Last weekend I finally tackled the mess of leaves and twigs stuck in the valleys of my roof. First, I climbed up with a sturdy ladder (safety first, folks) and used a broom to gently sweep out the big stuff. Then I grabbed my garden hose and gave it a good spray-down to flush out smaller debris. Worked pretty well, but um...it was kind of messy and took longer than I expected. Anyone got a simpler or smarter method?
Honestly, using a hose can sometimes make more mess than it's worth—especially if your gutters or downspouts aren't perfectly clear. One trick I've found helpful is using a leaf blower. If you've got one lying around, you can carefully climb up (or even better, get an extension attachment made for roof cleaning) and blow out the debris pretty quickly. It tends to be less messy since you're not dealing with wet leaves and mud running down everywhere.
Just a heads-up though, leaf blowers can kick up a lot of dust and small particles, so definitely wear goggles or safety glasses. Also, pick a calm day—trust me, you don't want to be battling wind blowing everything right back into your face (learned that the hard way...). Anyway, might be worth a shot next time you tackle this chore.
"Just a heads-up though, leaf blowers can kick up a lot of dust and small particles, so definitely wear goggles or safety glasses."
Yeah, learned that one the hard way myself. Last fall I tried the leaf blower trick and ended up with half the gutter's contents back in my face—wind picked up right as I started (typical luck...). Honestly, I've found a simple hand scoop or even an old spatula works better for me. Takes a bit more elbow grease, but at least I'm not coughing up dirt for days afterward.
"Honestly, I've found a simple hand scoop or even an old spatula works better for me."
Interesting, never thought of using a spatula...might give that a shot next time. I've tried the leaf blower method too, and yeah, it was messy. Dust everywhere, bits of leaves stuck in my hair—total disaster. Plus, I felt like I spent more time cleaning up afterward than actually clearing the gutters.
Lately I've been using one of those cheap plastic gutter scoops from the hardware store. They're shaped to fit right into the gutter channel, which helps speed things up a bit. Still not perfect though—corners are always tricky. Anyone else find that no matter what tool you use, there's always that stubborn clump of wet leaves jammed right in the corner?
Also curious if anyone's tried those gutter cleaning attachments for pressure washers? Seen them online but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Seems like it could either be genius or just another way to spray myself with muddy water...
