Cleaning Aluminum Rain Gutters

Simple green makes a concentrated environmentally safe cleaner with good stain removing properties.

Cleaning aluminum rain gutters. Use a sprayer attachment if you have one to increase the water pressure. Then turn the water to the hose on but not at full power. You can also make a paste with a small amount of water and cream of tartar which will act as a cleaner and gentle buffing agent in one. Fortunately cleaning gutters and downspouts is a pretty easy job and a couple of cleanings each year should keep them flowing freely.

It attacks the oxidation and not the paint or material. This job does however involve working on a ladder. Cleaning your gutters means thoroughly removing any debris that may be on them such as leaves rocks and birds nests to name a few. Use this solvent to scrub off the outer surface of your gutters with a stiff brush or a piece of cloth.

Spray the gutters toward each of the downspouts to rinse remaining debris out of the gutters. Adjust the red tip depending on the height of the gutters. Flush the gutters with a garden hose. For aluminum try gutter zap which removes electrostatic bonded streaks with little scrubbing.

Pull the hose to the furthest end of the gutters with enough slack so that you can lift the bottle over your head comfortably. Make sure you have a sturdy extension ladder that is long enough to reach the edge of your roof and always follow safe practices when using a ladder. Gutter scoops are available at the hardware store or a child s sandbox shovel also works just fine. This could be done through manual processes ie.

Carry the nozzle of the hose with you up the ladder to the gutters. Use some elbow grease or a power washer. To remove the gunk from the gutters use a small plastic scoop. Allowing a few dry days before cleaning your gutters will allow the debris to dry out making the chore much easier.

Start your gutter cleaning task near the downspout and work toward the closed end. You ll run out of cleaning solution really quickly if the water is on full blast. Even for vinyl gutters liquid detergent alone cannot be used to clean the gutters properly. If you have an old plastic kitchen spatula that works too and it won t damage the gutters.

For that mix half cup of household liquid detergent with a half cup of bleach in two gallons of water. When possible avoid cleaning gutters after a rain.