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Today with this nice summer weather I decided to clean the gutters and what do you know it, the slippery leaves caused me to thankfully land in the bushes ,, there has to be a better way! any suggestions?
Put wire mesh over the gutters or gutter guards they sell.
Everything that everybody said. Get some type of gutter guard. They still have to be cleaned, checked once a year but you can probably pay for that. If you have to go up there, sit down; it's a hell of a lot harder to fall off. If you're going to keep cleaning gutters, buy some attachments for a blower, etc and use them from a window or ladder.
Filet Mignon, trust me, you can fall from one story and almost die. Cdelena, I feel your pain. It is absolutely amazing what the medical community can do to you for the sake of saving your life. Trust me jones, you don't want to find out.
Put wire mesh over the gutters or gutter guards they sell.
Except they fill up really nice with ash, elm & other small seeds and spruce needles. We had to take ours off every year to get the little junk out 'cuz it packs in really tight at the corners & downspouts and along with a little blown in dust & dirt makes a lovely little dam as watertight as any the beavers build out on the river.
Finally we just left the gutter screens off, so we're back where we started....cleaning gutters 2x a year.
We too have gutters and are going to get the garden hose attachment that cleans them. Cleaning gutters isn't fun but I like them for two reasons - the icicles do not form and drip over the entryways, making the walkways more slippery, and this past summer we bought water barrels that we put at the ends of the downspouts. You'd be surprised at how much good water flows off of your roof even in a small rainstorm! We use it in the garden in the summer. Another good reason to have the gutters - when we bought the house, it rained seven inches the first week, and the basement flooded. We cleaned the gutters and got the water barrels, and the water doesn't flow down the back of the house any more into the ground around the basement back wall - it is directed into the back barrel instead. The barrel holds 60 gallons, and even in a minor rain can fill almost to the top. 60 gallons is a LOT of water to come crashing down into the dirt around one's house! Since we cleaned the gutters and installed the barrels, the grass is actually beginning to grow next to the house...
I am terrified of falling; one of our neighbors fell last Christmas and got a concussion and was out of work for 6 weeks. I get to a high point where I can see/reach what I am doing, get off the ladder and SIT; I stay off of the ladder as much as possible. And DH and I foot the ladder for each other whenever we go up or down. I wish someone would invent two-story, collapsible, tripod ladders for home use! (And who the HE!! came up with ROUND rungs anyway? ??? ??? )
A friend of a friend fell while cleaning his gutters and actually died from a broken neck. I would go with the gutter guards. I also hope to get some next summer. Be careful out there!!
Last edited by citydweller; 12-21-2008 at 10:02 AM..
Reason: add comment
iRobot makes a gutter-cleaning robot. I dont have personal experience with it but reviews from users are very good. I really like the iRobot vacuums and floor washers:
iRobot makes a gutter-cleaning robot. I dont have personal experience with it but reviews from users are very good. I really like the iRobot vacuums and floor washers:
That is just cool! It would be great if it did a good job.
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