It is difficult for the house, as well as the human body, to function without regular inspection, prevention, and measures to eliminate any “diseases”.
There are no miracles, and hope, for example, that trash falling into drains in the form of leaves, branches would fly away from there.
So we look into our calendar of home maintenance activities and proceed to clean the drainage system. By the way, experts recommend doing this twice a year – in late autumn, in order to remove fallen leaves from the gutter before winter and prepare it for cold conditions of operation, and in early spring to remove the remaining garbage.
True, if old trees with a wide crown grow near the house, then two-time prevention may not be enough.
There are three ways to clean the gutters: manually, using various tools, with a stream of water.
The first way to clean the drain (manual) is the easiest
It is better to carry out work after rain when debris in the gutters gets wet and it will be easier to remove it. For cleaning, brushes with coarse plastic bristles are used. Brushes with metal bristles cannot be used, as they can damage the coating of the gutter material. Garbage is raked into a plastic scoop, repeating the shape of the gutter.
During manual cleaning, a thorough inspection of the system should also be made for possible damage.
The second way to clean the gutters
The second way to clean the gutters involves the use of special household appliances.
One of them is a blower. This is essentially a vacuum cleaner that can both suck in and throw out air under pressure.
So, the air stream ejected from the device allows you to bring down all the accumulated debris from the roof. Unlike the first method, the second is best used in dry weather. Blowers can be electric and gasoline.
The third option is to flush the drain
To do this, you need a garden hose and nozzles to it. With a stream of water, the gutter is effectively cleaned of contaminants. But it is better to use this method not as the main one, but as the second stage after manual cleaning. After all, if there are a lot of leaves and branches in the gutter, with a stream of water they will fall into the drainpipe and can clog it.
To clean the pipe, it is recommended to close the outlet with a mesh or grill, which will become a barrier to debris but will allow the unhindered flow of the water supplied under pressure. After such a water “procedure”, all the garbage will be collected in a lump on the grate and it will be easy to clean it.
Picture Credit: Freepik