Gutter cleaning is an often neglected household maintenance chore because it’s an involved process and can be dangerous. Still, many homeowners will take the task as a DIY project. 

The indication from the “Home Safety Council” is that thousands of people lose their lives to falls as among the leading causes of unintentional household deaths annually. 

While the pitch might look relatively minor, things can get unbalanced when you’re high in the air. Many homeowners choose to heed the side of caution and partner with professional gutter services for their routine gutter cleaning. 

The professionals have adequate tools and equipment to maintain safety and do the job right, plus you get to stay on the ground. If you’re an avid risk-taker, follow these few tips and strive for optimum safety.

Gutter Maintenance Tips For The Avid DIYer Before Calling The Pros

The gutters on a home need routine maintenance. It’s a significant job and one that’s considered dangerous. Most homeowners recognize the hazardous nature, tending to contact a professional gutter service company to handle the task to avoid the risk of injury.

Still, many avid DIY enthusiasts prefer to handle their household maintenance as much as possible themselves, with honed skills and a desire to continue to learn and grow with their home. 

If this is you, it’s vital to ensure optimum safety first and foremost, plus look at these essential maintenance tips as guidance when performing this task.

• Ensure the routine maintenance is a scheduled task marked on the calendar

Cleaning the gutters is a vital component of home maintenance. Clogged gutters can lead to numerous problems and potential damages to the household, including the structure itself. It’s critical to ensure that the task is something you don’t haphazardly handle “when you get around to it.”

The suggestion is that these be cleaned no less than twice per year but with a preference for four – once for each season, and that will depend on your location. 

If you live in an area with the potential for more debris, you’ll want to increase the frequency. That’s especially true if you’re in a wooded location or have trees surrounding your home.

Many homeowners neither have the time nor the energy to take on such a laborious and time-intensive project, especially with the requirement for such frequency. 

This is why many back away from the DIY concept and reach out to the professionals who can make faster work of the project and do so safely and adequately. Learn tips to maintain gutters without overflow at https://www.forbes.com/advisor/home-improvement/tips-keep-gutters-clean/

The all-important checklist will be a must-have

No one wants to be climbing up and down the ladder to gather supplies. By creating a checklist of what you need, you’ll have less chance of forgetting a vital tool or perhaps leaving something on the roof that you need to climb back up to fetch.

While navigating around the house, working on a ladder is not that much of a challenge for some do-it-yourselfers. It is dangerous, requiring much coordination, planning, attention to detail, and adequate equipment, including the proper clothing for optimum safety and security.

The suggestion is to avoid working in loose-fitting clothing that tends to droop. The material should be heavy-duty, perhaps jeans or work pants with a heavy fabric, long-sleeved shirt. Shoes should be substantial and closed-toe, with no sandals or flip-flops for this work. 

When working, you should wear thick, durable gloves that offer a degree of flexibility. These will protect your skin from the filth and grime, not to mention the potential to come across sharp areas in the metal. 

• Inspect the gutter systems for damages

While working on cleaning out the systems, it’s vital to look over the areas for any signs of defects or damages. Warped areas will lead to eventual problems. 

The first step in the cleaning process should be to visually inspect the material for bends, warps, breaks, or wrinkling. There should be no loose screws, nails ready to fall, gapping between the roof or wall where they fasten, and no shingles in the gutter.

If you see gapping, professional gutter contractors will need to come to take a look at the system to make necessary corrections. It’s a good idea to attempt to check behind the system for the “fascia wood.” 

This area tends to sustain damages. Any signs of wear are better left to the experts to make the necessary repairs.

• Use a scoop and a water hose

When pulling the debris from the system, it’s wise to use a trowel or a scoop to remove the “gunk” from the gutters instead of merely trying to take everything with your hands. 

There will be standing water and things you can’t grasp that the scoop will be able to pull out. When you get all you can, flush the rest with the water house until you see clear water coming from the downspout.

When pulling the gunk from the troughs, ensure you don’t leave an awful mess in your garden. Place a large tarp below where you’re working so you can simply toss the debris onto the surface. 

After you’ve done the job, you can gather it together for disposal. You don’t want to have to carry a bucket or bag to collect this debris as you’re trying to work on the ladder. 

This is dangerous with the potential for terrible accidents and should be avoided. Click for guidance on proper gutter cleaning.

Final Thought

DIY enthusiasts are to be commended for many household projects. Many of these individuals have extensive knowledge, skill, and talent to adequately handle household maintenance and enjoy much in the way of budgetary savings. 

Needless to say, Gutter maintenance is a challenge for even the most advanced DIYer unless they perform this as a trade. Given the statistics for slipping and falling accidents in and around the household, this particular task is one many homeowners leave to professional gutter services. 

The experts have adequate tools and equipment to ensure optimum safety and can quickly work the chore. Plus, the repair techs can make corrections to any defects while cleaning. It’s always better to be safe using professional services than to be sorry for an accident that results in an injury.