While November sees no letup in garden chores, our subject this month is the gutters that serve as arteries around the house, allowing the flow of rainwater from the roof to wick away from the structure, keeping it free of precipitation and mold. Just as clogged arteries are bad for the heart and blood flow, gutters clogged with leaves and other debris can cause water to stagnate. While gutters should be cleaned periodically, many people wait until the fall leaf season is over for maximum effect. That puts the task a week or two before Christmas, so now’s a good time to think about whether or not you will tackle this yourself or farm it out.

Experts like the folks at Home Depot consider this a relatively easy task. But as with all seemingly easy chores, everything’s in the preparation. You’ll need an extension ladder and two buckets to attach to the ladder – one for leaves; the other for tools that will include rubber gloves that you will wear under your work gloves to keep them dry, goggles, a gutter tool to release the leaves, a power drill for any loose or needed screws, a caulker/sealer and paint and a brush for any touch-ups.

First, assess the condition of your gutters, because if they’re old or weathered, they may need to be replaced. To do this, you’re going to have to get up on a secure ladder. If you don’t know how to secure the ladder properly or if, like James Stewart in the superb Alfred Hitchcock thriller “Vertigo” (considered by many critics the best movie to date, which opens with Stewart clinging to a loosened gutter), you suffer from acrophobia (fear of heights), you’re better off calling on us at Morano Landscape Design Group. We’ll have the right resources for you.

But let’s say this is not your first gutter-cleaning rodeo, to mix a metaphor. You’ll still want to double-check that ladder so you can make a confident assessment of the situation. Once you’re assured that your gutters just need a cleaning and not replacing, begin at the downspouts at the ends of the gutters close to the ground. Loosen the big debris by hand, using a trowel or gutter scoop for packed leaves. Then flush the residue with a garden hose or pressure washer, avoiding the underside of the shingles.

Once you’ve done all this, it’s time to check the downspouts again, sending water up them if there appears to be any clogs.

November 2020

By Georgette Gouveia

Gutter Cleaning