• Clean your gutters with gutter tools.Dachrinne image by crossgolfing from Fotolia.com
  
  Use tools for gutters to clean out debris which falls, blows and sometimes even grows there. Clean gutters at least twice a year to prevent exterior wall damage from overflowing water, which is not covered by all home insurance policies. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) Healthy Housing Inspection Manual notes plant growth in gutters outside can lead to serious health-threatening mold problems inside homes.
  
  

Custom-made Leaf Scooper

• To clean out your gutter quickly and save money on custom-made tools, you will need a ladder, plastic bucket, sharp craft knife or an empty plastic gallon jug. Mark Feirer, DIY expert for "This Old House," suggests cutting a scoop shape from the jug by cutting away the bottom and part of the handle side while leaving the handle and the screw-on lid in place.
  
  Set your ladder up on a firm surface at one end of the gutter, slip the handle of the bucket over your hand and carefully climb up to a comfortable height to easily reach the gutter. Remember, it takes a few minutes to relocate your ladder but a long time to recover from falls, so only clean as far as your arm extends without leaning your body. Use your new scoop to transfer debris to the bucket, emptying it as necessary, until the gutter is clear.
  
  

Pressure Hose

• To extend the time between gutter cleaning sections, use a pressure hose, or pressure attachment to a regular garden hose, to flush out any remaining soil and debris trapped in the gutter. The soil aids seeds and moss to grow, which helps to prevent a solid plug forming in your gutter. Water should drain freely from your downspout. If this is not the case, your gutter is possibly misaligned (not sloping downwards) or there is an unseen obstruction that a few blasts with a pressure hose should clear. If this doesn't dislodge the obstruction, a plumber's snake inserted in one end will push it down and out of the other end.
  
  Take care when cleaning gutters with pressure hoses to avoid damaging roofing materials, such as wood shingles, by keeping the hose on the lowest pressure setting required to shift debris. Pressure hoses, hose attachments and plumber's snakes (or augers) are available from garden care and hardware stores.
   
  
  

Automatic Gutter Cleaners

• Automatic gutter cleaning tools offer homeowners the advantage of remaining on the ground while working. The long pole with a flexible grip is easy to control by a handle-mounted lever for those who prefer not to climb ladders; some also have a pressure washer attachment.
  
  These tools are good investments if they result in more regular gutter maintenance sessions since the damage caused by blockages is expensive to repair. To avoid injury, check that your gutter is securely attached, and secure any loose sections before using an automatic cleaning tool. Automatic gutter cleaners are available for rent or purchase from specialty tool shops.