Leaf blower from the roof...I've seen clients try that, and while it does look oddly satisfying, I'd caution against it. Had a homeowner once who slipped doing exactly that—thankfully just minor bruises, but still. Safety first, folks. I'd stick with the old-fashioned scoop-and-bucket method myself.
Yeah, leaf blowers on the roof always seemed a bit sketchy to me. I've stuck with the scoop method myself for years—it's slower, sure, but safer. I usually wait until late fall when most leaves have dropped, pick a dry weekend, and just get it done. It's not exactly fun, but there's some satisfaction in seeing clean gutters afterward. Glad your homeowner was okay though, could've been worse.
Haha, ever tried scooping gutters after a surprise rainstorm? I waited too long one year and ended up elbow-deep in soggy leaf soup—lesson learned. Leaf blowers might be sketchy, but wet leaves... that's a whole other level of gross.
Honestly, leaf blowers aren't as sketchy as you're making them out to be. Sure, they're noisy and can kick up some dust, but compared to the misery of scooping wet leaves by hand? I'll take the blower any day. I used to dread gutter cleaning season—always putting it off until the last possible weekend, hoping the leaves would magically disappear (spoiler: they never did). Then one year, after a particularly nasty storm, I borrowed my neighbor's leaf blower just to see if it'd make things easier. Game changer.
Now, I'm not saying it's perfect. You still have to deal with some mess on the ground afterward, but at least you're not elbow-deep in that slimy leaf stew you described. Plus, if you're budget-conscious like me, you don't even need a fancy blower. I picked up a basic electric one on sale for under fifty bucks, and it does the job just fine. Sure beats paying someone else to clean the gutters or risking a ladder accident because you're wrestling with handfuls of soggy leaves.
Another thing I've found helpful is timing. Instead of waiting until everything piles up and gets soaked through, I try to do a quick pass right after most of the leaves fall but before heavy rains hit. It takes maybe half an hour tops, and then I'm set for the season. Procrastination might feel good in the moment, but trust me—it's not worth the hassle later.
Anyway, just my two cents. Leaf blowers might not be everyone's favorite tool, but they're definitely underrated when it comes to gutter cleaning.
Totally agree on the timing thing—waiting too long is a recipe for disaster. A few quick thoughts from my experience:
- Leaf blowers are definitely underrated, especially electric ones. They're quieter and lighter, so less hassle overall.
- If you're worried about the mess afterward, laying down a tarp beforehand can save you some cleanup headaches. Learned that one the hard way after blowing leaves all over my flower beds...
- Also, quick safety tip: always double-check your ladder setup. Even with a blower, it's easy to get distracted and lean too far out. Seen a few close calls during inspections—better safe than sorry.
- And yeah, procrastination feels great until you're staring at overflowing gutters in freezing rain. Been there, done that, not fun.
Sounds like you've got a solid routine down though. Half an hour once or twice a season beats hours of soggy leaf wrestling any day.
