by Rachelle de Bretagne

Created on: January 17, 2009

One of the setbacks of living in an area where you enjoy the beauty of trees is that your gutters can suffer the consequences. As Autumn comes, those leaves which looked so beautiful during the spring and summer seasons fall. Chances are they will get trapped into the gutters of your home, and if this job is neglected, can cause serious damage, because the water caught by gutters cannot be effectively drained away from your home. This means that dirty gutters can affect the integrity of the building as dampness which has no place to escape will penetrate walls or brickwork. This can cause internal problems as well as external ones, making it an essential job to clean those gutters.

*Safety.
*Raking out debris.
*Fitting filters or drain protectors.
*Checking downpipes.
*Checking for splits.
*Final checks.

You will need to prepare to do this job. Of course any ladder may be available, but how many are safe enough to work at heights. The kind of ladders suited to working at second floor level are those with wide bases. These are much more stable than those with narrow bases, and this helps the ladder to retain its stability. Make sure that you place the ladder in a position which gives enough angle to work comfortably. If at all nervous about heights, secure the ladder, or hire lightweight outdoor scaffolding which with a safety barrier. Since cleaning gutters is a relatively quick job, this would only apply in cases where you have other roof repairs to perform at the same time, and it may be a useful option if you know that the work will last over a period of days.

If you need things passing to you, or help with verifying that the drainpipes are working, do ask someone else to assist, as this saves a lot of time, and can add to the safety. They can also hold onto the ladder to give extra protection to you when you are on the ladder.

Raking out the debris.

This is a mucky task. Using gloves is advised, as the leaves will be moist and not very nice to handle. You can use a stick to pull them towards you and then scrape them out with your hand, into a disposal bucket hung to the ladder. Do one area at a time, and never stretch too far since this risks the balance of the ladder and will make the work easier. Clear the area completely, and then move on to the next area.

Fitting filters or drain protectors.

There are neat cappings these days which help to protect gutters. If these are available for your type of gutter, fixing these while you work will save you work next year.

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