DIY Gutter Vacuum - Easy and Safe Gutter Cleaning from the Ground

Building and testing a homemade wet/dry vacuum gutter cleaning attachment, made for less than $25. No more ladders, I can now safely clean my gutters from the ground. Central vacuum tubing is key to building a light weight attachment, both sections weigh only 2.5 pounds combined! I considered buying an attachment (too expensive) or making one that connects to a garden hose (too messy) but I ultimately decided on this design which works really well for both 1 and 2 story houses. See the links below for the parts and tools I used:

**If you're having trouble finding the central vacuum tubing or fittings, call your local electrical supply store.

Central Vacuum Tubing:
-OR-

90 Degree Long Sweep Elbow (x2):
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Black ABS Pipe:
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Wet/Dry Vac:

PVC Cement:
-OR-

Hacksaw:

Miter Box:

*Purchasing from these Amazon affiliate links earns my channel a small commission. Think of it as a tip that doesn't cost you anything. Thanks for the support!

#guttercleaning #guttercleaningfromtheground #guttercleaningtoolswithoutladder

[Mikeattempts]

Central Vacuum Tubing:
-OR

90 Degree Long Sweep Elbow (x2):
-OR

Black ABS Pipe:
-OR

Wet/Dry Vac:

PVC Cement:
-OR

Hacksaw:

Miter Box:

*Purchasing from these Amazon affiliate links earns my channel a small commission. Think of it as a tip that doesn't cost you anything. Thanks for the support!

[rongotzon]

Im a inventor of many products. To the inventor of the PVC shop vac cleaning idea. YOU ROCK. I WISH I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF IT. I FINISHED IT USING YOUR IDEA. I JUST SAVED $175.00 THAT THEY WANTED TO CLEAN MY COLONIAL GUTTERS. GREAT IDEA AND IT WORKS

[ianmackenzie]

Okay, drilling the holes to prevent the suction from fastening to the bottom of the gutter is *BRILLIANT!* I never would've thought of that, thanks!

[Dave--gpqx]

Thank you - I built it and it works great on my second story gutters. I was also able to run a garden hose up the tube so I could place the hose in the gutter and flush it with water. I have a small drone, DJI Mini, that I flew over the gutter and angled its camera down to see anything that needed additional cleaning.

[myronlemecha]

Well done Mike.
What works better for me then thin wall Sch-20 PVC tubing is 3 inch “round” x 10 ft long aluminum down spout. Pros: it’s much lighter, far more rigid for better control and low cost. Cons: it takes a bit more effort to couple the various sections together.

Results: I can easily reach my first, second and third story gutters buy coupling or decoupling 10 ft downspout sections.

Bonus: After vacuuming all the gutters, I securely attach my iPhone to an expandable window washing pole, then in video mode inspect all the gutters to make sure they’re all perfectly clean.

[iDX]

This works great. I built one out of two 8' sections of 2" central vac tubing with a 2' section of ABS. The one minor change that I made is that I left the end that goes into the gutter flat...I did not cut out openings for air to escape. I did this because I am using it with a small shop vac that is only 1.75 HP and I wanted maximum suction. The method of letting the end suck down on the gutter and lifting up works great. I also think the flat end works better when positioning it directly over the downspout opening, it can really suck any debis that may have fallen into the downspout. Overall, great design and saved me $300 / use. I think you could put a third section on, but I would recommend using standard schedule 40 PVC for the bottom section for better rigidity.

[rickd]

I made a similar version today and it worked very well. I used shop vac extensions tubes I bought at Lowes, PVC pipe for the curves plus duct tape. I did the gutters on the second story by doing it inside from the 2nd story windows. All and all, I'm very pleased and I'm still in one piece! Thanks for making this video!

[courierdog]

When I first saw the contractors using a shop Vac, which they took up onto the roof to clean the Rain Gutters, I began to think, There has to be a way to do this from the ground..
Thanks so much for bringing my initial wish for a better and safer way to clean the Rain Gutters.
Excellent and simple approach.

[legend]

I used the 2' vac extensions, I found many at yard sales so pretty cheap. I bought a 55 gal drum with removable lid. Cut holes in the led and put on vac hose adapters with wood, silicone caulk and screws with nuts. Hose from vac to drum and another 2 hoses connected using vac couplers from the drum to the extensions. I strap everything in a pull around cart. The vac never gets full only the drum so I don't loose suction and the vac is easy to clean out even if I suck up wet stuff. The first time I filled the drum twice with leaves and needles, nothing in the vac but some dust. Some times the tubes plug up or they may come apart but easy to fix and I stay on the ground. Highest point is about 20' up.

[mikefallen]

Yes it's the way to go iam 68 retired builder metal knees I did this very similar to yours it works great I have a 3 story home.
The family give me a hard time if I try and use a ladder.
Thank you for putting it on the net for others much safer way by far.

[DavidM]

I've been using this system for the better part of 10 years now. It's faster, safer ( no ladder except for inspection if you choose ), and does a far better job than the trowel. Whenever I see any of my neighbours using the trowel, I'll stop to tell this about the vacuum method. Surprisingly, even the commercial gutter cleaning guys still use the trowel and bucket method. Go figure. Excellent video Mike.

[ningcaytube]

Mike: thanks for this gutter set-up of yours. I did mine with 2 5ft and 1 8ft Sched20 from Amazon (since could not get any 10ft from Hdepo nor Lowe's); Home depot provided me with the connectors though they had to be requested on-line but picked-up for free. So far I used this for my 2 story house, my neighbor's (since her gutter was overflowing over to my driveway when it rain), and my brother's 1 story house--- that's around $360 ($120 x 3) of savings already. Way to go, Mike!

[lhendrick]

Mike! Thanks for this video and your brilliant design. For $40 I built the attachment to clean the gutter at the back of my two story + house. I needed 24 feet to reach the gutter, so used 2 x 8 foot pipes and one 3 footer. It worked great. All parts were available at Home Depot's in Torrington and Waterbury, CT. I may buy a new shop vac with a little more power as my 20 year old 4 hp Craftsman is getting a bit tired, but still managed to suck up a full bucket of dry leaves. Best, I don't have to go up that TALL ladder and scare myself. Thanks again!

[tigerseye]

I did a very similar project to clean my gutters using nearly all the same materials shown in this video: one exception was the shop vac. Instead, I connected the piping to my backpack leaf blower. I now clean my gutters by blowing the leafs and pine needles away while standing safely on the ground.

[bobd]

Mike, thanks for posting the video. I just made one and it works great- no more climbing the ladder at my age. Now I can clean the gutters more frequently from the ground.

[kylel]

Dude I just want to say thank you! I own a fairly new seasonal gutter cleaning business in a small town. I've had to turn down quite a few jobs that I wasn't able to walk the roof on. Having a machine like this would definitely help me to be able to accept a lot more jobs and be more efficient in a lot of circumstances. Not to mention I've found myself on a few too many uneven ladders trying to balance as best as I can not to tip because a house was on a slope and I couldn't do it from the roof. This will help me to do jobs like that way faster way safer. I appreciate you a ton for making this video! And also I think its awesome you took the time to type out the description too. You rock man!! New sub 🤙

[ClemsonTiger]

I've been doing something similar for several years now. Got tired of climbing the ladder so often. I attach a Worx piece to my leaf blower and even attach a camera to the end of the Worx to video and see if the gutter is clean. I can watch on my iphone as I go along to see when it is clean and move on to the next section. I don't have to keep lifting my attachment over those pieces in the gutters as I just hover over the gutter as I go along. The PVC is a better option than the Worx attachment IMO, so I might adopt that as the Worx tends to bend backwards when I have the blower on high speed. Always looking to find a better way and this video certainly helps, so thanks.

[kurushii]

You can do the same thing with a leaf blower, just substitute a 45 degree elbow for the second joint - then you can blow the debris out. Connect with whatever fits your blower. I used a rubber plumbing reducer from my blower outlet to the size of the pipe. Works fine.

[JNguyen-gn]

What a terrific idea, definitely will make gutter cleaning a much less intimidating task. We're going to try this out now that most of the leaves have fallen for the season!

[RudyF]

I do exactly the same but totally opposite.
Rigged the tubing to attach to my backpack leaf blower! Been using it for years!