As the wonderful season of Fall approaches it’s a great time to get out there and clean up those rain gutters!
Whether you live in an area of leafy trees that might drop fall foliage, or even palm trees (like me) which can be even more of a mess (see the video for proof!), Fall is a great time for making sure your gutters are good to go.
I made a quick trip to RemodelingGuy.net sponsor True Value Hardware for a few simple tools that made it a snap for me to clean out the rain gutters on a friend’s house!
Keeping Your Gutters Clean Can Avoid Big Problems
Poorly maintained gutters can lead to a number of issues:
- Leaves and debris in your gutter collect dirt, which causes even more of a backup
- Once those backups get bad enough, downspouts get clogged
- Some leafy trees can cause downspouts to get packed solid with debris
- When gutters don’t drain they get heavy
- Heavy gutters can pull the gutter nails loose and the gutter can sag or fall off
- Water backing up in the gutter can cause roof leaks
- Even if the roof doesn’t leak, expensive wood rot is very common with clogged gutters
In short, clogged gutters can be a real bummer!
It’s Easy to Keep Gutters Maintained
The biggest reason for neglecting gutter issues is simply the fact that they are kind of “out-of-sight, out-of-mind”. Since we don’t usually see inside the gutters from ground level, we don’t think about it and it gets forgotten. Take the time to set-up a reminder on your calendar so you don’t forget. A couple times a year is enough for most homes. Maybe quarterly if you’ve got heavy tree coverage.
The good news… it’s easy!
In this project video, I used four simple tools from my local True Value Hardware, where the staff is so friendly and helpful it’s easy to find what you need. (It’s so nice to walk in and be greeted by someone who will take you to find what you need!)
- A garden hose
- A jet spray nozzle (called a sweeper nozzle)
- A narrow metal rake for reaching farther and cleaning debris out of the gutter
- An awesome fireman style spray nozzle to finish up with
It was a simple matter of cleaning out the gunk from the trees using the rake, then getting the clogged downspouts clear using the sweeper nozzle, and finally using the Fireman spray nozzle to rinse everything out one last time.
A few minutes work to save a bundle on potential problems down the road.
Be sure to check out the video above for a visual… you won’t believe just how clogged and nasty gutters can get!
Have you checked yours lately? Watch the short video to see both how bad it can get, and how easy it is to take care of!
~ Tim
You have to get one of these! I love it!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of True Value. The opinions and text are all mine.
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