Gutter Cleaning Tool

Decided to invest in this leaf grabber and an extra long pole as an alternative to paying $300 per cleaning using a service. Carefully read the reviews in case this was better than the 3.7 star average suggested. Really pleased with the ease of use and ability to remove dry leaves and partially degraded clumps from my gutters two stories up.Though the rope was too short, I used some 60 pound fishing line to extend it to the bottom of the pole. Wrapped it around a wooden block at the bottom to make it easier to use (fishing line is a bit narrow and uncomfortable otherwise). I just grip the block and pull it down to operate the grabber.It took me about two minutes to master use of this leaf grabber tool, and about fifteen minutes before I decided how best to handle the gutter supports which are not viewable from below. I use the fully open grabber to push leaves away from the screw supports and then grab the leaves in the adjacent space. Easy to pick up many dry leaves per go, and effective at picking up large clumps of degraded leaf debris at the bottom of the gutters. Completed one section of about 25 feet in about 30 minutes, and with more experience, an equivalent section in about 15 minutes. Removed about 5-6 cubic feet of leaf matter.A couple caveats about my success: first, six inch gutters give plenty of room to grab leaves, and second, the leaves are narrow/oblong (Zelcova tree). Will try this on maple leaves on the other side of my house in a few days and update if there is any difference. (See edit below).All in all, really happy with this purchase, and would recommend, especially for people with wider gutters like ours.Edit: Was slow in moving around the house using this tool to clean gutters and discovered a few benefits. First it works well when trying to unplug a downspout during a downpour. Two decent grabs of wet mulch-like debris, and the downspout cleared. Excess water spilling out of the downspout brought with it even more debris. After several dry days I again used this on the front of my house to remove maple leaf debris, and it worked equally well as in the back with the Zelcove leaves. Have decided to adjust pole length sufficient to rest it on my upper thigh, which allows for decent fatigue-free cleaning. Having experienced a major downpour several days back, I revisited areas adjacent to downspouts previously cleared and found more debris had been swept close to the downspouts that needed removal. By this, I only need clean this area on a more regular basis, because the further away I go from the downspout, the lesser the leaf accumulation. Basically nothing about six feet or more on either side. Based on this experience I plan to use this every couple weeks during autumn starting when leaves begin to fall and ending when there is nothing left to remove. Not shooting for perfection and allowing the rain to gather the leaf debris near to the downspouts seems to work best. Have to believe that my six inch gutters play a positive role in this process in allowing the leaves to be swept towards the downspouts.Final verdict: super pleased with this purchase and looking forward to ladder-free, cheap gutter cleaning moving forward.

My roof has shingles that go part way into the gutter. That means that the bottom of the grabber hits the shingles and does not fit into the gutter to clean it. I did what another reviewer suggested and ground down the grabbers so they were narrower. Then I could get the grabber into the gutter, but the grabbers holding a clump of leaves did not want to lift out because the shingles were in the way. The grabbers also are not very sturdy and like to wiggle side to side more than I would expect. This is a great ideas and may work well for some gutters, but make sure you have enough room to get it into your gutters.I've changed my rating and added another star. I'm so thrilled that we were able to clean the gutters from the ground on a 2 story house without getting on a ladder. I look forward to cleaning the gutters in a more timely manner as dry, unpacked leaves are easier to remove. I ended up having to grind the grabbers to be even more narrow so that I could get them in the gutters with the overhanging shingles. I could not give it a full 5 stars since this was a major modification in the design, taking off about three quarters of an inch so it would fit. We also have dormer windows above the gutters that allow the gutters to be viewed. It is very difficult to use these without seeing what you are grabbing (one reviewer attached a mirror). One of us was using the grabbers while the other was hanging out the window giving directions -- left, right, grab!

Short: it works well but because it’s plastic it can’t handle much and won’t last long. Ultimately a metal version would be worth this price.Of the products I researched, this is probably the easiest to use without needing to be high enough on a ladder or on the roof to see into the rain gutter.We have a 2nd story gutter and I was able to use this on a telescoping extension pole and a A-frame ladder. Naturally you’ll want to try to pick up dry debris, but when a gutter is clogged with leaves the debris will be wet well into a dry week. Much of the debris was dry in the top so I was able to clean a decent amount fairly quickly but the bottom inch or so of debris was still wet and I had to be sure not to waste time trying to grab too much wet debris. Wet debris is heavier and harder to grab; it put a lot of strain on this device and risked breaking it at any point. By grabbing what I could quickly and easily I was able to remove wet debris in small amounts quickly by letting them fall to the grass below then raking them up later.I don’t believe plastic is even a decent option for the price of this product. If I can find it in aluminum I’d be willing to spend this price again.