With the UK on lockdown and a large portion of the country's workforce currently furloughed, you may have a lot of free time on your hands right now.

On Monday 23 March, Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged us to help slow the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) by staying at home and only going out for the following reasons:

• Medical needs
• Shopping for essentials
• Exercising once a day
• Work (but only if you can't work from home)

Those rules have been in place for a couple of weeks now, and unsurprisingly, many housebound Brits have been turning to DIY to keep themselves busy.

Photo by Tafe Sa Tonsley

But it's one thing to reupholster an old armchair or try your hand at upcycling - jobs like those are easy to complete without going outside. What if you want to paint your house? Is that allowed under the current COVID-19 rules?

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^{Pictured: LadderLok ladder storage hooks}

Where possible, ladders should be stored horizontally, somewhere cool and dry. You can store ladders standing up, but this is not advised due to the risk of them falling and being damaged.

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Gutter cleaning is probably one of the most unattractive and unappealing home maintenance chores there is. It’s often dirty, requires a lot of ladder moving, you’ll most likely get wet from flushing the gutters and it’s not something that you can show off to your neighbours once it’s finished like a beautifully mowed lawn. Not exactly the most ideal way to spend a Sunday afternoon, is it?

However, if you avoid cleaning your gutters, you’re potentially inviting a lot of trouble to your home. If your gutters become too full, water can begin to damage the roofing and fascia as well as your home as water starts to flow out over your gutters and onto your main foundation rather than down the drain spout.

While cleaning your gutters may seem a simple task, there are a number of things that you can do to keep your gutters sparkling and therefore protect your home for years to come. But before we tell you how to clean gutters, it’s important you know exactly when to clean your gutters and what equipment is needed to do it safely.

When to clean your gutters

You should clean your gutters twice a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn. However, if you live in a neighbourhood that has a lot of trees, you’ll more than likely have to do it more than twice a year. Be sure to keep an eye out on your gutters, particularly after bad weather or severe wind and rain. Even if it’s to clear up a clog in the downspout.

It’s a far more pleasant and easy job to clean your gutters when they are dry. Otherwise, you’ll need to prepare yourself for mucky by-products that you’ll have to dispose of. A quick tip is to check your gutter before a storm is forecasted. The last thing you want to do is to be sat in your home looking out of the window watching water pour out from over your gutters into your garden and foundations and thinking you could have prevented it with a quick sweep of the spots near the downspouts.

How to clean your gutters

Clean gutters from the ground up

Another important thing to know when cleaning your gutter is where to do it from. Never clean them from your roof. You’d be turning a simple chore into a dangerous hazard. Therefore, it is recommended to clean your gutters from the ground using an appropriate gutter cleaning ladder. When doing so, it is important to follow best practices for ladder safety, because if you don’t things can go south pretty quickly.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember whilst cleaning out gutters is to not reach out further than is safe to do. It’s easy to think that you can lean out as far as your body will take you as it means you will have to move the ladder less but be wary and always keep your waist between the rails. Since you’re going to be moving a ladder a lot, on potentially uneven lawns and ground, ensure you have a stable and even footing to make the job safer. Having someone else there spotting the ladder while you work is a common solution or using ladder accessories such as a ladder stay is also a great option.

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For collecting the debris from the gutter, you can layout a tarp underneath your gutters and just move it along whenever you climb down and move your gutter cleaning ladder. If using an A-frame ladder, you can easily attach a bucket with a handle to one of the built-in hooks found near the top.

De-gunking your gutter

To remove the debris from your gutter, follow these simple steps:

1. Use a small garden trowel or get a good pair of garden gloves and scoop out the leaves and sediment, starting at the downspout. Hands are often the better tool for this job as you have increased levels of manoeuvrability allowing you to get downspout clogs loose with far less effort.
   
   
2. Once you have cleaned as much as you safely can in one spot, move your gutter cleaning ladder down the gutter and continue to the next until you’ve got all that you can with your hands.
   
   
3. Next, at the opposite end of the downspout, use a hose to flush the finer bits of debris. Let it run for a minute to ensure that water is coming cleanly through the spout.
   
   
4. If the water is only trickling through, then you know that you still have a clog. To clear it, run the hose at a higher pressure right into the downspout.

If like many homeowners, you would rather avoid cleaning gutters yourself, there are a number of options that you can choose. The first is to hire a professional to do the job for you. This obviously comes at a price but will allow you to sit back and relax or get on with more important tasks while someone else does the dirty work. If you don’t mind cleaning the gutter but would like to do it a little less often, there are several products that you can install into your gutter that help to alleviate the build-up of debris, such as gutter whiskers, mesh guards and snap-in plastic covers.

Best ladders for cleaning gutters

We recommend the following ladders:

• Professional Double Extension Ladder
• Domestic Double Extension Ladder
• Hymer Platform Step Ladder with Handrail

Ultimately, whichever ladder you choose, you will still need to gain access to your gutter to install them. Doing this in the safest and most efficient way possible is paramount. Here at Ladders UK Direct, we supply a range of quality gutter cleaning ladders to ensure you can clean your gutters without a worry in the world, and with such an extensive collection, we are guaranteed to have a ladder-type to suit you. We recommend taking a look at our collection of extension ladders, which are simple to use and allow you to reach high places safely.

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For more information on how to clean gutters or if you'd like help deciding which are the best ladders for cleaning gutters, do not hesitate to get in touch with the Ladders UK Direct team.

Whether you need to change a lightbulb or re-tile the roof of your home, choosing a ladder that suits the height and nature of the task is paramount for your safety. With so many ladders on offer, it can be hard to know which type of ladder you should choose.

Our concise ladder buying guide will take you through the different kinds of ladders to show you how to choose between ladders, step ladders, scaffold towers or work platforms. Buy a ladder with Ladders UK Direct today!

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According to the Health and Safety Executive, roughly 40% of all on-the-job fatalities occur as a result of a fall from height.

This is particularly problematic in construction, with half of all fall-from-height deaths over the last five years occurring in the construction trade.

Meanwhile, just under 20% of all non-fatal injuries in the construction trade over the last five years were also a result of falling from height. Scary stuff!

Needless to say, knowing how to use a ladder safely is of vital importance and can quite literally save your life. Luckily, we've got some ladder safety tips that will help you do exactly that!

How to Use a Ladder Safely

Whether you're a professional roofer or an average Joe putting up the Christmas lights, you are putting yourself at risk when you climb up a ladder.

After all, gravity doesn't discriminate and the same dangers apply to all - so pros and amateurs alike should follow these ladder safety tips.

Use the right ladder

Before you begin work, always make sure that the ladder you are using is suitable for the task at hand.

To gauge whether or not your ladder is tall enough for your chosen endeavour, you should be able to safely access the area you need without standing on the top three rungs.

The ladder itself should extend at least one metre above where you are working to allow you ample hand and foot contact with the ladder at all times.

Check the stiles

The vertical parts of a ladder (i.e. the long parts on either side of the rungs) are known in the UK as stiles.

Before using a ladder, it's vitally important to inspect the stiles. Make sure they're in good condition with no splits, dents, or bends.

Even a small amount of damage to the stiles can seriously impact the structural integrity of the ladder, and may even cause the ladder to break mid-use.

Check the rungs

Much like the stiles, sturdy rungs are paramount when it comes to ensuring your ladder is fit for purpose.

If any of the rungs are bent, loose or missing entirely, take that as a tell-tale warning sign that your ladder is no longer usable.

Using a ladder that features dodgy or absent rungs will increase the likelihood of the ladder failing and could result in things going south fast.

Check the feet

A ladder's feet are found at the bottom of the stiles, typically adorned with rubber bases that feature a ridged pattern on the bottom of the caps.

If the feet are worn, damaged or missing entirely, this can lead to the underside of the ladder becoming slippery and losing its traction.

If this occurs while you are on the ladder, it could lead to disaster. As such, you should postpone use until the feet have been replaced.

Ladder safety and you

When you're using a ladder - even a brand new one - the way in which you engage with the ladder can have a dramatic effect on your personal safety.

Follow these ladder safety tips to make sure you're using your ladder correctly.

Don't overload the ladder

Most ladders are sturdy enough to support one's body weight. But they aren't indestructible, and each one is designed with a maximum weight limit in mind. One of our most important ladder safety tips is to never overload your ladder.

Always check the specifications of your ladder to avoid overloading it with too much weight, accounting for the weight of the worker's body plus any materials / equipment they will be carrying.

Carrying too much can put you off-balance and may cause you to fall. Be sensible when it comes to carrying loads up ladders and only carry what you can comfortably handle. It might be a good idea to invest in a tool belt to help you carry things safely up a ladder, for example.

SEE ALSO: Ladders with a high weight capacity

Don't overreach

Setting up your ladder in an appropriate location for the task at hand should be a top priority.

If the area you need to access is even slightly outside of comfortable arm's reach, it can lead to a nasty fall.

One of our top ladder safety tips to avoid overreaching: make sure your belt buckle stays within the stiles of the ladder. Anything beyond that could put you at further risk.

We have more ladder safety tips on our blog, and if you need any help, please let us know and our customer service team will be happy to help.

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