I Cleared My Gutters Twice in One Month – Then I Looked Up

The Real Fix

I bought a 25-foot plumber’s snake from Home Depot for about $18. The kind with a hand crank and a flexible coil that can navigate bends without tearing up aluminum or vinyl downspouts.

Feed it in from the top opening where the gutter meets the downspout. Work it down slowly, cranking as you go, until you feel resistance. That’s your clog.

Push and twist until you break through, then pull the snake back up. You’ll drag up a surprising amount of compressed leaf matter, grit, and organic sludge. Have a bucket ready.

After you clear the blockage, flush from the top with a garden hose for a few minutes to wash out what the snake loosened. You’ll know it’s clear when water flows freely out the bottom.

A pressure washer works too, if you have one. Aim the wand down from the top opening and let the pressure do the work. Just be gentle near seams and joints—too much force can separate them.

Each downspout took me about twenty minutes. Total cost: under $20 if you already have a hose. The fix held through the rest of fall, though I plan to do it again every spring before storm season.