Renovation guides

How to clean and re-secure gutters yourself: step by step

Ladder work. Cheap insurance against water in the walls you are about to finish.

Difficulty 2 of 5 · about half a day · careful

Photo of your room, the look you pick, then this guide with the materials counted for your room.

Step by step

1. Step 1 of 12

   Check the weather, the helper, and the height

   Do this on a calm dry day with someone else at home. Walk the perimeter first and decide which runs you can reach from a ladder on firm level ground, and which runs are two stories or near the power line — those go on the hire-it-out list right now. Lay the tarp under your first section.

   Before the ladder goes up

   • No wind, no rain, no wet ground
   • Someone else is home and knows you are on a ladder
   • Every run you plan to do is single story and reachable without leaning out
   • You have identified the overhead service drop and will stay 10 ft from it
   • Closed shoes with clean dry soles, gloves and glasses on

2. Step 2 of 12

   Set the ladder correctly

   Put the feet on firm level ground and set the angle by the 4 to 1 rule: the base goes out 1 ft for every 4 ft of height to the contact point. Extend it so at least 3 ft of ladder sticks up past the roof edge, and fit the standoff so the ladder bears on the fascia or the roof, never on the gutter. Check that both feet are flat and the ladder does not rock before you put weight on it.

3. Step 3 of 12

   Find the service drop and mark the no-go zone

   Stand back and trace the overhead wire from the pole to where it attaches to the house. Mark the ground with tape 10 ft either side of that point and treat everything inside it as off limits for you, the ladder, and the hose. If the gutter needs work in that zone, note it for the contractor and move on.

4. Step 4 of 12

   Scoop the trough into the bucket

   Hook the bucket to a rung, face the ladder, and scoop from the section right in front of you, working away from the downspout. Keep your belt buckle between the rails: when you can no longer reach comfortably, climb down and move the ladder. Empty the bucket onto the tarp when it gets heavy — not by dropping it.

5. Step 5 of 12

   Flush the trough with the hose

   Start at the end farthest from the downspout and run the hose toward it so the fine grit goes out with the water. Watch where the water sits: a puddle that does not drain marks a low spot or a sagging hanger. Never put a pressure washer in a gutter.

6. Step 6 of 12

   Clear each downspout from the bottom

   Push the hose up into the bottom of the downspout and run it — the clog usually breaks loose and washes out at your feet. If it will not clear, feed the hand auger up from the bottom and work it, or tap the length of the downspout with your palm to loosen a packed plug. Do not stop until water runs out the bottom at full flow.

7. Step 7 of 12

   Re-secure loose hangers and spikes

   Any place the gutter has pulled away from the fascia gets a new hidden hanger driven into solid wood, not back into the old stripped hole. Replace old spikes with screw-in hangers, and space them as the hanger maker specifies — commonly every 24 to 36 in. Push the gutter back up tight to the fascia before the screw bites.

8. Step 8 of 12

   Fix the slope where water stands

   The trough should fall toward the downspout; a common rule of thumb is about 1/4 in of fall for every 10 ft of run. Where you saw a puddle, loosen the two nearest hangers, lift that section slightly, and re-fasten. Re-flush and watch the water leave before you call it done.

9. Step 9 of 12

   Seal the seams and end caps

   Dry the inside of the trough and scrape the old failed sealant off the seam with a putty knife. Lay a continuous bead of gutter sealant over the joint from inside the trough and tool it flat with a gloved finger. Give it the cure time on the label before you run water over it.

10. Step 10 of 12

    Send the water away from the house

    Fit an extension or a splash block on every downspout that currently ends at the foundation, and aim it so water lands at least 4 ft from the wall — 6 ft is better on a flat lot. Point it downhill, not into a planter bed against the house. This is the cheapest waterproofing you will ever buy.

11. Step 11 of 12

    Run the whole system once with a witness

    Put the hose in the far end of each run at full flow and walk the outside of the house while it runs. You are looking for drips at seams, water running behind the gutter at the fascia, and overflow at any corner. Fix what shows and run it again.

    Quality check

    • Every reachable run scooped and flushed clean
    • Every downspout runs full flow out the bottom
    • No standing water left in any trough after flushing
    • Loose hangers replaced into solid wood; gutter tight to the fascia
    • Seams and end caps sealed and given the cure time on the label
    • Every downspout discharges at least 4 ft from the wall
    • Runs near the service drop or above one story written down for a contractor

12. Step 12 of 12

    Clean up and set the next date

    Fold the tarp with the debris inside and bag it for green waste, wipe and dry the ladder before it goes away, and photograph each finished run. Put two reminders in your phone: one in the fall after the leaves drop, one right before the first winter rain. In Los Angeles, October is the deadline that matters.

Draft guide written from standard practice, not yet reviewed by a licensed pro. Follow product labels where they differ.

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