Help me clean tall gutters (2 story)

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mizzou

Diamond Member
Jan 2, 2008
9,734
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I have a really tall house. I think my gutters are 25-35ft in the air. There are two sections I can't get too because the pitch of the roof is extremely steep and I just can't safely do it.

I imagine as all of us make well over 100k and have huge houses, I should be able to get some good advice in this department.

I've looked at Guttersense so far.

I don't really want a gutter cover installed, it seems that would be an extreme pain to clear once it fills up with silt/nastiness
 
highland145

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
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Pay a pro to clean them. The ground is hard.

I had the larger size gutters (5"?) installed with the screens and they work fine. Haven't had an issue with the oak leaves clogging them. It might fill up with shingle rock over time but that's not something I'd worry about for several years.

I wouldn't go with the ones that use surface tension to pull the water in.
 
M

mizzou

Diamond Member
Jan 2, 2008
9,734
54
91
highland145 said:
Pay a pro to clean them. The ground is hard.

I had the larger size gutters (5"?) installed with the screens and they work fine. Haven't had an issue with the oak leaves clogging them. It might fill up with shingle rock over time but that's not something I'd worry about for several years.

I wouldn't go with the ones that use surface tension to pull the water in.
Click to expand...

The last guy I paid $150 for said he would never do it again, too scary lol :D
 
Homerboy

Homerboy

Lifer
Mar 1, 2000
30,890
5,001
126
Uhhh...

1) Get a ladder
2) Climb ladder
3) Remove debris from gutter.
4) Climb down ladder
5) Move ladder over.
6) GOTO 1
 
lxskllr

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
59,108
9,542
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Get an extension ladder, and lean it against the gutters to clean them. If you're gentle, you won't damage the gutters.
 
S

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
Jul 17, 2006
3,990
6
81
There is an extension tool they sell for pressure washers that allow you to clean gutters using pressurized water.
 
SlitheryDee

SlitheryDee

Lifer
Feb 2, 2005
17,252
19
81
Get a leaf blower and some PVC pipe of sufficient diameter to fit snugly on the end of the blower and long enough to be level with the gutter height from a safe point on an a-frame ladder.

Attach a plumbing trap to the end of the pvc pipe so that the open end curls back down facing you.

Put the pipe and trap on the blower and tape it liberally together with duct tape.

Position yourself on the ladder so that you can reach up and hook the end of the trap over the edge of the gutter.

Turn on the leaf blower which will cause air to flow down the pvc pipe and through the plumbing trap, blowing everything out of the gutter.

The end result should look roughly like this:

gutterkit.png
 
waggy

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
SlitheryDee said:
Get a leaf blower and some PVC pipe of sufficient diameter to fit snugly on the end of the blower and long enough to be level with the gutter height from a safe point on an a-frame ladder.

Attach a plumbing trap to the end of the pvc pipe so that the open end curls back down facing you.

Put the pipe and trap on the blower and tape it liberally together with duct tape.

Position yourself on the ladder so that you can reach up and hook the end of the trap over the edge of the gutter.

Turn on the leaf blower which will cause air to flow down the pvc pipe and through the plumbing trap, blowing everything out of the gutter.

The end result should look roughly like this:

gutterkit.png
Click to expand...

great idea! i will have to do that. I hate ladders
 
boomerang

boomerang

Lifer
Jun 19, 2000
18,883
641
126
gutterkit.png


Just be aware that your gutter is not going to look like that. It's going to be filled with a deep layer of black slimy decomposed gunk covered with a layer of moderately decomposed gunk topped by a fluffy layer of fresh leaves. Whatever you do don't clean them after a recent rain but be aware that it won't matter much because that bottom layer never dries out.

It will be really important to not try and dodge the wet slimy chunks raining down on you when you're on that ladder.

www.angieslist.com
 
highland145

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
6,336
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IronWing said:
If you have children, that's what they are for.
Click to expand...
Yeah until you break one and they you're in the dog house.
boomerang said:
Just be aware that your gutter is not going to look like that. It's going to be filled with a deep layer of black slimy decomposed gunk covered with a layer of moderately decomposed gunk topped by a fluffy layer of fresh leaves. Whatever you do don't clean them after a recent rain but be aware that it won't matter much because that bottom layer never dries out.

It will be really important to not try and dodge the wet slimy chunks raining down on you when you're on that ladder.

www.angieslist.com
Click to expand...
You must need a South American gentleman for that.
 
Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
69,744
13,359
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www.betteroff.ca
I just have a single story house so I just get on the roof and do it from there. For a taller house I would rent a scissor lift or other such device if I can't safely get on the roof.

This reminds me I need to clean mine before the gunk in it freezes into solid ice.
 
highland145

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
6,336
136
boomerang said:
Nah, I bit the bullet quite a few years ago and had these put on. http://www.gutterhelmet.com/ Our property is heavily treed and they are virtually all black locust trees. Their leaves are very small and they knot all together and clogged up the gutters like a mofo. I haven't touched the gutters since 2002.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't think they'd catch the water in a downpour.

I need to move water away from the foundation.

edit: DUH, that's the idea....
 
Last edited:
boomerang

boomerang

Lifer
Jun 19, 2000
18,883
641
126
highland145 said:
I wouldn't think they'd catch the water in a downpour.

I need to move water away from the foundation.

edit: DUH, that's the idea....
Click to expand...
They work fantastic. All I need to do is look out a window during a torrential downpour to verify they're working. The water follows the front nose and goes into the gutter. The only issue I've had with them is some years when the trees flower. They don't flower every year and I think it may have to do with the amount of rainfall in the spring but I'm not certain. Anyway...some years when the flowers shed and we get a rain, they have a tendency to stick to the nose of the gutter helmets. I then need to hose the residue off after the flowers dry up and rot away. Of course if I wasn't so damned lazy, I'd get out there and hose them off right away but the trees shed the flowers over the course of a few weeks so I just wait and do it at a later date. As long as the nose is clean, the water, through surface tension, will go into the gutter.

Extensions on the downspouts get the water away from the foundation.
 
boomerang

boomerang

Lifer
Jun 19, 2000
18,883
641
126
SKORPI0 said:
Why not install something like this?

Gutter%20guard%20-%20wire%20mesh.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWu9xmI8vlM
Click to expand...
Those would probably work fine for many folks. The leaves on my trees are small to begin with and they shrivel up pretty tight in the fall. I had something similar installed early on and the holes just plugged up something terrible. The leaves would form a mat completely blocking off the holes.

When I had the new roof put on, I went to the Gutter Helmets. They're expensive but not everybody will need them. Big leaves would work fine with what you've got pictured.
 
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