Keeping your eavestroughs and downspouts clear of debris is an important part of maintaining your roofing system. Mounting a ladder and hand-scooping out leaves and dirt may not be the most glamorous of chores, but proper eavestrough drainage ensures that the foundation of your home is protected and water is being channeled to a safe location.
Clark recommends that gutters and eavestroughs should be cleaned at least twice a year. Make eavestroughs cleaning a part of your Spring cleaning routine. As the weather begins to turn chill in the Fall, do another check to make sure the eavestrough are ready for winter. It is much easier and safer to clear eavestrough before winter weather sets in. Consider the environment in which your house is situated. If you have many trees surrounding your home, you make need to clear the eavestrough more often.
Important: Clearing the eavestroughs is not always simple work. Working from a ladder is always a dangerous position to be in, especially when devoting free hands to the use of tools. If you have 2nd or 3rd storey eavestroughs, or if you find yourself at all uncomfortable working from any height, the professionals at A. Clark offer eavestrough inspection and cleaning service. Contact us to receive a free quote on your cleaning and inspection.
Eavestrough Cleaning Equipment
- Gloves: Wear thick work gloves while scooping out debris to avoid coming into contact with sharp objects.
- Eye Protection: When you are working at a height of any kind or with tools in general, you want to make sure your eyes are fully protected.
- Trowel or Small Shovel: Loosen and scoop debris in the eavestrough with this tool.
- Bucket: Somewhere to dump the debris once you’ve scooped it out.
- Ladder: Make sure your ladder is in a stable position each time you reposition it along the eavestrough. Take care not to put too much pressure on the eavestrough with the ladder, or else it can bend or puncture.
- Garden Hose: Ideally, you will be able to bring a garden hose up to the eavestrough with you to blast water along the eavestrough and into the downspout. If this is awkward or impossible, you can always test the drainage by spraying the roof from the ground.
Managing a ladder and tools at the same time can be challenging work. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance from someone on the ground, even if it is just to hold the ladder steady! Always consider your safety as a priority!
Eavestroughs Cleaning Procedure
Position your ladder at one end of your eavestrough and work toward the downspout. Make sure the tools you need are within easy reach or have someone pass them to you. Run some water through the eavestrough to determine where blockages are occurring and check for any leaks.
Using your trowel or shovel tool, remove debris from the eavestrough. Be careful not to extend your reach too far, and take care to be gentle with the trough.
Once a section is clear of debris, run water through the eavestrough to ensure the flow is running smoothly.
Reposition your ladder and repeat for all eavestrough and downspouts. Most downspouts will easily separate at the elbow joint if you suspect a blockage further up inside.
Keep Maintenance on a Schedule
Clearing eavestrough and downspouts are relatively easy when you get the hang of it, but also repetitive and time-consuming. If you need to keep up with maintaining your eavestrough for the changing seasons, the service experts at A. Clark are on hand to assist at your request. Feel free to contact the team to schedule a free estimate.