Clean Your Gutters a Cinch with The Gutter Cleaning Tool

When it comes to protecting your home’s foundation and keeping your basement dry, gutters play a vital role. Gutters collect all the rain and melted snow that drips from the roof and shuttle it off to a spot on the property that can handle the excess water. This H2O highway keeps water away from the foundation, but only if the traffic is flowing. Unfortunately, leaves and debris can cause jams.

Annual inspection and cleaning are a must to ensure that your gutters are working properly. But gutter cleaning is never fun, and it can be dangerous without the right gutter cleaning tool. The Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop from The Gutter Tool aims to solve those issues.

The only way to tell if this gutter cleaning tool is actually helpful is to put it to work. I set up my ladder, hooked the Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop to an extension pole, and tested how it performed. Keep reading to discover what I found.

Verdict: The Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop makes collecting gutter debris from a ladder easier and safer than with other gutter cleaning tools.

Rating: 8/10

PROS

• Simple but effective
• Light and easy to use
• Minimizes cleanup
• Less time moving the ladder
• Durable plastic construction

CONS

• Doesn’t actually remove the debris
• Doesn’t include an extension pole

Get The Gutter Tool – Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop at Amazon for $23.30 or at Walmart for $30.96

Most tools claim to be ergonomic, but this one truly is.

I find that most products that manufacturers market as “ergonomic” rarely live up to that claim, but the Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop is truly ergonomic. This tool screws onto the end of a painting extension pole, a broomstick, or any similar pole to reach long distances from the top of a ladder (as long as the pole’s reach, anyway).

The “spoon” portion of the tool is more like a garden hoe, so I could drag the debris directly toward me. Then, when I reached the gutter brackets, I flipped the tool over and used the “scoop” to pull the pile of debris under the bracket. As I came down from the ladder, I could easily hang the tool from the ladder via the scoop. All of these actions were as simple and intuitive as it comes, which I found surprising.

The gutters on my house aren’t perfectly aligned with the edge of my roof, making it difficult to fit a gutter cleaning tool. Luckily, I at least didn’t have to contend with any gutter guards for this test. Even with the restricted access, the Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop was easy to use.

It’s a simple and effective tool.

There are more expensive and more advanced gutter cleaning tools on the market. At first glance, the Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop might not look all that impressive. But, this gutter cleaning tool’s simplicity is what really allows it to shine.

Setting up this handy gutter cleaning tool was as simple as twisting it onto the end of a broomstick or painter’s extension pole. I only had a broomstick available and was initially concerned it would limit this tool’s effectiveness, but I found it was the perfect length and weight. A longer or heavier pole might’ve become more challenging to use. After I attached the tool to the pole, I was able to clean around 6 to 7 feet in either direction.

There’s nothing mechanical about this tool, nor did I need to change any settings or make any adjustments. The spoon seems to be set at an ideal angle, and the scoop was surprisingly effective at pulling the debris under the brackets. I found the scoop long enough to pull the debris across the length of the gutter but short enough to be easy to maneuver.

This tool is great at collecting debris—but doesn’t remove it.

When using the Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop, the idea is to reach as far as you can (safely), place the spoon in the gutter, and drag the debris until you reach a bracket. Then, simply flip it over and use the scoop to pull the debris under the bracket. Finally, flip it back over again to continue with the spoon until the next bracket.

The Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop is ideal for this fluid process. The spoon will fit nicely into the bottom of most gutters, and if there is any dried buildup, it can act as a light-duty chisel to loosen it up. I was pleasantly surprised at how effective this gutting cleaning tool was at collecting the debris.

The letdown, however, is that the tool doesn’t actually remove any debris. This tool’s “spoon” and “scoop” features are neither a spoon nor a scoop, which means I had to reach my hands into the gutters to remove the debris. In some ways, this can be good and bad. Removing the debris by hand can be a pain, but because this tool doesn’t blow or spray leaves and gunk everywhere, it does keep cleanup to a minimum.

Less stretching and ladder climbing means safer gutter cleaning.

There is risk involved anytime you climb a ladder, regardless of the reason. Most of the time, accidents involve leaning out from or climbing and descending the ladder. The Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop provides a solution.

This gutter cleaning tool doesn’t include an extension pole, and that’s one of its negatives. But, because the tool is so lightweight and well designed, I felt I could attach and use it comfortably from any pole onto which I could thread it. As a result, there was less chance that I would lean or be off-balance, and that’s a feature worth mentioning.

Also, because I could use this tool in both directions to drag debris to my central location, I only had to move the ladder half as many times as I would have if using other tools that simply push the debris. This meant less climbing up and down the ladder, leaving fewer opportunities for slips and falls. And, since I could easily hook the tool onto a ladder rung or the back side of the ladder, I was free to use both hands to steady myself while climbing or descending.

The price is right, but it requires an additional purchase.

The Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop’s price is right. In fact, for the roughly $23 cost on Amazon, it might be a steal. The design is excellent, and it’s easy to use. And although this tool is plastic, it’s extremely durable. However, it might not be the tool for shoppers on a very tight budget for gutter cleaning tools. Why? Because it requires at least one additional purchase.

As I mentioned above, this gutter cleaning tool doesn’t include an extension pole of any type. While the product’s “scoop” and “spoon” are well designed, there’s no way to wield it without an extension pole. It’s not necessarily a deal-breaker but worth taking into consideration.

Also, since the Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop doesn’t actually remove any of the debris on its own, you might consider purchasing an affordable gutter scooper. I’ve done hands-on testing with this inexpensive model from Amerimax, and it might be the ideal scooper to complement the Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop.

How We Reviewed the Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop

There is no replacement for hands-on experience, and my goal with the Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop was to see how well it worked in the real world. The only way to do that was to clean some gutters.

My gutters weren’t incredibly dirty or clogged, as I had cleaned them just before winter to lessen the chance of ice dams, but there was still some debris to remove. I installed this gutter cleaning tool on the end of a broomstick that I use for painting, set up the ladder, and got to work.

The testing method is self-explanatory: Use the Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop to remove debris from a section of the gutter. I used the spoon to drag debris to a bracket and then pulled the debris under the bracket with the scoop. I continued in both directions until I had a pile of debris in front of me, which I then had to remove by hand.

During the testing, I assessed the gutter cleaning tool’s weight, ease of maneuverability, and effectiveness.

Should you choose the Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop?

With all the background on this gutter cleaning tool, the question remains: Should you choose the Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop? I believe the answer to that question is yes, but only if it meets certain criteria.

Using a gutter cleaning tool requires climbing a ladder, so if you’re not comfortable with heights or working from a ladder, other ground-operated models would be a better fit. But, if you’re comfortable on a ladder, this is the easiest and most convenient manual gutter cleaning tool I’ve tested.

Remember that you’ll have to make an additional purchase if you don’t have an extension pole or a broomstick to pair with this gutter cleaning tool. That might not be ideal for DIYers who would prefer to purchase everything they need in one kit.

For anyone else who doesn’t mind cleaning their gutters with a manual tool, I believe the Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop is the gutter cleaning tool to purchase. It’s durable, well designed, lightweight, and easy to use—all features I look for in a tool intended for use atop a ladder. Would I prefer it if the tool removed debris or at least came with an additional tool for scooping it out? Yes, but dragging all the debris to a central pile does make removal an easy proposition, even if I had to dig it out with my hands. It’s that simple design and easy functionality that makes the Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop a great gutter cleaning tool.

Get The Gutter Tool – Gutter Cleaning Spoon and Scoop at Amazon for $23.30 or at Walmart for $30.96