You just can’t beat fall in Western North Carolina. From taking a drive to view the color on the Blue Ridge Parkway to fire pit parties in your backyard, the cooler temperatures and scenic views of our fall season can offer a relaxing change from the warmer days of summer. But one fall activity that many people dread is cleaning out their gutters. Falling leafs, small twigs, and other debris can clog gutters quickly, making it difficult for water to drain and causing a potential hazard for ice blockage during winter. Luckily, there are some time-saving solutions for getting rid of the gunk in your gutters!

Wash It Out. Use a power washer to blast your gutters clean. Be sure that the setting is on low so you can avoid damaging your gutters.

Vacuum It Up. Use a shop vacuum with a special gutter attachment to clean out the gutters. Some attachments will suck the debris into the vac, while others will blow it away.

Blast It Out. Some leaf blowers come with a gutter cleaning attachment, or you can purchase one. Climb up on your roof and blow leaves and dirt away!

Clean the old fashioned way. If you’re someone who really enjoys a hands-on approach, go for it! Climb a sturdy ladder and use garden gloves to scoop out leaves and debris by hand.

If you’d like to see less gunk in your gutters, trim the branches of trees close to your home. You can also invest in gutter guards. Gutter guards can cover your entire gutter or just the downspout entrances. You’ll still need to check and do some cleaning, but both of these methods will reduce the amount of debris getting into your gutters.

Inspect your gutters regularly throughout the year to make sure they’re sound and in good condition. Look for loose hardware, leaves and debris, and in winter, ice dams. In the fall, you’ll want to clean gutters once before leaves fall and once after they’re all off the trees. That way, your gutters will be free of debris for the winter ahead!