Gutter help

[Mollye Murder]

So I'm a new homeowner and find everyday things come up around the house that I have no experience dealing with.  My new issue is my gutters.  I know you are suppose to keep them clean so I got on a ladder to look at mine and they are filled up with pine needles, leaves, acorns, you name it.  I wouldn't be suprised if they found Jimmy Hoffa's missing body in there. I'm contemplating the easiest way to clean them (because I'm lazy). What do you guys do?  I could also hire someone (because I'm lazy), but who?  And should I invest in gutter guards so I never have to deal with this again, since I'm lazy. Help!

[ATLB]

I've always been happy with A Better Gutter Clearner (http://www.abetterguttercleaning.com/).  Pretty much everything except the cleaning is done on-line.  You can get an estimate, request service and pay after all without talking to a soul.  You don't even need to be there when they do the work.  They will also do repairs, if requested.

[hfranks]

Bell Roofing offers gutter cleaning.   See the ad under Buzz Sponsors ^

[scotL]

Been meaning to look into this as well. Thanks for that link. I had no idea gutter cleaning was so expensive, our estimate was $105. Our old house was much lower to the ground, a ranch with a simple hip roof. I might need to figure a way to get these done myself at that price.

[insan0]

The maker of roomba vacuums also makes a gutter cleaner. 
http://store.irobot.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=3334470&cp=2804605

[Maru32]

So I'm a new homeowner and find everyday things come up around the house that I have no experience dealing with.  My new issue is my gutters.  I know you are suppose to keep them clean so I got on a ladder to look at mine and they are filled up with pine needles, leaves, acorns, you name it.  I wouldn't be suprised if they found Jimmy Hoffa's missing body in there. I'm contemplating the easiest way to clean them (because I'm lazy). What do you guys do?  I could also hire someone (because I'm lazy), but who?  And should I invest in gutter guards so I never have to deal with this again, since I'm lazy. Help!

I have used A Better Gutter Cleaning a few times.  They are very good; a little pricey though.  But they are offering specials of $20 off but I don't know if that is only for existing customers who haven't used them in a while (*cough*cough* that would be me).  There have been good things said about Bell Roofing here.  I haven't used them yet for gutter cleaning but I will.

Skip the gutter guards because of those trees things (leaves, pine needles etc.) can still make their way into the gutter despite the guard and it will cost even more to have someone take it apart to clean out the gutters.
 

[insan0]

Skip the gutter guards because of those trees things (leaves, pine needles etc.) can still make their way into the gutter despite the guard and it will cost even more to have someone take it apart to clean out the gutters.
 

I had Leafguard gutters put in when I first bought my house.  When I look in them there is never anything in there.  Never had to clean them at all, which is great since my house is surrounded by trees.  There are other similar competing products now, most quite a bit cheaper than Leafguard but I haven't priced them in years.  With the economy the way it is I imagine you could get a good deal on them now.

[Leah]

There's a guy that drives around in a red pickup.  He is super nice.  Don't remember his name.  He'll do them for $40.

[Maru32]

Skip the gutter guards because of those trees things (leaves, pine needles etc.) can still make their way into the gutter despite the guard and it will cost even more to have someone take it apart to clean out the gutters.
 

I had Leafguard gutters put in when I first bought my house.  When I look in them there is never anything in there.  Never had to clean them at all, which is great since my house is surrounded by trees.  There are other similar competing products now, most quite a bit cheaper than Leafguard but I haven't priced them in years.  With the economy the way it is I imagine you could get a good deal on them now.

Oh cool!  That's good to know.  I stand corrected.

[WhitNerd]

Eric just cleaned out his dad's and installed gutter guards. He'd be willing to do it for pretty cheap if you want to email him at ericzbd@gmail.com

[Mr.Man]

The cheap plastic ones from home depot/lowes are super easy to snap in and I haven;t cleaned my gutters in about 3-4 years except in one spot where there get a lot of oak tree leaf buildup.  And then i still have only done it like 2 times. 

[Lulus mom]

The cheap plastic ones from home depot/lowes are super easy to snap in and I haven;t cleaned my gutters in about 3-4 years except in one spot where there get a lot of oak tree leaf buildup.  And then i still have only done it like 2 times.

+1
Before I had a giant spaz attack one day and removed all of my too-small and incorrectly installed gutters, I bought the plastic snap-in ones with small holes and screens at Lowes. Made a huge difference in the amount of junk making its way into my gutters!

[woody]

How do these handle pine straw?  Does it get in?  Clog the holes? 

[Mollye Murder]

Thank you for all the suggestions!  You guys    <-rock!

[Lulus mom]

How do these handle pine straw?  Does it get in?  Clog the holes?

I only have 1 pine on one side of the house, and the ones with screens seemed to work well. The one with just holes probably wouldn't work as well with pine straw. The oak pollen always got through somehow and I always had to clean that muck out.