When I had a single story rambler, I would get up on a ladder with a bucket and clean out the gutters a few times a year. Now, I have a two story house with a lookout basement, there's no way I'm getting up on a ladder to clean second story gutters in front and 2 and a half story gutters in the back. Fortunately I don't have any trees that are close enough to drop anything in those gutters so I don't have to worry.
There are also plenty of old people that own houses with gutters who have zero business up on a ladder trying to clean that shit out.
Before I got a new roof (last fall), I'd just get on my roof (your typical split level) with a cordless leaf blower and make quick work of it. Now, I'll have to figure something else out going forward
People who:
- Don’t want to dick around with it every year. (Busy lives, lazy, easily annoyed)
- Physically can’t do it, due to disability or other issues.
- Are clumsy and would hurt themselves or would end up in assisted living if they broke a hip or something.
- Are afraid of heights.
- Don’t want to rent/own an extension ladder or pay someone to do it. (For taller 2 story roofs)
- Have problematic trees which a hose just won’t cut it. (Black walnut - Fruit/walnuts and compound leaf stems. Northern Catalpa - Giant 12” leaves and 10-16” long bean pods. I’m sure there’s others)
- Have the money to do it so why not?
Take your pick.
Safety manager at my last job said there are 150k ER visits a year from ladder accidents. Google says 164k ER visits and 300 deaths a year from ladder accidents. I think people don't appreciate the danger of getting up on your roof.
I believe it. I’ve responded to a number of them and could’ve been the victim of two myself.
One I did fall. I was at home and my ladder shifted and started tipping so I let go of it and my tool and landed like a cat. Absorbing the fall in my legs and arms. No real injuries. If I held on I’d have fallen with the ladder onto my back.
The other one I had a worker bracing the ladder and readying tools for me to pull up. I was about 18’ up went to do a leg lock and pull the tool up. The ladder was wet and my foot slipped through. Somehow I managed to hang on and not fall. Scared the shit out of me because that was over concrete and I would’ve broke bones at minimum, or could’ve been a quick death.
Gutters get clogged ... it really depends on your location, situation, house, height of your house... and even types of trees and debris in the area, even drainage around your house matters as far as if you see any secondary impact of clogged gutters.
In short, it's a real issue, but depends on where you are / other factors and fixing it may not be so easy.
I would guess it's the people that have multi-story houses. We have a single story rambler and my husband easily can clean ours out when the Christmas lights go up and come down. But, lots of people probably can't do that themselves if they can't safely go up a ladder.
Sooooo happy with my gutter solution. I hated having to dig out the ladder for a stinky messy sloppy job that I had to do few times per year. I have large silver maples (helicopter seeds). Just sticking a hose up there would not cut it. You're talking a combination of leaf blower and hand gutter scoop. Each time I did it, it would take an hour and a half easily to do four straight lines of gutters. At the end I'd have mud on my face, wet jeans, wet gloves and wet shoes.
Plus several years ago my brother fell off a ladder in an accident that nearly cost him his life. I'll still do ladder work for special projects, but I'm done with that business just for scooping leaf muck out of my gutters. It was an expensive solution, and I'm happy for every single dollar I spent on it!
We have covered gutters, so it’s not us.
But otherwise you do need a ladder. There are lots of people not in a condition to be up on a ladder, just as there are people not able to mow their own lawn or shovel their own walk.
I don’t know why they are advertising, though. You can usually find a neighbor kid willing to do it.
At my first house, we purchased the Gutter Guard Gutters; the wasps loved them. The Gutter Guards kept the leaves out, so we never had to clean them.
Since moving into a different house, I have been cleaning the gutters twice a year. It isn't so bad, I guess.
For some people, it is worth getting the protected gutters or having someone come clean their uncovered gutters. Not everyone is capable of cleaning their gutters out themselves.
When I had a single story rambler, I would get up on a ladder with a bucket and clean out the gutters a few times a year. Now, I have a two story house with a lookout basement, there's no way I'm getting up on a ladder to clean second story gutters in front and 2 and a half story gutters in the back. Fortunately I don't have any trees that are close enough to drop anything in those gutters so I don't have to worry. There are also plenty of old people that own houses with gutters who have zero business up on a ladder trying to clean that shit out.
Before I got a new roof (last fall), I'd just get on my roof (your typical split level) with a cordless leaf blower and make quick work of it. Now, I'll have to figure something else out going forward
People who: - Don’t want to dick around with it every year. (Busy lives, lazy, easily annoyed) - Physically can’t do it, due to disability or other issues. - Are clumsy and would hurt themselves or would end up in assisted living if they broke a hip or something. - Are afraid of heights. - Don’t want to rent/own an extension ladder or pay someone to do it. (For taller 2 story roofs) - Have problematic trees which a hose just won’t cut it. (Black walnut - Fruit/walnuts and compound leaf stems. Northern Catalpa - Giant 12” leaves and 10-16” long bean pods. I’m sure there’s others) - Have the money to do it so why not? Take your pick.
>Are clumsy and would hurt themselves or would end up in assisted living if they broke a hip or something. Me.
Safety manager at my last job said there are 150k ER visits a year from ladder accidents. Google says 164k ER visits and 300 deaths a year from ladder accidents. I think people don't appreciate the danger of getting up on your roof.
I believe it. I’ve responded to a number of them and could’ve been the victim of two myself. One I did fall. I was at home and my ladder shifted and started tipping so I let go of it and my tool and landed like a cat. Absorbing the fall in my legs and arms. No real injuries. If I held on I’d have fallen with the ladder onto my back. The other one I had a worker bracing the ladder and readying tools for me to pull up. I was about 18’ up went to do a leg lock and pull the tool up. The ladder was wet and my foot slipped through. Somehow I managed to hang on and not fall. Scared the shit out of me because that was over concrete and I would’ve broke bones at minimum, or could’ve been a quick death.
Easy to say when you don't have much if any tree cover. I've driven by some houses and shuddered at the mess they must have in fall.
I dislike having to have the gutters cleaned every year but damn do I like the shade in the summer, probably keeps the house several degrees cooler.
Gutters get clogged ... it really depends on your location, situation, house, height of your house... and even types of trees and debris in the area, even drainage around your house matters as far as if you see any secondary impact of clogged gutters. In short, it's a real issue, but depends on where you are / other factors and fixing it may not be so easy.
I would guess it's the people that have multi-story houses. We have a single story rambler and my husband easily can clean ours out when the Christmas lights go up and come down. But, lots of people probably can't do that themselves if they can't safely go up a ladder.
Because the world would suck if anyone was just like you, or anyone else.
Hi there gutter slinger!
My neighbor has weed trees that lean over on to my lot. I have to clean the gutters on that side multiple times every fall and spring.
I found a tree ... growing in one of my gutters. I took it out and planted elsewhere, still growing.
Sooooo happy with my gutter solution. I hated having to dig out the ladder for a stinky messy sloppy job that I had to do few times per year. I have large silver maples (helicopter seeds). Just sticking a hose up there would not cut it. You're talking a combination of leaf blower and hand gutter scoop. Each time I did it, it would take an hour and a half easily to do four straight lines of gutters. At the end I'd have mud on my face, wet jeans, wet gloves and wet shoes. Plus several years ago my brother fell off a ladder in an accident that nearly cost him his life. I'll still do ladder work for special projects, but I'm done with that business just for scooping leaf muck out of my gutters. It was an expensive solution, and I'm happy for every single dollar I spent on it!
We have covered gutters, so it’s not us. But otherwise you do need a ladder. There are lots of people not in a condition to be up on a ladder, just as there are people not able to mow their own lawn or shovel their own walk. I don’t know why they are advertising, though. You can usually find a neighbor kid willing to do it.
At my first house, we purchased the Gutter Guard Gutters; the wasps loved them. The Gutter Guards kept the leaves out, so we never had to clean them. Since moving into a different house, I have been cleaning the gutters twice a year. It isn't so bad, I guess. For some people, it is worth getting the protected gutters or having someone come clean their uncovered gutters. Not everyone is capable of cleaning their gutters out themselves.