There are certainly nicer garden jobs than standing on a wobbly ladder and scraping the colorful autumn leaves out of the gutter with a shovel, brush and bucket. Especially when the leaves are soaking wet and already half decomposed. But a functioning gutter and downpipe is more important than many people think. If leaves and dirt block the water’s “official” route to the rain barrel or into the ground, it finds its own way. And that often leads along the house or garden arbor wall. Everyone can imagine that this does not contribute to the longer durability of plaster and facade. Not to mention the masonry and insulation. In plain language: gutters and downpipes must be free of foreign bodies so that the water lands where it belongs. Now you can fumble the leaves and the autumn mud out of the gutter with your bare hands. Depending on the height of the gutter, this can not only be dangerous, but also costs a lot of time due to the lack of range. So helpers are needed. And tools that are as flexible as possible, which in the best case also make a ladder obsolete. But which gutter cleaners can do that? And what else needs to be considered when cleaning the rain gutter? Here are the answers.
Anyone who wants to clean their gutter or clogged downpipe usually faces at least two problems: Firstly, the gutter is so high that normal-sized people cannot reach it without tools. Second: If you don’t want to use a ladder, you can’t see exactly where the leaves are and where the rain gutter has to be cleared of leaves.
For the former there are so-called telescopic handles, with which you can also reach gutters at a height of three meters. They have several advantages. As a rule, you can attach the tool you need at the moment and start working in no time at all. So they can be used flexibly. But it is more important that you have a firm footing when working and can move freely. It doesn’t work that way with a ladder. Now you just have to decide how clean the gutter should be. If you only want to remove the leaves and the coarse dirt, it is best to use a gutter cleaner that does not require a water supply (here’s a set with a shovel and scraper). Handling is simple. Put a cleaner like a rake or similar on a compatible telescopic rod and off you go. Devices such as this gutter cleaner from Gardena are usually T-shaped, with one arm being slightly angled so that the cleaning brush can get into the gutter over the edge of the gutter. The other arm is more responsible for the rough stuff. Stubborn leaves and other flying debris can be loosened and scraped out with the scraper.
For anyone who wants to clean their gutters even more thoroughly, there are tools that can also be connected to a high-pressure cleaner. This also includes the “PDRS 10 A1” gutter cleaning set from Lidl’s own brand Parkside. Here, a gutter cleaning slide is placed in the gutter and connected to a hose with an adapter. Water march! You only need a ladder here to place the cleaning slide in the rain gutter. Tip: Remove the coarsest dirt from the gutter before you use the high-pressure cleaner to force water through the pipe.
Spring and fall are the best times of year to clean the gutter. If you can’t make it twice a year, you should focus on autumn. In September and October, a lot of leaves can collect in the gutters, which should be removed before the first frosty nights. Depending on the location of the house or garden, you should regularly take a look into the gutter and, if in doubt, remove moss and dirt from time to time. All you need is a pair of simple gardening gloves, a hand brush (with a long handle), a shovel and a bucket. If you don’t want to climb the ladder again next spring or autumn or laboriously fumble the leaves out of the gutter, you should install a leaf guard or a gutter screen. They are stuck or placed on the gutter from above and prevent the gutter from being filled up with colorful leaves.
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