You do not need a ladder to find out whether your eavestroughs are clogged. Rain, a hose, your eyes and a few ground-level clues will tell you most of it, and this guide ends with a simple score that says what to do next.
In This Article
Let the rain do the test
A steady rain shows a clog better than any inspection. Stand in the yard, under an umbrella, and watch each run for a minute or two.
| What you see | What it suggests |
|---|---|
| Water spilling over the front edge in one spot | A debris dam or a low spot at that point |
| A curtain of water along a whole run | A packed trough, or a blocked downspout at the end |
| Water dripping from the seam or end cap | Failed sealant rather than a clog |
| A downspout that is dry while its trough overflows | A blockage between the two |
| A downspout that gushes, then only trickles, though it is still raining hard | Debris partly blocking the outlet |
| A downspout that keeps dripping long after the rain stops | A trough holding standing water, often from a sag |
Do not climb while it is wet. The point of the rain test is to keep your feet on the ground.
Clues in plain sight on a dry day
- Plants along the roofline. Grass, weeds or tiny maple seedlings sprouting from a trough are visible from the yard. If they can grow, there is soil, which is old debris.
- A bulging or drooping run. Sight along the eave. A dip means weight, often wet muck.
- Stripes on the wall below. Dark streaks, or a clean stripe running down dirty siding, mark where water has been spilling over.
- Grit on the ground. Dark granules under the eave are shingle grit washing out of the trough.
- Bare soil or a trench under the drip line. Water has been landing there with force.
- Birds working one spot. They are after nesting material or insects in the debris.
- Icicles in one place. In winter, icicles from the trough edge in a single stretch show water backing up there.
Warning signs your gutters need cleaning lists more of these, with photos of what to expect.
Gutters overflowing, or overdue for a clean?
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Downspout checks at ground level
- Tap the pipe with your knuckles from top to bottom. A clear pipe rings hollow. A dull thud marks where debris has packed.
- Take off the bottom elbow or extension and look up the pipe. Pull out any plug you can reach with a gloved hand.
- Run a hose into the bottom of the pipe on a low flow, with the nozzle a short way in. If water backs out around it, the pipe is blocked above.
- Use a plumber's snake gently at a stubborn elbow. Forcing it can split a seam.
- Check the discharge, and make sure it reaches a spot well away from the foundation.
If a downspout enters the ground, stop at the collar. A buried drain is a job for a drainage specialist, and a hose test only tells you whether it drains, not what is wrong down there. Clear pipes do not prove that the trough is clean. They only prove the water can leave. For the tools involved, see the guide to DIY gutter cleaning tools.
Getting a look inside without climbing
Sometimes you can see into the trough from a safe place.
- From an upstairs window or a deck over a lower roof, looking down onto a porch or garage eave. Stay inside the window frame and never lean out.
- With binoculars, which show a trough's contents from the yard on a low eave.
- With a phone on a pole, filming into the trough. Use a non-metal pole, keep it dry, and stay at least 3 metres from overhead powerlines, as the Electrical Safety Authority advises for ladders and tools.
None of these gives a full picture on a second-storey eave, and none replaces looking inside a trough you can reach.
Score your clues and decide
Give yourself one point for each clue you found: overflow in rain, a dry downspout under a full trough, plants, a dip, stripes on the wall, grit, a trench, icicles in one spot.
- Zero or one: probably fine. Recheck after the next storm.
- Two or three: book a clean in the next few weeks.
- Four or more: do not wait. Clear the downspout outlets now and get the troughs cleaned.
Take a dated photo of each run from the same spot every spring and fall. Changes are easy to see side by side, and the photos help a crew see what you saw.
If the eaves are too high to reach safely, D&D Home Services offers gutter cleaning from $125 for a typical Kitchener-Waterloo home, with free written quotes before work begins. Tell them which clues you found.
Key Takeaways
- A steady rain, watched from the yard, shows overflow spots, dry downspouts and dripping seams without a ladder.
- Plants, dips, stripes on the wall, roof grit and trenches under the eave are dry-day clues of a clog.
- Tap the downspouts, remove the bottom elbow and run a hose to test for blockages from the ground.
- Score your clues, and book a clean if you find two or more, or if the eaves are too high to reach safely.
Sources & References
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