The Easiest Hack To Clean Gutters That's Hiding In Your Kitchen

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Listen, no one loves cleaning the gutters, but it's inevitable that leaves and other debris accumulate inside the troughs without screens or covers. While a few leaves might not seem like a huge deal, neglecting to clean your gutters does more harm than you think. When left unchecked for too long, the trapped debris becomes wet, heavy, and could cause your gutters to crack, detach from your house, or even cause leaks. Of course, if you're looking to make this job as easy as possible, there are some tools that make it easier to safely clear leaves and debris from gutters. That said, these tools, such as the EZ Smart mini rake head, typically cost around $25 to $30. To save money and still enjoy all the benefits of a gutter cleaning tool, reach instead for an old kitchen spatula.

Most spatulas are small enough to fit inside the average gutter, making them a suitable alternative. These handy kitchen utensils excel at getting under heavy clumps of leaves and flipping them out safely. Most people likely have an old spatula lurking around the kitchen already, but even if you don't, these simple tools can be picked up at your local Dollar Tree for just $1.25. Either way, it's a far cheaper, but equally effective, tool.

When choosing a spatula for this hack, plastic or rubber is the best choice — especially if you want to avoid scratching up your gutters. That said, metal is far sturdier and could be helpful if you're dealing with exceptionally wet or heavy debris. If you do decide that a metal spatula is better, try wrapping a plastic bag around the end to avoid scratching the gutters too much. Either way, to utilize this method, simply slide your spatula of choice under the leaves in your gutter, pull up, and dump the debris off the side. In some cases, a pair of tongs or a gloved hand can be used in combination to get more debris out faster.

Ultimately, this method is the same as it would have been had you spent $30 on a gutter cleaning tool, such as the Gutter Sense gutter cleaning tool; most of these are glorified spatulas anyway. If the debris in your gutters is dry and lightweight, you can skip using a tool altogether and simply pull the leaves and small sticks out with your hand (just be sure to wear gloves for added safety). After removing the debris, it's time to clean your gutters to make them last. To do this, place a hose at the end of the downpipe to flush out any remaining dirt. If the water doesn't flow freely through the pipe, you probably have a clog that needs to be removed. This can be done with a drain snake. Finally, give the outside of your gutters a good wipe down to remove dirt and stains.