Rain Gutters:
Make Clean Up a Snap

With leaf season right around the corner, now's a great time to make sure your rain gutters are clear of debris. While you can hire a service to do the work for you, doing the job yourself is easy and affordable with these tips:

• Clean your gutters at least twice a year, more if your home is surrounded by trees
• Wear heavy work gloves to protect your hands from sharp metal that may be on the gutters
• Don't let the gutter back up with leaves since they'll eventually come loose from their mountings and destroy the gutters

Ready to clean? Follow these steps:

1. Remove loose debris from the gutter using a small tool, such as a garden trowel, and scrub encrusted dirt with a stiff brush
2. Power wash gutters with a hose to clear debris – just make sure you send it toward the drain outlet
3. Make sure drainpipes are clear, if necessary use a plumber's auger to pull debris from the bottom of the drain