5 Worst Mistakes to Avoid When Cleaning Your Gutters in Calgary – Gutter Cleaning on a Budget

“Do-it-Yourself” help

LAST UPDATED: January 2024

Cleaning eavestroughs is simultaneously one of the most important and overlooked home maintenance tasks for homeowners in the Stampede city. It helps prevent foundational damage, roof leaks, and many other serious problems. Cleaning your gutters is also essential to preparing them for the coming season. Even though it might seem like a fairly straightforward task, there are plenty of things that can go wrong and mistakes to avoid when cleaning your gutters. Especially considering that some of these mistakes can put you in danger or even be fatal depending on the height of your roof.
Let’s go through a list of the most common mistakes people make and learn what exactly you can do to prevent them.

1. Not cleaning them often enough

As we have already stated, it is very common for people to overlook the importance of regular eavestrough cleaning and maintenance. This is why one of the first mistakes to avoid when cleaning your gutters that comes to mind is not cleaning your home’s gutter system often enough. In general, cleaning your gutters twice a year should be enough (although it is still the bare minimum). However, depending on the area you live in and your home’s landscaping, your gutter may need to be cleaned more frequently.

This means that, for example, if you have trees around your home or live in an area with a lot of foliage in general, you will have to clean your gutters more often than twice a year since they are a lot more susceptible to getting clogged up by debris. If this is the case, the easiest way to tell whether your gutters need to be cleaned is to just look up. If you notice significant debris buildup, it’s time to take out the ladder.

2. Cleaning them at the wrong moment

Another mistake that homeowners commonly make regarding gutter cleaning is not timing the task properly. You should conduct your gutter cleaning before every season when severe and unpredictable Calgary weather conditions are common. So if you know the winters in your area can be problematic in terms of weather patterns, you should clean your gutters every fall. On the other hand, it’s also smart to take the time to clear everything away after those seasons. So (if we stick to the winter example), you should also put an annual spring gutter cleaning on your calendar.

Remember that this is just an example; you will have to adjust the schedule to your situation. As we have already stated, you might have to do it more often than twice a year, in which case you may want to do it before every season. And, of course, this should be just a guideline you make for yourself. If you notice that your eavestroughs need to be cleaned in between scheduled cleanings, don’t be afraid to do so.

3. Not wearing the correct protective gear

One of the most crucial mistakes to avoid when cleaning your gutters is neglecting the importance of proper protective gear. Three main things can help make your gutter cleaning experience safer:

• Gloves – Firstly, gutters can get very dirty over time. Unless you're actively trying to get sick, you don't want to stick your bare hand there. Secondly, you should also be using thick work gloves since they can protect you from getting cut by any sharp debris that found its way in there; 
• Rubber-soled shoes – Using shoes with rubber soles that have good traction will help you avoid dangerous slips when you're climbing up the ladder or walking on your roof; 
• Protective eyewear – This is an essential item since it's not uncommon for things to fly out at you during the cleaning process.

4. Using the wrong tools

While gloves are crucial when cleaning your eavestroughs, other tools can make the job much more manageable than scooping everything out with your hands. The first item on this list would be a shop vacuum with a specified gutter cleaning attachment. This can help you finish the job much faster when dealing with small debris like leaves and dust. However, when dealing with a heavier load, the better option would probably be a pressure washer. Just make sure you know how to operate it properly. Alternatively, you can also call for professional help if you don’t know how to handle all of this machinery. If you don’t have the space for these tools in your home, experts from Professional Movers Canada also advise you to consider renting out a small storage unit to keep them.

5. Not following appropriate ladder safety precautions

One of the most dangerous mistakes to avoid when cleaning your gutters is not following proper safety precautions when using a ladder. If you’re going to DIY your gutter cleaning, you must consider all of the ladder safety precautions you can take. If you fall from a ladder when you’re high up, you can seriously injure yourself. And in some instances, this kind of fall can even be fatal. Before anything else, you should carefully inspect your ladder to check if its base is secure and even. If you can, you should also get someone you know to hold the bottom for stability. If not, you should at least inform someone you know that you’ll be using a ladder. That way, they will know what to do in case of an accident.

To help you keep your balance, you should try to keep your hips between the ladder’s side rails. It’s also important to avoid overreaching. This means that whenever you need to reach a spot further down the gutter, you should climb down and move it over. It’s a little bit more work, but it’s much safer.

To conclude

As you can see, there are many crucial mistakes to avoid when cleaning your eavestroughs. Even though it seems like a simple task at first glance. Make sure to use the right equipment and technique, and get a friend to help you out. This way, you can maximize both safety and efficiency. Of course, the best option is always to get professional help. But if you’re a DIY-er at heart, as long as you follow these guidelines, you should be okay. Get more tips and trick from our Gutter Cleaning Guide.

Why hire ‘Gutter Cleaning on a Budget’ for your eavestrough cleaning needs?

A small but dedicated family business. We are in the TOP THREE gutter cleaning companies in our beautiful city, and #1 by volume of eavestrough cleaning jobs in Calgary. Thank you, YYC. We’ve been working hard to achieve and sustain this status. We guarantee that your gutters, eavestroughs, and downspouts will have no clogs after our appointment. Plus, we can double the lifespan of your gutters.

Wonder if you can trust us?
Over the years, we helped CEOs, doctors, lawyers, engineers, IT-specialists, tradesmen, and even some local celebrities. We helped single moms, retirees, landlords, tenants, new homeowners, and a lot of other people who are not comfortable with heights or don’t have enough knowledge of rain gutter systems. That means you won’t be among the first hundred customers that trusted us, but we are very happy to work for you anyway 🙂