Cleaning the house gutters is a simple DIY project (provided you’re not afraid of heights) and requires no tools except a sturdy ladder. If grass and tree saplings are growing out of your house gutters and rain water is overflowing the gutters and running down the side of your home, it’s time for a good DIY gutter cleaning. Here’s how-

Timing

Timing is everything – you don’t want the weather too hot, too cold and you don’t want to clean the gutters until after all the tree leaves have fallen in autumn. Late fall, very early winter is a good time to climb the ladder and remove the debris.

Sturdy Ladder

This is your life-line when climbing up to the roof of your home, so make it a good, sturdy, stable one with no broken rungs. Another pair of hands and eyes is also a good thing to hold the ladder stable and watch out for passers-by.

Hooks

If your ladder doesn’t have movable hooks to which you can attach plastic garbage bags or bucket handles, improvise with metal shower curtain hooks or something similar. As you clean out the debris from the house gutters, you will need something to hold the trash (no point in tossing it on the ground below, you’ll just have to clean it up from there) and suspending a garbage bag or bucket from the ladder with hooks keeps your hands free and makes the task easier.

Gloves and Tools

Don a pair of rubber gloves and/or use a plastic garden trowel to remove large pieces of debris from the gutters. An old pair of grill tongs is a nice tool to hook on your belt to take up the ladder with you to help you pry up and remove wads of damp leaves and other debris.

A drain snake may be needed if any of the down spouts are clogged with debris and a water hose turned on full blast will make removing all the light-weight debris a cinch.

Caution

Be mindful that insects and small woodland critters make have set up a home base in your gutters or the under the eaves of your home. Encountering ants, wasps, squirrels or rats while standing on a ladder rung several feet off the ground is hazardous to your health. Inspect for insect and animal signs and take needed precautions before embarking on a DIY gutter cleaning job.

Or better yet, call the best gutter cleaning company in Indianapolis.