Clogged rain gutters can do a severe damage to your home. The water overflows through the eaves and flow along the walls and accumulated in the foundation. The water flowing in this way not only damages the walls but also damages the foundation of your home. It is necessary to remove the clogging and clean the gutters to ensure the smooth flow of water away from the home. Water damage can lead to costly repair work. So it is better to maintain and upkeep your rain gutters to avoid these damages. Although many methods are used to clean the gutters, garden hose is one of a tool which can help you clean the rain gutters and remove the clogging.
Required Items
Garden
Following items are required to clean the rain gutters with water hose:
- Metal coat hanger
- Goggles
- Heavy rubber gloves
- Garden hose with variable nozzle
- Large S-shaped hook
- Bucket
- Garden hand shovel
- Ladder
Steps
1. You need to start from the area attached to a downspout. To do this, set up a ladder properly. Make sure that the ladder is secure enough to fall away. You can take help from your friend or any other partner to hold a ladder for you while you do your work upside.
2. Wear the gloves to prevent any cut from sharp edges. Remove the debris dirt and other accumulated leaves from the gutter. Put the garbage into the bucket.
3. Use the metal coat hanger with a hook to clean the any hard accumulated debris on the opening of the downspout. Wire can also be effective to clean the areas where your hand cannot reach easily.
4. Now take a garden hose and spray water to remove the remaining debris. Look that the water flows out from the downspout freely. If you see that the water is not coming out freely then downspout may be clogged. Change the nozzle setting and spray the water directly into the downspout with hard thrust of water.
5. Move the ladder to the next section of the gutter. Take away all the debris or dirt and spray water into the downspouts to remove the remaining debris.
6. Repeat the same process on all the installed rain gutters to remove any obstructive material from them and also from downspouts to ensure the free flow of the rain water. For every movement, make certain that the ladder is on stable surface to prevent any injury.
Precautions
- If your home is surrounded by trees, downspout baskets are the best affordable investments to prevent clogging.
- Cleaning gutters do not mean to just clean the debris. It includes the inspections of different areas associated with rain gutters like, brackets, hangers etc. keep examining these for possible damages to prevent major repair afterwards.
- Always use goggles and gloves for protection.
You might be interested in learning about How to Use Color in Your Home Design and also How to Plant in Containers.