Quick DIY Gutter Cleaner

[TromboneAl]

It only took me about ten minutes to make this:

Be prepared to get very wet the first time you use it, because if it comes out of the gutter it will spray you relentlessly.

Combined with this:

I should be able to keep the lower gutters completely clean.

 

[ERD50]

It only took me about ten minutes to make this:



Be prepared to get very wet the first time you use it, because if it comes out of the gutter it will spray you relentlessly. ...

I'd put one of those trigger spray heads on the end of the hose, some of them have garden hose threads at the outlet. Then you can stop the flow almost instantly if it comes out of the gutter.

https://www.amazon.com/Gilmour-8573...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00002N68C

-ERD50

 

[travelover]

I made something similar out of 1 1/2" PVC hooked to a wet vacuum. It really works well on soggy leaves, pine needles and maple seeds.

 

[Sunset]

I made something similar out of 1 1/2" PVC hooked to a wet vacuum. It really works well on soggy leaves, pine needles and maple seeds.
......

Excellent, I really like the second story gutter ability.

 

[Bir48die]

Leaf blower with good power here. Gutters on the back are high up so easier to access with that

 

[wolf]

I use a "small light weight" shop vac. Get on the roof, and with light weight plastic attachments, vacuum up the debris. ( in the past, used scooper , leaf blower, garden hose, all to messy).

Of, course, getting on the roof can be dangerous. I like the idea of building an attachment, so one can work from the ground.

Question. Has anyone figure out a way of "attaching a mirror", or something, so you can see from the ground what is in the gutter? Hate to re-vacuum/or miss a spot.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I've got the Gutter Sense gutter tweezers ... it works, but it's slow going.

 

[Sunset]

I use a "small light weight" shop vac. Get on the roof, and with light weight plastic attachments, vacuum up the debris. ( in the past, used scooper , leaf blower, garden hose, all to messy).

Of, course, getting on the roof can be dangerous. I like the idea of building an attachment, so one can work from the ground.

Question. Has anyone figure out a way of "attaching a mirror", or something, so you can see from the ground what is in the gutter? Hate to re-vacuum/or miss a spot.

I don't think you could see much with a mirror as the mirror will be too far away.
However, how about a cheap camera, could even run the power and transmit wire down the pole to some screen, so don't need an expensive wifi camera, although they only start at $25.

 

[mountainsoft]

I use a "small light weight" shop vac. Get on the roof, and with light weight plastic attachments, vacuum up the debris.

I used a 14-gallon shop vac with a 6' hose extension. The vac stayed on the ground, but I could easily reach the debris in our one story gutters. It worked great in the summer when everything was dry. Unfortunately, all of the fir needles and other dry debris rushing through the plastic hose built up static. I was wearing shorts and would get a nasty ZAP! to my legs every few minutes from the hose.

I vowed never to do that again!

I have foam gutter filters in my gutters. I can blow the majority of the debris out with my cordless leaf blower. The rest I can usually reach with a broom.

 

[calmloki]

I made something similar out of 1 1/2" PVC hooked to a wet vacuum. It really works well on soggy leaves, pine needles and maple seeds.

Also very handy for in-wall wasp nests. There is a true joy listening to the little bastids bounce their way down the pipe. Use a coupler and stand off 20', brace it's end just under the wall entry hole.

 

[Jerry1]

Also very handy for in-wall wasp nests. There is a true joy listening to the little bastids bounce their way down the pipe. Use a coupler and stand off 20', brace it's end just under the wall entry hole.

And then what? Aren’t they still alive in the shop vac?

As for leaves, I think I’d rather attach an extension like this to a blower rather than a vacuum. Definitely like the idea of keeping my feet on the ground.

 

[Ronstar]

All good ideas, but my roof is 20’ off the ground in the back. So I’ll continue to use my leaf blower. I’d rather blow stuff out of the gutters, rather than wash it down the downspouts into my underground drainage piping where it could build up and clog.

 

[powerplay]

I bought this Rigid shop vac and gutter cleaning kit with 2.5" dia. hose. It lets me stay on the ground, but is still a lot of work and it clogs often so I really wonder about the video with the 1.5" dia. pipe. Maybe the leaves are bigger here. The filters are also expensive for this shop vac.
It worked well last year, but now I'm ill and not able to get out there and do it so I need to hire someone to clean my gutters.

 

[Ronstar]

If the leaves, etc are moist, that type of filter will get trashed in a hurry. Most wet vacs have a foam filter or use no filter when sucking up wet stuff.

 

[calmloki]

And then what? Aren’t they still alive in the shop vac?

As for leaves, I think I’d rather attach an extension like this to a blower rather than a vacuum. Definitely like the idea of keeping my feet on the ground.

They get up to a pretty good speed and then hit the curves or elbows with a thwack. I just let the vacuum run for hours and when I pulled the top there was some motion but they were pretty much done for. Think I plugged the inlet and let them steep in the summer sun for a day or two and they got real calm.

https://imgur.com/IKoVE
https://imgur.com/hovSr

 

[brucethebroker]

They get up to a pretty good speed and then hit the curves or elbows with a thwack. I just let the vacuum run for hours and when I pulled the top there was some motion but they were pretty much done for. Think I plugged the inlet and let them steep in the summer sun for a day or two and they got real calm.

https://imgur.com/IKoVE
https://imgur.com/hovSr

Great solution.

 

[Bamaman]

My last house was in a very dense forest, and I had to deal with massive amounts of leaves. My gutters were over 20' off the ground and they required yearly cleaning. My ladder fell over with me on it resulting in two broken legs requiring surgery, and I was in bed for 7 weeks healing. 11 years later, I'm still not exactly 100%.

Thankfully my new home has gutter guards and no large trees or leave problems.

 

[travelover]

My last house was in a very dense forest, and I had to deal with massive amounts of leaves. My gutters were over 20' off the ground and they required yearly cleaning. My ladder fell over with me on it resulting in two broken legs requiring surgery, and I was in bed for 7 weeks healing. 11 years later, I'm still not exactly 100%.

Thankfully my new home has gutter guards and no large trees or leave problems.

Yikes. My last house was a colonial with a walk out so the gutters were 30 feet high on the back. What I did was use a short ladder to get on the single story garage roof, then a second short ladder with one leg extended to get from the garage roof to the house roof. Once on the higher roof, I used a safety harness anchored to a connector at the peak so I could walk to the edges and manually clean the gutters.

Sure is nice to be in a ranch now.

 

[Texas Proud]

All good ideas, but my roof is 20’ off the ground in the back. So I’ll continue to use my leaf blower. I’d rather blow stuff out of the gutters, rather than wash it down the downspouts into my underground drainage piping where it could build up and clog.

What did you use to attache to leaf blower that was 20 ft and was light enough to move?


I would be very interested in doing this myself...

 

[Ronstar]

What did you use to attache to leaf blower that was 20 ft and was light enough to move?


I would be very interested in doing this myself...

I still walk on the roof along the edge and use the leaf blower with no attachment.

That has to end soon. Thinking of getting a new roof and new gutters with gutter guards this year.

 

[REWahoo]

I still walk on the roof along the edge and use the leaf blower with no attachment.

That has to end soon.

Yep. End it soon before you soon end.

 

[Sunset]

I have to clean the gutters every year on my rental. Some are on the second story, so pretty high.

I've been testing, over a couple of years and found these to work extremely well. A gutter that normally had 2 inches of muck in the bottom was basically clear and clean.

They snap in , have holes in them, and there is screening over the holes to stop the small stuff. They are cheap at $2.59 for 4 ft pieces.

 

[ncbill]

My last house was in a very dense forest, and I had to deal with massive amounts of leaves. My gutters were over 20' off the ground and they required yearly cleaning. My ladder fell over with me on it resulting in two broken legs requiring surgery, and I was in bed for 7 weeks healing. 11 years later, I'm still not exactly 100%.

Thankfully my new home has gutter guards and no large trees or leave problems.

Had uncles on both sides of the family come off ladders...one shattered both ankles, the other both wrists.

So as I'm getting my late relative's house ready to sell, I've decided to pay someone to get up on the roof to caulk a minor leak around a vent pipe & clean the gutters.

 

[H2ODude]

Built addition for MIL in 2006. Went ahead and replaced entire roof on existing house and had leaf guard gutters installed. IIRC the gutters for the entire house were a tad less than $3,000. Best thing I've ever bought. 13 years of not having to use a ladder, get dirty with composted leaves/pine needles, or take on any risk. Only requirement is when house gets pressure washed need to pay attention to the lip; if get mildew residue it can interfere with the way the water is pulled into the gutter.

They were professionally installed, and used 5" instead of 4. One long run had run all the way to one downspout; the new one is canted to both ends with two downspouts. IOW, if you do this have it done right. I've had not one instance of cleaning needed.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I pay a guy to clean out the gutters. His fee last fall was $175. Blow that dough!