For most homeowners in the St. Louis area, gutter cleaning isn't something they want to do on a Saturday afternoon. But when gutters are not cleaned on a regular basis, it can cause a lot of damage on the home and the wallet. Gutter cleaning is used to rid gutters of dead leaves, standing water and other debris.

Gutter cleaning is needed for many reasons. When gutters are free from debris, rain water is easily directed away from the house, which protects the foundation and the walls of the home from damage. If water flows away from the home, this also helps keep pathways ice-free during the cold winter months. Gutter cleaning should be done twice a year, just before spring (prior to heavy rains) and late fall, when most trees have lost all their leaves. Gutter cleaning can be done manually on your own or you can hire a gutter cleaning service.

A variety of different gutter cleaning tools may be used for manual gutter cleaning. If you're not afraid of heights, all it takes is a good ladder, a bucket, a wire brush, a sprayer/hose and a good pair of rubber gloves to finish the job. For a medium-sized house, this method typically takes anywhere from 4-6 hours.

If you're not the ladder-climbing type, a gutter rake may be the answer for you. A gutter rake can reach up and into the gutters to remove most the visible leaves and debris from your gutters. This method is not as effective as the ladder, brush and spray method, but it is less expensive and will work temporarily if you're short on time and energy. If you opt for this method, you will eventually have to perform a full gutter cleaning as gutter rakes cannot remove debris that may be stuck on or in gutters. With any gutter cleaning method, a hose/sprayer must be used to test gutters after the gutter cleaning process is finished. This will ensure that they are in fact free flowing and ready for the weather.

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