If you want to know the best, safest and most hassle free way to go about cleaning gutters from the ground, then this step by step guide will show you exactly what you need to know…
Let’s get into it…
Introducing The Simple 4 Step Process to Cleaning Gutters From The Ground…
Cleaning gutters from the ground is easy to do…
As long as you have the right equipment and you clean your gutters on a regular basis then you’ll never need a ladder again…
That last part is the key to keeping this job simple…
It’s so important to clean your gutters on a regular basis, before the debris builds up and makes cleaning them from the ground really difficult…
Ok, I know you’re eager to get those gutters cleaned so let’s get into it shall we??
Step 1… Discover if your gutters can be cleaned from the ground…
Sometimes, no matter how much you want to clean your gutters from the ground, it’s just not possible…
Don’t freak out…
You’ll be able to clean your gutters without a ladder but the first initial clean might not be possible without getting up there and cleaning from top…
You see, if your gutters are filled to the brim with weeds and dirt like this…
No matter how hard you try, that gutter will never be cleaned from the ground…
It’s just not possible…
The build up in your gutters just won’t shift and you’ll be there for days trying to get it all out…
So how can you tell if your gutters need their first clean to be done from a ladder?
Simple!
If you see any grass or weeds poking over the top of your gutter, the ground method is for you just yet…
Or you can get one of these extensions with a camera and peek over the top of your gutters…
You can pick one up from traps.com
Now, if you see something like this…
You can clean your gutters from the ground…
Move on to the next step…
But if you see something like this…
You my friend, can’t clean from the ground just yet…
Trust me, I’ve tried it and it’s not a fun time…
Here’s what I suggest…
Call a professional gutter cleaner to clean your gutters just for this one clean…
Then for your next gutter clean, you’ll be able to clean them from the ground by following the steps I lay out for you below…
And you’ll never need to pay for gutter cleaning again…
Ok, sound fair?
Let’s get to how we clean gutters from the ground…
Step 2… Choose your Gutter Cleaning Weapon…
There’s a couple of ways to go about this…
Which gutter cleaning tools you choose will depend on how much you’re willing to spend, the height of your gutters and the type of debris sitting in your gutters…
Let’s look at the first option…
Leaf Blower and Extension Kit
The Leaf Blower and Extension kit is a great option if you already have a leaf blower…
All you need to purchase is the extension kit…
If you need the leaf blower as well, this is a nice cheap one…
Now, this is a great option if you have a single story home and if you have a tonne of leaves that clog up your gutters…
It’s a leaf blower after all…
It’s designed to blow leaves…
And if you clean your gutters on a regular basis like I suggest, then the leaf blower will blow out anything that sits in your gutters..
But if you need to clean the gutters on a double story home, this might not be the option for you…
These extension kits only extend to 9 feet which will allow you to reach a single story gutter but not a double story…
If the leaf blower and extension kit isn’t the right option for you, then you should try this next one…
Pressure Washer and Extension Wand
The Pressure washer and extension wand is perfect if you have a double story home…
It’s also great if you have a single story home too…
If you have a single story, you’ll need to get a 5 metre pressure wand like this one…
But if you have a double story, you’ll need a pressure wand that extends to at least 7 to 8 metres high like this one here…
Both these wands are great…
But see how they don’t turn down at the end?
You will need to get yourself a U-Bend pressure connector…
That’s perfect for cleaning gutters out from the ground…
It also gives you the ability to blast those blocked downspouts as well…
Now all you’ll need is a pressure washer…
Both of these wands are made for a petrol pressure washer so you’ll need to get a pressure washer like this one here…
If this is the option you’re going with, you don’t have to get a petrol pressure washer, the electric washers are great for cleaning gutters from the ground as well…
But you will need a different set up…
The hose connections are different on the electric pressure washers and the petrol ones…
For an electric set up, one like this is great…
Either way you go, you’ll have a pretty powerful gutter cleaning set up…
But before we move on, there’s one more option for those who want the best option available…
Wet Dry Vac
The wet dry vac with the pole kit is definitely the best option when it comes to cleaning gutters from the ground…
The only thing is, it’s not cheap…
This gutter vacuum here is probably the one of best wet dry vac on the market…
It’s built to specifically clean gutters from the ground…
The extension kit is lightweight, which you’ll love after you’ve been holding the poles overhead for 10 minutes…
The only downside is that it costs a small fortune…
It ranges from $3000 to $7000…
But if you’re willing to spend the money, this is definitely your best option…
With that said…
It’s not necessary to buy a unit like this…
Once your gutters have been cleaned, as long as you stay on top of your gutter cleaning, it’ll be so simple just to blow or pressure wash your gutters…
You don’t need the expensive wet dry vac…
It’s just a nice option to have…
Either way, choose the best option for you and your budget then let’s get into the actual technique of how to clean your gutters…
Step 3. The Technique of Cleaning Gutters From the Ground…
Now you can’t just go off all half cocked and start blasting at the leaves and debris in your gutters…
For one, you’ll make a huge mess…
But if you do this the wrong way, you will actually make things worse…
You could quite easily clog your gutters up and block your downpipes…
So here’s what you want to do to make sure your gutters are clean and clear…
- Blow debris away from downpipes…
Start at the downspout and blow all of the debris towards the ends of your gutters…
Great, this way all of those leaves and debris don’t clog your downpipe…
Next you want to
- Blow the debris against the end and out of the gutter…
Once you chase all of those leaves and dirt towards the ends of your gutters, you’ll want to blow it out from there…
When you do this, some of the dirt and leaves will blow back down the gutter..
Just go back about 1 metre and blow the debris towards the end again and then out…
Repeat this 4 or 5 times until you stop seeing leaves and dirt blow out from your gutters…
Now you’re ready for the next step…
- Blow from the end of the gutter, back towards the downpipe…
Next you want to go from the end you just finished at and blow back down towards the downspout…
This just makes sure you’ve got all the loose dirt and stubborn leaves…
Work all the way back to the downspout…
- Blow down the top of each downspout…
The next step is to make sure your downspouts aren’t blocked…
You can do this with the leaf blower but your best option is to do it with a water fed pole…
The reason is, you won’t know a downspout is blocked unless you can see if water can flow out of your gutters…
So blasting water down the top of your downspout will unblock it and make sure there aren’t any blockages further down the line…
This is a great time to use your camera on the extension pole to check and make sure the water is flowing properly…
Now that your gutters have been cleared and your downspouts are flowing freely, you’re not quite finished yet…
5. Spray down the side of the house and ground
I’m going to be honest with you…
This is a messy job…
All the leaves and dirt that were in your gutters is now all over the side of your home and all over the ground…
That’s why the job isn’t complete until you deal with this mess…
Most times you’ll be able to spray down the side of your home with an extension wand and then sweep up anything on the ground or simply blow it away with the leaf blower…
There’s nothing more to it…
Job complete…
Except…
If you don’t do this next step, it will be impossible to clean your gutters from the ground…
Step 4. Spray Your Gutters out Every 3 Months to Keep the Debris Buildup to a Minimum…
This is the best way to clean your gutters from the ground…
It’s a simple job as long as you don’t let the debris build up in your gutters…
If you can keep on this schedule, you’ll never need to get up a ladder to clean your gutters…
And you’ll never need to hire a gutter cleaner to do them for you…
But you must stay on top of it or you’ll have no choice…
It won’t be possible to clean them from the ground…
I know you’ll stay on top of it…
You wouldn’t read this far if you weren’t serious would you??
Well, if you want to get really serious, then maybe you should keep reading…
Because I’m about to reveal…
The Best Way to Clean Gutters From The Ground…
In all honesty, the best way to clean gutters from the ground would be to use a combination of all the equipment I’ve listed above…
Here’s how it would look…
- Suck all the debris out with the wet dry vac…
- Suck out the top of the downspout…
- Clean the remaining dirt out of the gutters with the pressure wand…
- Make sure the downspouts flow by blasting water down them…
- Use the leaf blower to blow away any leaves and dirt that dropped on the ground…
That’s how I would do it…
It’s definitely the best way to clean gutters from the ground…
That’s about all there is to it…
I wish you well in your gutter cleaning ventures…
If you have any questions, let me know in the comments below…
That’s about all from me for today…
Peace,
Jason…