All the Tools You Need to Clean Your Gutters Without Climbing a Ladder
Cleaning your gutters can be a hassle. They will catch leaves and pine needles and can easily become clogged and overfilled, causing headaches for homeowners. It is important to keep them clean not only during the rainy season, but also as winter weather sets in, as keeping your gutters clear will help prevent ice dams from forming on your roof.
But climbing a ladder to clean your gutters isn’t always the safest or most convenient option. Here are some tools and tool extensions that will help you clean your gutters without ever leaving the ground.
Use an extension cord for the blower
An extension for a standard leaf blower will allow you to clean your gutters by extending the nozzle to roof height and adding a nozzle pointing down towards the gutter. This universal blower extension kit works with most leaf blowers and can reach heights of up to 11 feet. You can also use this extension cord with a vacuum cleaner converted into a blower by switching the vacuum hose from the inlet to the outlet.
Recommended Products:
Here are our top recommendations for tools and tool extensions to help you clear your gutters.
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Gutter Inspection Mirror $24.98
Use water to blow away leaves
To avoid lifting, use water to push leaves out of gutters. Here you have several options. The first is a garden hose attachment that will spray water from the hose into the gutter, washing leaves up and down the sides. This telescoping garden hose attachment can reach depths of up to seven feet six inches in the gutter, making ladders on first floor gutters unnecessary.
If you have lower water pressure or a more challenging situation with bagged leaves, using a pressure washer extension wand is a good choice. This versatile pressure washer extension can reach nine feet and withstand up to 4,000 psi of pressure to blow stuck leaves out of your gutters. (Just be careful not to press too hard, or you risk damaging the gutters.)
Use a long extension cord
If you have a tool that works from the ground, starting with a good telescoping extension rod will set you up for success. A standard seven- to 24-foot extension pole will reach the gutters of most homes, and you can use one pole to replace multiple tools. Keep in mind that the longer your pole is extended, the more difficult it will be to control.
Use a grabber
If you have a clump of leaves or another object, such as a ball, blocking the gutters, fish it out using the grab bar on the extension pole. This gutter cleaning grip is cable and pole operated and can be mounted on most tool racks. Its jaws open about a foot to accommodate even relatively large items, but be careful when lifting anything too heavy as the spring mechanism is not designed to remove large items.
Use a tiny rake
For a low-tech option, you can attach a telescoping handle to a tiny rake that you can tilt to reach into the gutter and clear away leaves. Since it attaches with standard fittings like those used on paint poles, you can use it with any extension you like. Because these rakes are small, they may be too flexible for larger tasks, but they will handle most standard cleaning jobs.
Use an inspection mirror
You can also use an inspection mirror to check what’s in the gutter and know what tool to use to clean it. Discovering that what you thought was a clump of leaves is actually a ball can change your entire approach to the project. Add a viewing mirror to the telescoping post to see what’s going on from the ground, and check them again when you’re done to make sure you’ve cleared everything out.