Cleaning Gutters with Leaf Blower - Safe?

[buckeye95]

All,

I have a home that has gutters on both the first and second stories (with a lot on the second floor), and usually get up to clean them several times a year. The last few times, I have noticed how precarious a position I put myself in to kneel or crouch close to the edge as I pull out the leaves, sticks, and muck and have been reminded that one slip could lead to serious injury or even worse. I have considered buying a power blower (such as the Stihl handheld BG-55) that will allow me to stay standing a bit further back and keep a further distance from the edge as I power blow the gutters clean. Thinking about that though, I'm unsure if a full-tilt blower in my hand might be just as dangerous at putting me off balance for a fall as well.

Has anyone tried this method of using a power blower for gutters? Does it seem safer to you then the "kneel and pull out the clumps" method?

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Regards,

Pete
Buckeye95

[tommyt654]

2 words, GUTTER GUARDS

[Thalermade]

Some years ago you could buy a kit for power blowers for such a purpose. It came with enough pipe to get to first floor gutters from the ground.

I understand your pain, my Mom has no trees, but several neighbors have those maple trees with the little "helicopter" seed things. Big pain.

Why not plumb the gutters with an air line that has a bunch of ports or holes, connect up your air compressor every so often and just blow 'em out that way.

Maybe compressed air should be the next utility....
Russ

[buckeye95]

Tommy - I have considered the gutter guards, by also have the issue with the "helicopters", and I have seen them clog up the gutter guards I am familiar with.

Russ - I think you are onto something there. I'm sure that would clear them out. As a matter of fact, I would have to video that for Youtube. A 15 second blast of compressed air, followed by 3 million maple seed helicopters floating down. What a show !

Thanks for your comments.

Pete

[smorris]

I rigged PVC pipe to my blower and can stand on the ground and just reach up and hook the end into the gutter to blow it clean. Then I go take a shower. Have to work on that part, but it does work.

[Mr__Bill]

I have used a garden hose with a fixed jet spray nozzle on the end. I put the end of the downspout into a pail with drain holes in the bottom and out of the underground pipe. Then start at about 10' from the end and snake the hose in forcing the stuff to the downspout. When clean then go back another 10' or so and do it again. It's not very fast and it can be messy but it's a lot more fun then crawling along then edge. It's just to bad that it does not work well for pine needles. I have to clean them out by hand after every good wind storm and several times during the winter.

I like the compressed air idea and look forward to seeing it on Youtube.


Bill,

[Wood_workur]

Tommy - I have considered the gutter guards, by also have the issue with the "helicopters", and I have seen them clog up the gutter guards I am familiar with.

http://roofing.owenscorning.com/home...ies/rapidflow/

The screen ones don't work well at all. Don't know about these, but It looks like a better design.

[eezlock]

cleaning gutters with a leaf blower?

I would think it is safe enough if you have thought out the process well in advance of actually doing it. I feel it would be safer,easier and quicker
to do the job from the ground with a long extended wand on a pressure washer. If you have one, buy an extension wand that is curved on the end
or could be shaped that way (half circle) it will go easier than using a ladder
or working from above the gutters standing on the roof.

[just started]

There is always this.

[eccentrictinkerer]

My neighbor, Ralph, is an 'urban arborist'. He regularly cleans gutters for his customers using his Stihl leafblower that he's nicknamed 'Monica'.

He's comfortable with heights and is extremely safety conscious, neither of which am I. I use the climb the ladder, collect the leaves, climb down the ladder, move the ladder, ad infitum.

[buckeye95]

eezlock - I would consider something like this, but I do tend to have leaves clump up at certain locations. I'm not sure this would totally clear out the gutters (I would probably need to climb up anyway to verify). I would also be concerned that the water would shoot some of the muck up onto the roof, where the next rain would simply take it back into the gutter.

just started - I actually saw that tool on an episode of ask this old house - pretty neat.

ecentrictinkerer - It's interesting to hear of someone actually doing it; even though it concerns me that the only person I have heard of trying it is also naming their tools....

[eccentrictinkerer]

eezlock - I would consider something like this, but I do tend to have leaves clump up at certain locations. I'm not sure this would totally clear out the gutters (I would probably need to climb up anyway to verify). I would also be concerned that the water would shoot some of the muck up onto the roof, where the next rain would simply take it back into the gutter.

just started - I actually saw that tool on an episode of ask this old house - pretty neat.

ecentrictinkerer - It's interesting to hear of someone actually doing it; even though it concerns me that the only person I have heard of trying it is also naming their tools....

I think the nickname reflects Ralph's dissatisfaction with a certain former POTUS.

BTW, in our part of the city, most houses are 2+ stories high and Ralph walks perilously close to the edge of the roof, IMO.

Just thinking about it scares the **** out of me.

[LinuxRandal]

I have seen those leaf blower add-on's that allow you to reach the gutters. I know a person that used it once, then the next time cut a head hole in a trash bag and wore a large old hat (messy).
I also had a friend, who was working on a water method. He always B&M'd that he would have a water spigot, up by the gutters in his dream home, that he could turn on from down below, and shut off from inside the house.
He was working on using an add on shower attachment pipe, to a garden hose attachment. It seemed like a feasible idea, but I don't know if he ever completed it.

[iceman61]

I've walked a roof edge many times with a blower to get leaves out of gutters. Works like a charm. You just need to be comfortable with walking a roof's edge It's not so bad as long as you stay under the 6/12 pitch range.

[Slik Geek]

I use a leaf blower on my mother's roof at least once a year. It's a large, hip-roof ranch, and the pitch is comfortably shallow. (One side of the house is two stories above ground level). The gutters get packed with leaf and twig debris, and since there is a gutter all around the entire roof, it's a big job to clean them out.

I use an electric blower, so I've got alot of extension cord to drag around. I have it draped over the other side of the slope or around the chimney to prevent the cord from sliding off the roof. I prefer this technique to crouching and digging at the roof's edge. With the blower, I can generally stay further back from the edge, so it feels safer to me.

When the leaves are really wet, or tightly packed, there are areas where I still have to dig them out. You'll get a bit filthy doing it, but no where as filthy as you would if you did it from the ground. (Think dirt, leaves and stagnant sludge / water spray).

If I attempted it from the ground with the suggested attachments, I would still have to go up on the roof and clean out at least five or ten trouble areas that are tightly clogged.