Using a Gutter Rake to Clean Gutters.

What Is a Gutter Rake?

A gutter rake tool specifically designed to make cleaning leaves, pine needles, twigs and other debris out of gutters easier and faster than other methods. Invented by a home maintenance contractor, it fits the most common sizes of gutters and will easy go under or over any support braces that are inside the gutters.

The head on gutter rakes are unique and make all the difference to using a pole or other similarly shaped tool. The straight end is used to pull the debris toward you while the curved part pushes it under the braces or struts. Because the head is tilted and angled back, it is able to easily get at what is in the gutters and “scoop” it along as you move the gutter rake.



The rake head is attached to a pole, around 5 feet long, so you can reach quite a bit of gutter on either side of you without moving your ladder. Usually they have a threaded end so you can attach them to a longer extension pole increasing the length of the tool for areas that are hard to reach or to quickly clean very long gutter sections.

When not attached to an extension pole, gutter rakes generally only weigh about a pound, which makes them lightweight and pretty easy to maneuver and control. They are not hard to manage as you stand on a ladder to clean out the gutters.

How to Use a Gutter Cleaning Rake
A gutter rake is simple to use. First you need to place your ladder on level ground so it is stable. Either position an A-frame ladder close to the gutters or use an extension ladder you can lean directly against the house, which will probably be more secure.

Then start pulling the debris through the gutter toward you so you can easily remove it. You can either attach a bucket or garbage bag to your ladder to collect the debris as you pull it out or you can throw it on the ground and clean it up later. Once you have cleaned out all of the gutters you can reach from where you are, you will need to move the ladder to the middle of another section of gutter to clean that area out again. As you work, you will be able to quickly figure out the best
places to put your ladder to most efficiently clean the gutters.

When to Use a Gutter Rake
Most gutters need to be cleaned out at least twice a year, usually in the spring and fall. However, if you live under a lot of trees that drop pine needles and leaves, you may need to clean them more frequently, maybe 3-4 times annually.

A gutter rake works best when the gutters are not completely crammed with debris, about half full or less. The debris can be either wet or dry, but the rake will be best for leaves and other lightweight materials.


Gutter rakes are great tools

A gutter rake can save you a lot of time when it comes to clean your gutters. You will have to go up and down your latter is much either. With a gutter rake and an extension pole put together, you can reach 15 feet on either side of the latter. This makes gutter cleaning a snap. To use a gutter rake simply put your latter up next to a downspout. Make sure that the area in front of the downspout is cleared out first. Then user gutter rake to clean out up to 15 feet on either side of the downspout. Pull everything towards you and loaded into a 5 gallon bucket. When you have finished cleaning out the area or when your bucket is completely full, take it down and throw it in the yard waste container. Using a gutter rake has helped me to cut down on the time it takes me to clean my gutters by as much as 50%.



Looking for a Portland Gutter Cleaning Service?

How to Make Extra Easy Money Cleaning Gutters

So if you are interested in a really easy way to make money now, you could probably make money tomorrow cleaning gutters. This is a really easy business to start because all it requires is a ladder and a bucket. If you already have a bucket all you have to do is borrow the ladder. (For a complete list of recommended equipment please visit our links. If you have a job, you could do it on Saturdays, if you are between jobs you could easily make 300 dollars a day cleaning out gutters on 3 houses.

Peak seasons vary throughout the country but generally the fall and the Spring are super busy times for gutter cleaners.

To start this business simply find a street that has a lot of trees and fairly nice houses. When you knock doors say something to this effect. Hey, I was in the neighborhood cleaning gutters for a few of your neighbors for a great price and I was wondering if you have cleaned your gutters yet this year? When they say no, ask them if they would like a free estimate to have them cleaned.

If you are people phobic, you may also elect to run fliers. Depending on the area, how good your fliers are, and what time of year it is, you should plan on getting between 2 and 10 jobs for every 500 fliers you run.

A note on picking good neighborhoods. I have cleaned gutters in the past and it seems 90% of people who pay you to clean gutters have a jacuzzi so pick affluent middle class neighborhoods for the best results.

Be careful this job can be dangerous, cold, and dirty, but the worse conditions get, the busier you get. After all no one in their right mind except you wants to clean gutters if they can avoid it.c

So busy Cleaning Gutters in Portland, Not Much Time to Write.

So my employee and I are extremely busy cleaning gutters. I really can't think of a much easier way to make a lot of money. I only worked 4 days this week and managed to make over $2000. Anyway, life is good for now.

I want to write about a great gutter cleaning tool I invented and how it made me an extra $139 today. You see not all roofs are created equally and this roof was so high in the back, that we couldn't reach it by conventional means. (i.e. my highest ladder) Also the shingle were a bit moldy and get down to clean the gutters out or blow them with a saftey line frankly, would be worth the risk. I happen to clean window and so I decided to take the top off of my gutter cleaning rake and crew in on the end of my 12 ft window washing pole. We went up from a short deck near the center rear of the house and we were able to reach both ends of the gutter. It was a great and far less dangerous way to clean out the gutters. I think we will be using this gutter cleaning method again.

The one down side to it however,m is that we were only able to clean out from the ladder 6 inches at a time because the gutters were extremely clogged.

I also want to put in a plug for my site. It may also give you a few good ideas on what to include in your website if you don't already have one yet, my website is at the link Portland gutter Cleaning.