Regularly cleaning and maintaining your gutters helps prevent water damage, protects landscaping and avoid insects.

TLC’s not just for your honey. Occasionally, your home needs some too. While no one’s suggesting you paint once a month and dust daily, there is some regular maintenance for which you should make time. This includes cleaning your gutters.

Yes, it’s a boring and dirty job. Yet, cleaning and repairing your gutters is really important for maintaining the value of your home. Clean, functioning gutters help you:

• Prevent water damage by controlling the flow of rainwater
• Protect your landscaping
• Deter insects from living in your basement or crawlspaces

Maintaining Your Gutters

The best time to clean and repair your gutters is during the spring. Before you bust out the ladder and the rubber gloves, wait for a rain shower. (It won’t take too long in the PNW.) While Mother Nature is doing her thing, walk around your home and observe how your gutters are functioning. Is the water flowing freely? Is it stopped? Is it being diverted by leaves, debris or a break?

Cleaning Your Gutters

There are numerous ways to clean your gutters. From specialized tongs to gutter specific vacuum nozzles, people have been trying to make this task easier for decades. In the end, most methods involve traipsing up a ladder.

DIY Gutter Cleaning

If you have gutters above the first story or are uncomfortable on a ladder, consider hiring a pro. Otherwise, cleaning your gutters isn’t rocket science. However, it is a little dirty. You’ll want to wear gloves, a dust mask and safety goggles.

Position your ladder so the feet are well stabilized at all times. For additional stability (and fun), clean with a friend who can hold the ladder. Using a garden trowel or your hand, scoop all debris from you gutters into a garbage bag. With a high pressured nozzle on your hose, rinse your gutters towards the downspout to remove any mildew and excess dirt.