Top 8 Gutter Cleaning Hacks Professional Cleaners Don’t Want You to Know

*Collaborative Post

Gutters might not be the most glamorous part of your home, but neglecting them can lead to serious consequences. When water can’t properly drain away from your roof, it can damage your foundation, cause leaks in your basement, & even rot your fascia boards. Professional gutter cleaners make a mint charging for this essential service, but I’ve learned over my 15+ years of home ownership that there are some clever shortcuts they’d rather keep quiet.

I’ve tried EVERY trick in the book to avoid paying those hefty professional fees, and these eight hacks have saved me hundreds of pounds over the years. Some of these methods might seem a bit unusual at first, but trust me — they work brilliantly when done correctly.

1. The Modified Leaf Blower Technique

Ever tried cleaning gutters with a standard leaf blower? It’s messy business. Debris goes flying everywhere, most of it straight into your face. But there’s a trick professional cleaners don’t advertise:

Attach a curved PVC pipe extension to your leaf blower. I use a 90-degree PVC elbow joint connected to about 1.5 metres of straight pipe. This allows you to stand firmly on the ladder while directing the air blast along the length of the gutter. The curved attachment keeps you from having to awkwardly lean over the edge (something I learned the hard way after nearly falling off my ladder twice).

And here’s the real secret — start from the downspout end and work backwards! This prevents debris from clogging the downspout during cleaning. Most homeowners instinctively start at the far end, pushing everything toward the downspout, which often results in a blocked drain that requires additional work to clear.

2. Garden Trowel on a Stick

Sometimes, especially after heavy storms, gutters accumulate sludgy, wet debris that leaf blowers simply can’t handle. Rather than paying a professional £80+ to scoop it out, create your own extended gutter trowel.

Take a small plastic garden trowel (metal can scratch your gutters) and secure it to a wooden broom handle or extendable painting pole using strong zip ties and duct tape. This gives you reach without needing to constantly reposition your ladder. I made mine about 3 years ago for less than £10, and it’s still going strong.

The beauty of this approach is you can customise the angle of the trowel to match your gutter profile. For my semi-circular gutters, I’ve angled the trowel at approximately 15 degrees to perfectly match the curvature, making it much more efficient than commercial options that cost 5 times as much.

3. The Water Bottle Periscope Inspector

Professional gutter cleaners use expensive cameras to inspect your gutters and convince you they need more extensive cleaning. However, you can create a DIY gutter inspection tool using an empty 2-litre fizzy drink bottle.

Cut the bottom off the bottle, then cut a small rectangle out of the side. Attach a small mirror inside the bottle at a 45-degree angle. When you place the open bottom end up to your face and position the bottle above your gutter, the mirror lets you see inside without climbing up. I use my phone’s torch to shine light in for better visibility.

This works surprisingly well for doing quick inspections after heavy rainfal. It’s saved me countless trips up the ladder just to check if cleaning is actually necessary. Not to mention, the neighbours think I’m a bit of a genius when they see this strange contraption in action (though my wife disagrees).

4. The Pressure Washer Wand Extension

Pressure washers are brilliant for blasting away stubborn gutter gunk, but most standard lances don’t reach far enough from a ladder position. Rather than spending £50+ on a commercial gutter cleaning attachment, you can make your own extension wand.

Purchase two metres of rigid copper pipe (about 15mm diameter) from any DIY shop. Carefully bend one end into a curve that matches your gutter profile. Attach the straight end to your pressure washer lance using jubilee clips and waterproof tape. Make sure its secure — you don’t want it flying off under pressure!

When using this, start from the farthest point from your downspout and work inward. I tend to do this on a warm day wearing wellies and old clothes because it’s inevitably a wet job. One caution though: don’t use the highest pressure setting as it can damage some gutter materials. Medium pressure is quite effective for most blockages without risking damage.

5. The Vacuum Cleaner Reversed

Most people assume you need a special gutter vacuum for cleaning, but actually, many standard shop vacs can be converted for this purpose with a simple hack.

Connect your vacuum hose to the exhaust port instead of the suction port — effectively turning it into a blower. Then attach PVC pipe extensions (similar to the leaf blower method) to direct the air flow. This works brilliantly for dry leaves and lightweight debris.

I’ve found this method particularly useful for winter cleaning when wet leaves have dried out but not yet decomposed into that horrible sludge. The advantage over a leaf blower is that most shop vacs have better directional control and don’t scatter debris quite as chaotically around your garden. Also, shop vacs typically have adjustable power settings, so you can control the intensity based on how stubborn the debris is.

6. The Gutter Flush Bag

Downspouts are often the most problematic part of gutter systems, and professional cleaners charge extra to clear blockages. But there’s a simple way to clear most downspout clogs without calling in the experts.

Get a heavy-duty bin bag and create a small hole (about 1 cm) in the bottom corner. Fill the bag with water, then quickly place the hole directly against the top of your downspout and let the pressure of the water force debris down. The sudden rush of water creates enough force to dislodge most blockages.

I’ve used this technique successfully dozens of times. It’s particularly effective for those annoying partial blockages that allow some water through but cause overflow during heavy rain. For stubborn blockages, you might need to repeat the process 2-3 times, but it usually does the trick without any special equipment.

7. The Gutter Guard Fashion

Professional gutter cleaners LOVE to sell expensive gutter guard systems, often charging £500+ for installation. However, there’s a much more affordable DIY approach that works nearly as well.

Purchase plastic mesh garden fencing (available for about £10 per 10m roll at garden centres). Cut strips slightly wider than your gutters and bend them into an inverted U-shape. Simply push these mesh guards into your gutters, trimming them to fit around corners and downspouts.

I installed these three years ago, and while they don’t stop everything (small seeds and fine debris still get through), they’ve reduced my cleaning frequency from four times yearly to just once in autumn. They’re also easy to temporarily remove when you do need to clean. The mesh is UV-resistant and has lasted remarkably well despite constant exposure to the elements.

8. The Tethered Bucket System

One of the most annoying aspects of gutter cleaning is constantly climbing up and down the ladder to empty your collection bucket. Here’s a clever workaround:

Attach a small bucket to your ladder with a rope and carabiner. When it fills with debris, lower it to the ground, empty it, then pull it back up. This simple hack has saved me countless trips up and down, making the entire process much faster. It also reduces the risk of accidents from frequent ladder movements.

For added convenience, I use two buckets in rotation — while I’m emptying one on the ground, I’m filling the other at gutter level. Just make sure your rope is strong and tied securely to both the bucket and ladder!

The Bottom Line

Gutter cleaning is never going to be the highlight of your homeownership experience, but these hacks can make it considerably less painful and expensive. Professional gutter cleaners provide a valuable service, especially for multi-storey homes or people with mobility issues. However, for the average homeowner with a standard two-storey house, these DIY methods can save you significant money.

Remember that safety should always come first — use a sturdy ladder with a stabilizer, wear gloves, & consider a safety harness for higher areas. Even with these clever shortcuts, gutter cleaning requires care and attention. But armed with these professional-level tricks, you’ll be able to maintain your gutters effectively without calling in the experts every few months!

*This is a collaborative post. For further information please refer to my disclosure page.