How to Clean Gutters Using a Ladder Safely?

Cleaning the gutters is a critical task of your house maintenance, but it’s pretty difficult and a very dangerous job to do. Although it’s an arduous task and there are certain risks associated with it, you can’t ignore that if you don’t want your roof and wall to get damaged by water.

A ladder comes as the handiest equipment when you want to clean the gutters of your house. For your convenience, here in this article, we’re going to show you how to clean gutters using a ladder safely.

Things That You Need To Learn Before You Start

Before cleaning the gutters of your house, you must take the appropriate safety measures to avoid any potential risk. For example, you need to wear a plastic and waterproof glove to protect your hand if anything rough and sharp exits in the gutter.

Pick The Right Ladder

The perfection of cleaning your gutter depends on the ladder you have. So while selecting the ladder for cleaning the gutters, you need to be very selective and conscious. Therefore, it’s crucial to go for a stable and tall ladder to clean the gutters of your house.

For a single-story house, a step ladder is a suitable option. But when you want to clean a two-story or multi-story building, you need to go for a combination ladder or an extension ladder.

However, we’ll recommend you not to attempt cleaning the gutters in more than the two-story building. In the case of a three-story or multi-story building, you should hire a professional.

Measure The Gutter Height Of Your House

In general, 3.3 meters is a rough estimate that you can apply for a single-story building. And, 5.7 meters is for a two-story building from the ground to gutter height.

Now, when you clean the gutter, make sure you have selected a ladder with the proper working height equal to or a little bit higher than your gutter height. For example, a 10-12 step ladder is compatible with a single-story house for cleaning the gutter.

In addition, you can go for an extension ladder that has 3.95 meters. Similarly, when you clean a two-story building gutter, you need to go for a ladder with an extended height of 8 meters. Besides, you can easily measure your property by estimating bricks and then counting down the number of bricks to the level of guttering.

Use A Ladder Standoff

Most of the gutter that we use for draining the water and dust is made of plastic. Therefore cleaning the gutters becomes a challenging task because of the plastic material of the gutter.

In such a case, you can use a ladder stay or a gutter ladder standoff to protect your gutter from extensive pressure. Besides, it also helps the ladder to stay stable.

From a ladder standoff, you’ll enjoy double benefits and a better working position. It protects your gutter from cruising and making your ladder more stable.

How Does Ladder Standoff Work?

A standoff is an additional attachment to the ladder that keeps your ladder 20-inch to 50cm away from the wall. It offers you sufficient space to access your gutter and clean it safely without putting any pressure on it. As the ladder standoff contact with the building through its wider span instead of your ladder, the stability of your ladder maximizes, which is very important when you’re cleaning the gutter.

Attach Ladder Stabilisers

Attaching ladder stabilizers is an essential task to ensure your safety. When cleaning the gutter with an extension ladder, you need to ensure the ladder is on a flat and firm surface.

Most of the combination ladders are equipped with ladder leveling-bar to provide extra security, while in some cases, extension ladders may not include that.

In such cases, it’s better to use a ladder stabilizer. By attaching the right ladder stabilizer, you can set your ladder on any surface without any worries.

Do’s And Don’ts While Using A Ladder To Clean The Gutter

Do

Don’t

Safety Advice For Cleaning Gutters

Conclusion

Cleaning the gutters seems dangerous, challenging, and a dirty task. But if you don’t want to damage the roof and wall of your house by the water, then it’s an essential task. In the above article, we have explained how to clean gutters using a ladder safely.

Don’t compromise with your safety while climbing on a ladder. Remember, the highest ladder-related death occurs in the United States compared to other countries in the world. That’s why it’s essential to ensure your safety first before climbing on a ladder to clean the gutter of your house.