Over the years, I have avoided cleaning out rain gutters. It's pretty nasty
work, and it's hard to do without a ladder. As you are aware, I don't like to
use ladders unless I really have to. I use extension poles for window cleaning,
and I've learned some pretty good power
washing tricks over the years
that have kept both my feet on the ground. Recently, I made a gizmo that would
allow me to powerwash your gutters from the ground, using a hooked extension.
Since I am not an avid physics student, I did not foresee that this hooked
extension would whip around under its own power every time I pulled the trigger.
So scratch the gizmo from your list.
Still, I am going to start offering gutter cleaning service on a limited basis. Some of you really do have a problem with your gutters. The needles from bygone autumns have filled them, subsequently decomposed, and now are rich fields of new plants. The plants growing in your gutters also have roots, and those are getting between the seams at the joints and are causing leaks.
What is more destructive is what happens when the gutters are so clogged that
the downspout cannot carry the water away as fast as the roof delivers it. When
that happens, the water spills over the edge on the front, which you can see.
What you can't see is where the water goes that spills out the back of the
gutter. Some of it gets up under the shingles and starts to rot your roof at the
edge. I have had this happen at my house.
Another exciting development take splace when your gutters get really full: wildlife takes refuge there! Besides cockroaches and giant carpenter ants, I have also found a water moccasin in someone's gutter. But the best "catch" of all was what I found when scooping out large handfuls of pine straw from the gutter between a roof and pool screen. When I pulled out my hand, I watched a RAT run by!