FAQ & Tips

     There are a few ways you can check your gutters yourself without using a ladder. First, you can look at your gutters when it is raining to see where water is overflowing. Water follows basic physics and will escape at it's first opportunity. If the gutter/downspout or underground pipes are obstructed, the rainwater will find another way out at it's first opportunity.  Usually, if you have waterfalls coming off of your gutters overhead, you will most likely need the gutters cleaned or have your downspouts cleared. If your downspouts lead to underground pipes, you can spot a clogged pipe because the water will be bubbling or spraying out from the connection where the downspout goes underground. Remember, the rain water will escape as soon as it can. 

     Another way to check your gutters may be to simply look out your higher windows or off of decking that may give you a bird's eye view of them. 

     For those interested in going further, you can invest in an extendable inspection mirror yourself. It resembles a dentist mirror tool but much larger. It will allow you to walk the underneath the gutters and use the mirror to inspect them.

     You can also use a drone with a camera to inspect your gutters, should you have one.

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     On top of all the other methods previously described to check your gutters, you can also do it with your hose. Simply hook up your outside hose with a good nozzle spray water up onto the roof over the questionable gutter. The hose water will either resume overflowing the gutter or now through the downspout. You should hear the rush of water through it. 

Tip: You can use a broomstick or another long stick to check your downspouts. Use the edge of the stick to tap on the downspouts. Particularly, the elbows. You will be able to hear or feel the difference if you find a clog. The open downspout will sound hollow. The clog will thump with a much different sound. 

     This depends on your own situation. Every home is a little different. I have customers that I visit once each year and others that I visit several times each year. Some only need gutter cleaning every 3-5 years. It mostly depends on the trees in a close enough vicinity and how close they are to your home. If you're downwind of them, the more often you will need to clean your gutters.  

     Again, this would depend on your situation. If your gutters and downspouts kick out at the base of your home into your yard, this is ok. But if your downspouts lead to underground pipes, do not rinse your gutters. Either clean the debris from your gutters by hand, or leave it. Flushing excess debris into your underground has a high chance of clogging the pipe. Hiring an underground plumber to unclog the pipe might be in your near future if you flush too much debris into the pipes. 

     Many homes have downspouts that lead to underground pipes. It is often hard to tell where the pipes actually lead to. Unless you know exactly where your underground pipes lead to, and have access to these spots to clean. I recommend installing strainers in the gutters where the downspouts are located. Many variations of strainers are available at many stores. The strainers act like filters stopping the debris from going down the downspouts and into your underground system while allowing water to pass through. 

     If you find water backflowing out of your underground pipes, it is too late. The line is plugged somewhere. You can either try to snake and flush out the pipe yourself, or you will need to call a professional underground plumber to help you. 

     My basic gutter cleaning service does not include any underground work you may need. Sometimes, I can help, but I make no claims of being an underground plumber. 

Tip: Get a jet sweeper nozzle for your hose that pressurizes the water. The tip looks like a small witch's hat. It will significantly increase the hose water pressure. The small tip can often make it around corners and not snag when pulling back out. 

Advanced Tip: Get a hose open/close valve. Install the valve at the female (opposite end of the tip) end of the hose. The valve will allow you to instantly open or close the water at full pressure. This can really help you control the hose and the mess.

     There are many options on the market to "protect" your gutters. Some fill the gutters with sponges or other products but most of them cover the gutters. As I mentioned in the basics, your gutters have two purposes in this world. Installing any of these products to "protect" your gutters does not magically make the debris stop falling from the trees onto your home. It will only change the dynamics of it. The debris from the trees will still fall and need to go somewhere. Gutters were specifically designed to catch the debris these products are protecting them from. The debris will build up on top of the protection. Eventually the debris builds up until it starts overflowing onto the fronts of the gutters. The debris and the dirty rain water flowing over the protection will stain the fronts of your gutters. In my opinion, this is a bad trade off and a waste of money. Rather than a basic gutter cleaning, you will now need to clean off the build up on top of the protection and most likely need to scrub the fronts of your gutters as well. Caution, if the build up of the debris on top of the protection gets bad enough, it can hold the moisture from the debris like a sponge onto the facia boards and roof. This constant moisture can rot your home. This is why gutters are made of metal material that can hold moisture for as long period of time without problem. 

     If you do decide to install gutter "protection", shop around and compare them first. There are many available. The prices and quality vary widely. Take into account the trees you are dealing with. Most of the products do a decent job if you only have deciduous trees. Especially trees with larger leaves. The smaller leaves and needles from the evergreen trees are much tougher to control. Even the more expensive protection must be installed correctly to keep the small stuff out. If there are gaps in the installation, the debris will find them, so will the wasps. They nest up high where you usually don't notice them unless you are doing something on the roof. I frequently find them in the gutters, nested on the edge of the roof. Most of the gutter "protection" provides a perfect home for them to nest in. 

Tip: Be wary of commercials that show you how their products work, with computer animated leaves and "free" giveaways. That is not how it actually works. None of my customers have computer generated trees.

     Many repairs and adjustments can help extend the life of your gutters but there are limits. Once rust sets in, they are on limited time. You can spot the rust using any of the methods used to check your gutters. You can also easily find spots where the rust has taken over. Look for the orange color. It usually occurs in corners first, but not exclusively. Be aware that if your gutters are dripping orange water, it will stain anything it touches. Even concrete. If you find a lot of rust, you should probably consider replacing the rusted gutters. Rust is the metal deteriorating. No product on the market can prevent the rust from expanding.