Use Caution When Cleaning Your Roof

If more facility managers and building owners knew the appropriate way for roof and gutter cleaning, there would be fewer accidents and property damage. If rainwater fails to flow appropriately through the gutters and the downspouts, expensive repairs can add up due to frozen water damage.

Cleaning out gutters is a tedious task. However, several tips can make the work easier. These tips include:

Practice ladder safety

Use a safe and strong ladder, more so one with a shelf that can withstand a five-gallon container to collect debris, and ensure you safeguard the container with a cord. A four-legged ladder is ideal for a one-story building, and an extension ladder is appropriate for a taller structure. An orchard ladder isn’t appropriate as it has three legs for support which can easily get unbalanced. Wooden ladders are also not good since they are often unsteady and difficult to balance. Fiberglass ladders are the sturdiest, however, they are the heaviest.

When you clean your gutters for several hours, muscle fatigue might set in due to moving the ladder. In such circumstances, use an aluminum ladder, which is the ideal option for strength and support.

Ensure you inspect the ladder for dents, loose parts or defects before climbing. If the ladder is secured together with bolts and screws, ensure all the parts are properly tightened.

Use a garden hose

For roof cleaning safety use a hose with a pistol-grip spray nozzle. These nozzles permit you to regulate the water pressure with one hand. Moreover, you can easily hang it over the front edge of the gutter while using a gutter scoop or moving the ladder.

Scooping out the debris is the best overall way for cleaning out gutters. An ideal tool for this work is a plastic scooping tool, which is available at most local hardware stores. These tools are unique since the front edge is thin, making it easy to scoop out the toughest debris in any gutter system. You should avoid using a metal scooper as the bottom of the seams and gutter might be scratched or damaged. Scratching the bottom of a steel gutter introduces the region to corrosion.

Protect your hands 

Wearing gloves can assist in protecting hands against rotting leaf debris, squirrel and pigeon droppings, and any other dirt. Furthermore, gloves can prevent cuts from torn metal wrecks of an old gutter. Cotton gloves soak up dirty water that exposes you to microbes. Rubber gloves might get torn by metal wrecks in the gutter. Suede gloves are ideal as they are superior to thin leather, cotton or rubber gloves. 

Protect your eyes 

Protecting our eyes is vital as one never knows what may fly from the downspout during gutter cleaning. It is not uncommon to come across birds, rats, frogs, bees and wasps speeding away once you start unclogging gutters.

Clean the roof 

Power wash or rake all dirt from the roof before cleaning the gutters. Otherwise, the subsequent rain will wash down all the dirt into the clean gutters, clogging them again. Furthermore, dirt left on the roof might dam up the water around the chimney, air conditioning equipment, and in valleys, causing erosion and leakages with time.

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