How To Clean Your Gutters

Keeping your gutters clean and free of debris is important to ensure water stays away from your house's exterior and foundation walls. It's recommended to clear the gutters out twice a year – in the spring before heavy rains begin and late in the fall after all the leaves have fallen off the trees.

Essentially, proper maintenance of your home's gutters entails removing debris that can clog the system, looking for rust, corrosion, and low spots that may be collecting water.

To properly clean your gutters, follow these simple steps:

Remove debris. The most important task is to get rid of any debris that may be clogging the gutters and downspouts. Clogged gutters don't allow moisture to move through the system, which can cause rust, rot, and corrosion. To remove debris, simply fasten a metal angle to the end of a long pole or board and rake the material toward you. Then use a wire brush to scrape anything that's left over.

Using a hose, wash the gutters. Anything that's left should be washed out with a hose starting at the high end of each run or in the middle of runs with spouts at both ends.

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Get rid of any remaining blockage. Anything blocking the gutters can be removed with water pressure or a plumber's snake. If this doesn't work you'll have to take apart the downspouts to remove any blockage.

Scrape the gutter. If you discover rust inside of the gutter, scrape it clean with a wire brush and apply a thin coat of roofing cement.

Wood gutters: sand and seal. If your home has wood gutters, they may require sanding down to the bare wood to remove any problems. Then apply linseed oil, leave time for it to dry, and apply 2 coats of roofing cement.

Again, standing water is what causes most problems with a home's gutters. Even if you follow proper maintenance procedures, standing water can be an issue if the gutters don't slope properly toward their outlets. To check if your gutters slope, pour water into the gutter and watch where the water goes.

If something is wrong with your gutters and they do not slope downward, you can eliminate sags by lifting the gutter a little and repairing loose hangers, or bending the hanger up with some pliers. You can also install another hanger if need be.

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