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msa62001

Cleaning High Gutters

msa62001
17 years ago

I have some real high gutters on my house and need to figure out how to clean them from the ground, or spend money to hire someone to do the job (which I'd rather not do since they're collecting leaves pretty regularly). Any thougthts on rigging up the the power washer or blower to use them from about 15-20 feet below?

Comments (17)

  • canguy
    17 years ago

    There are gutter kits for p/w's and blowers. The blower won't move soggy leaves and muck though. You will probably want to wear a rain suit and mask, it will be messy.

  • maineman
    17 years ago

    MSA,

    There are leaf guards you can install on your gutters once you get them clean. They will screen out most, but not all, leaf debris.

    There are also gutter attachments for shop vacuums, to blow or vacuum the leaves out. I think you would need one of the big 2½" hoses to vacuum leaves. The problem with standing on the ground and doing it is that you can't really see what you are doing in the gutter.

    Fortunately, our gutters were lower and I went up a ladder with a hose-end "blaster" nozzle to chase the leaves out with a stream of water. Then we installed removable gutter guards.

    MM

  • spinnervin
    17 years ago

    I have 26 ft. high gutters and this product works very well. I use a telescopic painterÂs pole and cat get to all my gutters from the ground or with the help of a small ladder. I still like to get up to the roof line at least once a year to inspect everything and to clean the downspout strainers.

    Here is a link that might be useful: guttersense

  • otis_palmer_arkansas_gov
    17 years ago

    Get some good gutter guards, a good ladder, and a good blower. Use the last two items twice a year. Forget working from the ground.

  • sawdust_maker
    17 years ago

    We had gutter guards. Took them off. The cotton wood gunk got clogged in them (we had the aluminum mesh kind) as well as every other kind of trash. Once clogged, they did nothing good, and probably helped form ice dams. They also blew off in the high winds around here.

    I'd love to put better ones on, but we've been told the cap style guards just make great hornet hotels.

    So I took some 1/2 inch copper pipe, soldered on a couple of 90's on one end and a ball valve on the other end to turn it on and off. Then I added garden hose fittings at each end. I only need to reach up about 10 feet, so 1/2 inch pipe was stiff enough. A longer run might need the extra stiffness of 3/4 inch pipe. Just turn on the hose and blast the gutters clean. You could probably use 3/4 inch pvc too.

    For the lower gutters, I use a pair of 2 inch PVC 90 degree elbows on the end of my leafblower. I attach them with a rubber sleeve so I can take them off easily. If the leaves are dry, I can set the blower up as a vac, then add a pair of 5 inch pvc elbows to the end of the vac, again with a rubber sleeve.

    John

  • newjerseybt
    17 years ago

    I had gutters 25 feet off the ground. Nothing kept the leaves out. I used to climb on the garage roof then pulled myself up to the top roof of my 2 story house. As I got older I chickened out.

    I had a huge oak tree 40 feet from the house. Gutters needed to be cleaned 3 times a year.

    My garden hose had only 70 pounds of pressure so that was NG. The best way was hand cleaning them. The gutter guy wanted $40 to do just the top gutters which was 5 minutes work.

    I got tired of climbing the roof and stairs so I bought a 1 story ranch in PA. No more leaf problems. (also 1/4 the taxes)

  • msa62001
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    I'm not sure my well pressure is going to work with a 20' pvc or copper rig. Any reason I can't put a rig together to attach to the end of the power washer? Will that provide ample water volume? Anyone else done this?

  • spinnervin
    17 years ago

    look at my last post to this thread. The guttersense works great. I cleaned 5 gutters in about 30 mins from the ground.

  • earthworm
    17 years ago

    Sawdust-maker, Do you have cottonwood trees ? They may be the same as the "cottonball" trees that I had, in Newberrytown, PA...

    These should be illegal for any man to grow, anywhere.

    They are absolutely the worst, the messyest, most dirty, most worthless tree know to man..without any beneficial value... they do grow fast..

  • rustyj14
    17 years ago

    Rusty Jones has the solution to clogged rain gutters!!
    Tear the suckers off! Yep--will save lots of time and money, hiring somebody to clean them out, or risking falling off a high ladder!
    After all, doesn't the rain water fall down to the ground, just inches out from the gutters??
    Would save a lot of time, trouble, cost, etc.
    Oh, you say, it makes the house look bad without them? Just tack up a nice, vertical, flat piece of flashing at the roof edge, with a tutrned in flange, as a finish piece. And, yer troubles will be over!
    Now, if i can talk the Mrs. into going along with my idea, i'll be all set next winter--if i live long enough!
    Rustyj

  • masiman
    17 years ago

    Rusty's solution is an option. For anyone that does this "fix", you may want to consider a diverter over your entryways. Also you can put rocks around the base of the house to prevent the trench the falling water will create. Gutters and french drains do work well to move water away from areas that otherwise would hold water and potentially cause damage to your home.

  • krnuttle
    7 years ago

    If you do decided to install gutter screens, make sure they are sealed so that birds and small rodents can not get into the gutters. BIrds nest can clog a gutters as well as leaves can. We had gutter screens installed, and they were not properly sealed. Yes there was a guarantee of the installation but it took several years to realize first we had a problem and two what was causing it.

    Just to keep things in prospective, a simple visit to the Emergency room cost several thousand dollars. You can get your gutters cleaned for a little over $100.

    When we had a different house I routinely take the leaf blower up on the garage roof and blow the gutters clean. However I always had some one clean the gutters on the house, as you needed a long extension ladder to get up there.


  • DLEverette_NC_Zone7b
    6 years ago

    @Dan, I checked out the EZ Smart Gutter Tool. This appeals to pretty much all of my reservations about cleaning gutters from the ground. I'm gonna try it out since it's supposed to rain this weekend and my gutters need cleaning. Did you order one? If so, did it work well for you?

  • nickcats
    3 years ago

    Did you ever figure out to clean your gutters? I have the same problem. Mine are at 28’. No company will come over to clean them.

  • DLEverette_NC_Zone7b
    3 years ago

    @nickcats I did get the EZ Gutter guard cleaner and it worked well for the first level. The second level was too much of a challenge. I ended up having gutter guards installed. It was a pricey project, but I haven't had any problems since, and the company (Leaf Filter) provides a lifetime warranty and makes any repairs to your gutters afterwards for free.

  • nickcats
    3 years ago

    Thanks!