How To Unclog and Repair Gutters In Three Easy Steps

Your roof was designed to deflect water off your home, while the gutter and downspouts are placed to carry water away from your home. However gutters are know to get clogged with leaves and other debris. So here are three easy steps to unclog your gutter and downspouts.

Clogged Gutter

1. While wearing protective gloves, remove debris from gutter troughs, like leaves, twigs, and mud. Loosen stuck on mud by scrubbing with a stiff brush. Rinse down leftover debris out through the downspout.

2. Place a garden hose two inches within the top of the downspout and turned the hose on full force, clearing blockage from downspout. If the clog is to jammed feed a plumbers snake into the downspout and loosen remaining partials. Once the plumbers snake has unclogged the remaining debris, rinse the downspout out with the hose once more.

3. To maintain a clean and clear gutter place a leaf strainer within the gutter to allow water to filter through leafs and other debris. Or purchase a mesh screen to place over the gutter. This deflects leaves and twigs from entering the gutter while water is still allowed to pass through.
When you find your gutter is clear from debris but still is not flushing the water out properly you may have a broken gutter. Here are three easy ways to fix the most common gutter issues; leaky joints, small hole, and a hole larger than a half inch.

1. Leaky Joint: Seal the leaky gutter joint between the adjoining sections on both the inside and outside of the gutter with either a butyl-rubber caulking or a silicone-rubber sealant.

2. Small Holes: Patch the small hole in the gutter with a thin coat of roofing cement. Us a putty knife to spread the thin layer of roofing cement well beyond the hole in all directions.

3. Larger Holes Over Half Inch: Repair a larger hole with the same process you would for repairing a small hole in the gutter. Then add a sheet-metal patch on top of the thin layer of roofing cement. Once set, add another thin layer of roofing cement on the patch using a putty knife.