Since 2008 I have been working on cleaning out gutters for a lot of customers. As a full-time landscaper come I always had plenty of work to do in the spring summer and fall, but I didn't really have a lot to do in the winter. So that is when I started cleaning out gutters. I have probably cleaned out over 500 gutters in the last few years. Every time I do the job it seems to get easier because I become more adept and because I keep buying better tools.
There are two tools that I like to use that are not very expensive. I highly recommend these tools to you how is specially if you like to get the job done faster and you don't want to spend a lot of money to do the job right. The first tool is a gutter rake.
The first time that I bought this tool, a little skeptical. I thought maybe it was just a lot-it wasn't not help out very much. But then I started using it, and I was surprised at how much faster and easier it was to clean gutters around the house by using a gutter rake. I quickly discovered that the standard 5 foot pole that they give you at the rake isn't enough. So I went to Lowe's and I bought a 15 foot extension pole. I think I paid $30 for it, and at the time I thought man I am just using up with the money here. Soon however, I realize that having a 15 foot extension pole could save me a lot of time, especially on the houses that were not that bad. The way most houses work is that there is usually one of the four side that is really bad, and the other three are not. Most of the time, it is the side on the back of the house that gives you the most trouble. By using a gutter rake an extension point was actually able to clean the front and sides of the house twice as quickly. The reason why save so much time was because I didn't have to go up and down the ladder once for every 6 feet of gutter. Rather, I only have a go up and down the ladder once for every 30 feet of gutter. It really made a huge difference.
Another tool that I actually liked, I borrowed from a customer the first time I used it. It is called a gutters scoop. This tool only cost like three dollars, and it was definitely worth it. It really only saves a few minutes per house versus cleaning out the gutters by hand, but it keeps your hands from getting gross and covered in muck. Another advantage is that it also keeps your hands dry, which is a really good thing when it is wet and cold outside. I would definitely recommend a gutters scoop to anyone who has gutters to clean on a regular basis. There is a yellow scooper and a red one, the yellow one is really just a waste of money, you want to buy the red gutter scooper because it is much wider and works better on 80% of the houses. I have really enjoyed using a gutters do and a gutter rake to help me clean a lot of gutters.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Why Are There Not Very Many Old People Cleaning Gutters?
Why are there not very many old people cleaning gutters? The whole time I was cleaning gutters, I only saw one or two people that work older than me, and I am a pretty young guy. This is why I think there were not a lot of them:
1. Old people don't clean gutters because people have a tendency to get more intelligence as
they go through life.(or at least rule out dumb choices) I started cleaning gutters when I was very young.
2. If I was not as young as I was, I never would have cleaned out some of the roofs that I did. It takes a lots of gusto to put forth the effort to risk your life to make only $150. When I worked as a gutter cleaner, I cleaned gutters in Portland Oregon. This is probably the most dangerous place in the world to clean gutters. It rained about 95% of the time. A lot of the roofs were covered with wet slippery moss. Not very much fun, but at the end of the day I feel like I had accomplished some great task.
3. Old people will get hurt a lot easier. During the last few years I have only fallen off of two roofs. But man do they hurt. At least I was using my safety line the first time. It caught me about halfway down and then slammed into the side of the house. Then I let go of my line and tell another 9 feet. It was not very much fun. I learned that even if the roof doesn't look icy on the south side, it doesn't mean that it isn't icy on the north side.
4. I also think that a lot of people who are daredevils, (and you have to be a daredevil to
clean out gutters,) don't have a very high life expectancy. I vividly remember two jobs I went to where the owners took time to point out me where the previous guys had fallen off the roof. For a minute I felt relieved that I wasn't the only one dumb enough to fall off a roof. Then I started thinking about how I needed to increase my life insurance just in case. While I am not one to be easily daunted by a hard task, I received a lot of extra encouragement from my wife and from my inner self to improve my life by starting a blog rather than spending all day cleaning out gutters. Now I am grateful that I made the change even though the first years of life cleaning gutters and blogging were actually very hard and difficult.
1. Old people don't clean gutters because people have a tendency to get more intelligence as
they go through life.(or at least rule out dumb choices) I started cleaning gutters when I was very young.
2. If I was not as young as I was, I never would have cleaned out some of the roofs that I did. It takes a lots of gusto to put forth the effort to risk your life to make only $150. When I worked as a gutter cleaner, I cleaned gutters in Portland Oregon. This is probably the most dangerous place in the world to clean gutters. It rained about 95% of the time. A lot of the roofs were covered with wet slippery moss. Not very much fun, but at the end of the day I feel like I had accomplished some great task.
3. Old people will get hurt a lot easier. During the last few years I have only fallen off of two roofs. But man do they hurt. At least I was using my safety line the first time. It caught me about halfway down and then slammed into the side of the house. Then I let go of my line and tell another 9 feet. It was not very much fun. I learned that even if the roof doesn't look icy on the south side, it doesn't mean that it isn't icy on the north side.
4. I also think that a lot of people who are daredevils, (and you have to be a daredevil to
clean out gutters,) don't have a very high life expectancy. I vividly remember two jobs I went to where the owners took time to point out me where the previous guys had fallen off the roof. For a minute I felt relieved that I wasn't the only one dumb enough to fall off a roof. Then I started thinking about how I needed to increase my life insurance just in case. While I am not one to be easily daunted by a hard task, I received a lot of extra encouragement from my wife and from my inner self to improve my life by starting a blog rather than spending all day cleaning out gutters. Now I am grateful that I made the change even though the first years of life cleaning gutters and blogging were actually very hard and difficult.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Gutter Cleaning Tips - Start to Finish
Here are a few steps to make your gutter cleaning process easier from start to finish:
If you are a know how to clean gutters, great, this article will only help you to improve your skills that you already have.
As a professional gutter cleaner, I have cleaned out hundreds of gutters every year. Each time I clean out a gutter, I try and focus on how to do it faster and how to do a better job. I have found that it is normally best to start with clean gutters in the front of the house. This is because these gutters are the easiest most of the time. And you can feel great because you'll be moving quickly as you make an effort to clean that. If your house is only one story, and your wrist is not very steep, you can clean them simply by sitting on top of your roof and bending down and cleaning them out with your hand or with a gutters. You want to bring a bucket up along with you so you have some place but the degree that you do from the gutters. If your house is two stories, you'll be best to do it with a ladder. When I buy a ladder for gutter cleaning, I usually like by a 24 foot ladder with just all lakes. This will allow me to lease to the top of any two-story house. And it will also allow me to have a steady ladder as I climb up to clean them. Another tool that I have found helps me out immensely, is to have a small gutter snake, or toilet snake. This allows me to complete and effortlessly unclog all of the downspouts. A third tool which I like to use is a better rate. I put my gutter rate on the end of a 12 foot extension pole, and it does a great job at cleaning out gutters, especially those that are not completely full. By being able to clean out 12 feet on either side of the latter, I don't have to go up and down the ladder quite as many times, and I can still get the job done fairly quickly. If the roof is more than three stories, you will probably want to go back to cleaning it from on top of the roof. Only now, you'll want to make sure that you have a safety line and a safety harness. As you reach over the edge of the roof and clean out the gutters, make sure that you are safely anchored to the top of the roof. Safety, is your number one priority. Please be careful not to go on groups that have ice on them. Also be extremely careful when Bruce are slippery, or when you are cleaning the gutters on the corners of the house. As a general rule, a ladder that is less than 30 feet is safer than the root. When you are using a 30 foot ladder, make sure that you have a spotter that will help you put the ladder up, because if you are not used to it, you may be lacking in strength and balance.
If you are a know how to clean gutters, great, this article will only help you to improve your skills that you already have.
As a professional gutter cleaner, I have cleaned out hundreds of gutters every year. Each time I clean out a gutter, I try and focus on how to do it faster and how to do a better job. I have found that it is normally best to start with clean gutters in the front of the house. This is because these gutters are the easiest most of the time. And you can feel great because you'll be moving quickly as you make an effort to clean that. If your house is only one story, and your wrist is not very steep, you can clean them simply by sitting on top of your roof and bending down and cleaning them out with your hand or with a gutters. You want to bring a bucket up along with you so you have some place but the degree that you do from the gutters. If your house is two stories, you'll be best to do it with a ladder. When I buy a ladder for gutter cleaning, I usually like by a 24 foot ladder with just all lakes. This will allow me to lease to the top of any two-story house. And it will also allow me to have a steady ladder as I climb up to clean them. Another tool that I have found helps me out immensely, is to have a small gutter snake, or toilet snake. This allows me to complete and effortlessly unclog all of the downspouts. A third tool which I like to use is a better rate. I put my gutter rate on the end of a 12 foot extension pole, and it does a great job at cleaning out gutters, especially those that are not completely full. By being able to clean out 12 feet on either side of the latter, I don't have to go up and down the ladder quite as many times, and I can still get the job done fairly quickly. If the roof is more than three stories, you will probably want to go back to cleaning it from on top of the roof. Only now, you'll want to make sure that you have a safety line and a safety harness. As you reach over the edge of the roof and clean out the gutters, make sure that you are safely anchored to the top of the roof. Safety, is your number one priority. Please be careful not to go on groups that have ice on them. Also be extremely careful when Bruce are slippery, or when you are cleaning the gutters on the corners of the house. As a general rule, a ladder that is less than 30 feet is safer than the root. When you are using a 30 foot ladder, make sure that you have a spotter that will help you put the ladder up, because if you are not used to it, you may be lacking in strength and balance.
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