ONE of the more difficult jobs around the home is cleaning out the leaves and debris from gutters around the house. You are up on a ladder, the space to get into the gutter is often small and you have to keep moving a metre at a time.
Yet this time of the year it is probably one of the most important jobs to be done ahead of the fire season.
One of the more useful tools I have found for the job is a long scraper, a length of rod with a short t-piece on the end. I can reach along the gutters and dislodge anything that has embedded in them.
More recently, rather than collect all the leaves into a bucket, I have found using an electric leaf blower, blowing away from the downpipe, to be the most effective means of getting gutters cleaned quickly and completely. Gets rid of all that dust that accumulates as well if you are collecting tank water.
It leaves a bit of a mess in the garden but it is simpler to clean from there than up in the air.
Of course, If you can’t do it yourself, there are plenty of contractors around who can do it for you.
Take a look at some of the services available in the classifieds in our paper, you are sure to find someone who can do it for you.
