and damage the fascia.
- Extend the life of your gutters: Clogged gutters collect debris and water, leading to rust and corrosion, shortening your gutter’s lifespan. Maintained gutters can last 20 to 50 years, depending on the material. Downspouts can last even longer, with an average lifespan of 30 to 100 years.
FAQ About Gutter Cleaning
If you wait until your gutters give you a sign that they need cleaning, you’re setting yourself up for a major headache. Ideally, it’s best to clean your gutters before they show signs of clogging. A regular maintenance routine will extend the life of your gutters and stave off costly repairs.
Remember to clean your gutters twice annually to keep them in tip-top shape. Late spring and early fall are opportune times to clean your gutter system.
Here are a few signs you should clean your gutters:
• Gutters overflow with rainwater
• Birds and critters show interest in your gutters
• Your gutters start to sag
• Vegetation is sprouting in your gutters
• Water pools around your foundation
• You notice stains around your home’s siding
Chemical gutter cleaners are not intended for the inside of your gutters. Never flush chemicals down your downspouts. Gutter cleaning chemicals are made to remove mildew and grime on the outside of your gutters. Remember to read and follow the label on all cleaning products so that you can use and dispose of them properly.
No. Your rain gutters weren’t designed to withstand the weight of your ladder and body. Plus, your ladder may dent and scratch your gutters. Place the extension ladder on your home’s brick or siding to avoid collapsing your gutter system.
Fine debris and pest nests can build up and clog your gutters even with gutter guards. To clean gutters covered with guards, lift or remove one section of the gutter guard and use a pressure washer or spray nozzle on your garden hose to blast the debris toward your downspouts.
Leave It to the Professionals
Cleaning your gutters is a tough, dangerous job (especially if you own a two-story home). Around 90,000 people a year receive emergency room treatment for accidents involving ladders. So skip the DIY and let a local gutter professional handle the job with care and expertise.
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