• Get the right equipment to clean your gutters.street lamp, roof gutter image by Andrzej Thiel from Fotolia.com
  
  Cleaning your own gutters is a time consuming task: simply remove the debris clogging the gutters to allow the rainwater to freely flow through the gutter system once more. While you can perform this task with simple tools found in every garage, professional gutter cleaning tools help you accomplish the job faster and with greater efficiency and less dirt on you at the end of the chore.
  
  

Scaffolding

• Scaffolding is a movable, temporary structure built to provide a platform for working at various heights. It provides greater productivity than a ladder as you can clean a greater length of gutters without stopping repeatedly to move a ladder over. While using a ladder may be time consuming, it is sufficient for a single-story home. If you're cleaning gutters on a two- or three-story home, however, you will benefit from the stability and ease of use that scaffolding provides.
  
  

Gutter Scoop

• While the do-it-yourself gutter cleaner uses his gloved hands to scoop the leaves and dirt out of the gutters, a professional uses a gutter scoop. While still using gloves to prevent contact with the bacteria and mold that is probably growing in the gutter, a gutter scoop is similar to a hand shovel but sized to fit to most gutter shapes. A gutter scoop is more efficient than just using your hands, which speeds up the process and minimizes getting dirty.
  
  

Gutter Brushes

• After removing all of the leaves, dirt and other debris from the gutters, a substance that will slow water movement through and down the gutters will remain. The slime remaining is a mix of mold, mildew and silt that coats the side of the gutters. Even if the slime does not hinder water movement, more often than not it will emit a foul sickeningly-sweet smell. To remove it, use either a specialty brush made for gutter cleaning or just a brush that fits in your gutter to scrub away the foul odor and the potential clog-inducing slime. Once scrubbed clean, rinse both the gutter and the brush with water.