Cleaning your own gutters: what is reasonable, and when to put the ladder away

The honest answer: sometimes, with limits

If your house is a single story, the ground beneath the eaves is level and firm, you have a sound ladder and someone to steady it, cleaning your own gutters is a reasonable job. Once you are dealing with a second story, a steep roof, power lines near the roof edge, or downspouts that stay clogged after the gutter looks clean, it is time to hire a crew. Ladder falls are serious injuries, and nothing in a gutter is worth one.

At The Brothers that just do Gutters, cleaning and maintenance are part of what we do every week, so I am not going to pretend every homeowner needs us for every cleaning. What I can give you is the way we think about it: when doing it yourself is fine, how to do it properly, and the specific situations where I would rather you call.

When doing it yourself makes sense

The best do-it-yourself candidates are low, simple rooflines. A one-story house with gutters you can reach from a stepladder or a short extension ladder, on flat ground, with no wires overhead, is a manageable Saturday job. So is a quick check of a short porch or garage gutter between professional cleanings.

It also helps if the gutters are in good shape. A gutter that is firmly attached, pitched correctly and draining to a working downspout only needs the debris taken out. A gutter that sags, leaks at the seams or pulls away from the fascia needs more than a cleaning, and climbing up to scoop it out will not fix what is wrong.

• Single-story house with reachable eaves
• Level, firm ground where the ladder will stand
• No power lines or service drops near the roof edge
• Gutters that are attached firmly and draining
• A second person to steady the ladder and hand up tools

Ladder rules worth borrowing from the professionals

OSHA's portable ladder safety card is written for workers, but it is the best short checklist I know for homeowners too. It notes that falls from portable ladders are one of the leading causes of occupational fatalities and injuries. These are the points from that card that matter most for gutter work.

• Look for overhead power lines before you move the ladder, and avoid a metal ladder near power lines
• Inspect the ladder first; a damaged ladder should not be used until it is repaired or discarded
• Keep three points of contact, two hands and a foot or two feet and a hand, and face the ladder while climbing
• Set the base a quarter of the ladder's working length out from the wall
• Use the ladder only on a stable, level surface, never propped on boxes or other unstable bases
• Do not stand on the top three rungs of an extension ladder, and extend it at least three feet above the point of support when you are stepping onto a roof
• Never move the ladder while you are on it; climb down and reset it every few feet

How to clean a gutter properly, start to finish

Most of a gutter cleaning is unglamorous scooping, but the order matters. Work from the downspout end outward, so you are not pushing debris into the outlet you are trying to clear. Wear gloves; gutter debris includes sharp shingle grit, screws and sometimes things that bite.

Our crews hand-scoop debris and use a leaf blower only when it is the right tool for the job, then flush and inspect. Here is the sequence I would follow at home.

• Set the ladder near a downspout and scoop debris into a bucket or bag, not onto the lawn
• Move the ladder every few feet rather than leaning out to reach
• Once the run is clear, flush it with a garden hose from the far end toward the outlet
• Watch the downspout: water should come out strongly at the bottom within seconds
• Look for standing water, which means the gutter has lost its pitch
• Note any loose hangers, dripping seams or soft fascia while you are up there
• Rake and bag whatever fell, so the next rain does not wash it back into the beds

What the debris in your gutter is telling you

Pay attention to what comes out of the gutter, because it is a free inspection. Mostly leaves, catkins and twigs means the trees are the main load, and that side of the house is a candidate for guards. A thick layer of dark grit is shingle granules washing off the roof. Some is normal on any asphalt roof, but if you are scooping out a lot of it on an older roof, it is worth having a roofer take a look.

Mud, sprouting seedlings or a black sludge at the bottom of the gutter means water has been sitting there for a long time. That is rarely a cleaning problem alone. It usually points to a run that has lost its slope, a downspout that has been partly blocked for months, or an outlet in the wrong spot. Make a note of where you found it, so whoever repairs the gutter knows exactly which run to check.

The downspouts are where most DIY jobs fall short

Our cleaning page makes a point I agree with: do-it-yourself tools and yard crews tend to focus only on the gutters themselves, while a proper cleaning also clears the downspouts and outlets. A gutter can look spotless from the ladder and still overflow in the next storm because a wad of leaves and grit is packed into the elbow at the top of the downspout or the bend at the bottom.

If water backs up when you flush the gutter, the downspout is blocked. Try running the hose up from the bottom, or carefully detaching the lowest elbow to clear it. If the clog will not move, or the downspout disappears into an underground drain line, stop there. Forcing it can split the joint, and an underground line needs a different approach.

Signs it is time to put the ladder away

Some situations are simply not homeowner jobs. A two-story or taller house puts you at a height where a slip is a hospital visit. A steep roof is no place to walk, even in good shoes. Wet or windy weather, soft ground, or a gutter you can only reach by leaning out to the side all raise the risk sharply. And any power line near the roof edge is a reason to stop immediately.

The other signal is what you find when you get there. If a run sags, a seam drips, the fascia is soft when you press it, or the gutter moves when you touch it, the system needs a repair, not just a cleaning. My guide on whether gutters need repair or replacement walks through how to tell which one you are looking at.

• Second story or higher, or a steep roof
• Power lines or a service drop near the gutter
• Wet, windy or soft-ground conditions
• Downspouts that will not clear, or that feed an underground line
• Sagging, loose or leaking gutters, or soft fascia

How often gutters around Dallas need clearing

Unprotected gutters, new or old, should be cleaned two to four times a year. Where your house falls in that range depends on the trees. Live oaks shed leaves and catkins in spring, pecans and elms add to the load, and in some seasons we have seen brand-new gutters clog within a day. A house in a newer Dallas neighborhood with young trees may manage with two cleanings; a house under a mature canopy usually needs more.

Timing matters as much as frequency. Cleanings are usually scheduled in spring and fall, ahead of the heavy rains and after the heaviest leaf drop. The fall window is short, and schedules fill quickly once the leaves come down, so it pays to book before you need it.

Guards, a maintenance plan, or both

If you are tired of the ladder, there are two ways out. Gutter guards keep most debris out of the gutter in the first place; our guards page notes that with guards installed, a yearly service may be enough instead of several cleanings a year. They do not end maintenance entirely, and I explain why in what gutter guards really do.

The other option is a maintenance program, where a crew comes on a schedule and you never have to remember. Many homeowners combine the two: guards on the sides of the house under trees, and a scheduled check each year. I cover what that looks like over a full year, including after hail, in keeping gutters working through the seasons.

What a professional cleaning visit includes

Our maintenance cleanings remove the debris from the property rather than leaving it in your beds, clean the gutters, and clear every downspout, elbow and joint. The crew sweeps sidewalks, decks, patios and driveways of anything that fell during the work. Minor repairs are part of the visit: re-pitching gutters, re-securing elbows and hangers, and replacing up to 10 feet of damaged downspout. We also send a reminder when the next cleaning is due.

Our cleaning page notes that in the Dallas–Fort Worth area a cleaning normally runs around a few hundred dollars, depending on how involved the job is. If you would like a crew to take it over, or to look at a gutter that seems to be more than a cleaning problem, contact us and we will schedule a visit, usually within a few days.

Questions people ask me