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Scrubbing gutters

Scott Davis

New member
How many of you scrub gutters during a house wash, and how long does it take you? Do you up charge, or include it in the price? Ive done it a couple of times and the house wash take 45 minutes and then gutters took 1 1/2 hours. That was a one story 2500 sqft house, and we do alot of very large houses (5000 sqft+). To scrub the gutters on a 5000 sqft house would take me 3 hours.

Im just curious how everyone else does it.
 

Ken Fenner

Active member
Gutters are an upsell. With a two man crew on a dual gun machine no time is really added to the wash. One man is applying chemical while the other follows him with scrubbing with a 24' (~36' if needed) Coress extension pole. The second man scrubs, then rinses and moves on. When first guy is finished applying chemical, he rolls up his hoses, shuts off his side and gives rinser 10 gpm to finish quicker.
 

Scott Davis

New member
10 Minutes? On what size house?

Everyone I see doing it hand scrubs them because they say that it takes hard scrubbing to come clean. And the couple of times I have done it, that proved to be true.

The houses below would have taken all day to scrub the gutters clean.
 

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plainpainter

New member
I've stopped mentioning them to most folks - I don't even want to get into the discussion about scrubbing gutters anymore. I don't like doing them for less than a 1-1.50 per linear foot, especially when they are 30 feet in the air. Every now and then depending on the customer - I decide who to upsell and whom not to. What I found was that I was competing with guys that made pretend they would do everything, at least that's how the customer portrayed it to me - but I don't think it was true. Anyways - adding it as upsell got to be so confusing after a while - most folks didn't even know if they could subtract the itemized price or not, even if I stated it was electable by them by line item. I just gave up. I give a price to wash their house- and if they want a 'gutter cleaning' that's a service to remove the debris from the insides.
 

Ken Fenner

Active member
Scott, that house is definitely a challenge. Most of the houses we hit are between 3500 and 7000 s/f. The reason I mention that it takes no real extra time is that the amount of time I would let the chems dwell is usually the same amount of time (5-7 minutes per side) it takes a guy to run a 10" brush over gutters. But, on another note, the chems are caustic, expensive, and do add labor which is why they are an upsell.

This is just for me and my experiences but here are some things I have learned in my efforts to refine.

1. The chem makes a huge difference. Use the right cleaner, in the right ratio. If you lean towards stronger, make sure gutters are good and wet first.
2. Put sodium hypochlorite in your gutter mix. (be certain to make sure your gutter chemicals are compatible.)
3. Use a high quality extension pole and brushes. I messed around with cheap brushes and noodle poles before I invested in a Coress. A brush that is tightly packed but soft bristled holds chems and does the job.
4. Do gutters in two passes. First pass is to apply chems, then work your way back and agitate lightly.
- When I would apply chems from a bucket and try to get gutters clean right away one of two things happen. It wouldn't work or to make it work I would scrub back and forth and inadvertantly expose metal.
5. Keep a can of white spray paint on your trucks.. just in case the above happens.
 

Chad Johnson

New member
Ive tried spraying gutters before with different solutions and it didnt really work that good. Scrubbing has had better results everytime.
I average about an hour or so to do them, after the housewash.

Ken, I wish I could scrub gutters while soap is dwelling, but when its 98 deg., the soap will dry fast, then it wont come off.

I use F-13 from PressureTek. 10oz. per gallon in a bucket, brush application, works great.
 

Ken Fenner

Active member
Chad, I know what you are saying. On a 90+ degree in the sun, soap can dry fast on windows. For a solo guy you have to do what works best for you.
 

John Orr

UAMCC Treasurer
I include gutter washing as part of my service. Most of my house washes are 2 - 3000 sq ft and, at most, washing the gutters adds 10 to 20 minutes. I wash the house first, then brush the gutters and rinse them and the house at the same time. As for anything drying on the windows, I've never had a problem in over 8 years - and it gets plenty hot here, though I do take care not to let the gutter wash drip on dry siding, as it can leave streaks.

Typically, a house wash will take 1 hour per 1000 sq ft - driveway/walk cleaning is included. So, a 2500 sq ft house with drive and gutters, should take 2.5 or so hours to complete.
 

Chad Johnson

New member
Chad, I know what you are saying. On a 90+ degree in the sun, soap can dry fast on windows. For a solo guy you have to do what works best for you.

Yea thats all I can do. When the time comes and I have a helper, I can have him go around and clean the gutters behind me, while Im washing the house.
That would speed things up alot, and would work perfect if I had several houses to do in one day.
 

Damaris Sutton

New member
Has anyone added the gutter grenade to the house wash solution and make the wild cherry mix that Bob mentioned? If so, how was the effectiveness as a all in one cleaner instead of a multi step process?
 

Chad Johnson

New member
I've tried it. Worked o.k. Like I said, scrubbing has always given ME the best results.
The gutters I come across are all covered in streaks. Maybe if they werent that bad and had light oxidation, it would work out alright.
Try it and see what happens.
 

David Vicars

New member
The main reason I like Bob's F-13 is. if I happen to let it dry it does eat it
to bare metal.
I divide the house into sections when cleaning. Heat plays a big part in how big of sections. Wet the windows and landscaping, apply housewash mix. Re-rinse windows and landscape, scrub gutters, apply with a brush
out of a bucket.
This works best for me.
 

Jim Chesmore

New member
The main reason I like Bob's F-13 is. if I happen to let it dry it does eat it
to bare metal.
I divide the house into sections when cleaning. Heat plays a big part in how big of sections. Wet the windows and landscaping, apply housewash mix. Re-rinse windows and landscape, scrub gutters, apply with a brush
out of a bucket.
This works best for me.

Are you following me around to learn my secrets? :biggrin::got-hooligan: Thats the same way I do it. :clap:

As long as the temp is above 50, I think the f-13 works great. I only needed to hand scrub a few that were REALLY bad or my mix was weak
 
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plainpainter

New member
I just downstream a mix of 'wild' cherry - then give the gutter a passover with a brush on an extension pole - that allows time to dwell on the siding. Go back reapply solution to whole side of home including gutter - go over gutter with second pass, done. When gutters are really bad and I need to mix a separate solution of gutter grenade - then that slows me way down.
 

James VanHandle

UAMCC-Member
How many of you scrub gutters during a house wash, and how long does it take you? Do you up charge, or include it in the price? Ive done it a couple of times and the house wash take 45 minutes and then gutters took 1 1/2 hours. That was a one story 2500 sqft house, and we do alot of very large houses (5000 sqft+). To scrub the gutters on a 5000 sqft house would take me 3 hours.

Im just curious how everyone else does it.

Scott,
Every gutter and downspout is scrubbed by hand in our outfit.yah it takes a few extra steps but your reputation is worth every minute spent. Trust me when the neigbors see you scrubbing they want you to clean thier house too. Allways look at the big picture not just the money.Go get um!!
 

Bob Gomez

New member
Yes we scrub every gutter we come accross and yes it's time consuming. Sometimes it's a breeze, other times it can be brutal. We have noticed that cool temps in the morning make some gutters tough that would normally be easy when warm...Use hot water if you're not already.
 

deach

New member
Always brush, usually lightly. I use the method mentioned about pre-wetting and then a light brush, in one minute another light brush and rinse. Works like a champ usually I did notice that the style of the brush can make a difference, right now we're using the salt and pepper brushes and so far I like them opposed to what I was using.
 
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