Cleaning Gutters With a Pressure Washer

Last Updated: August 9, 2025 by Michael Kahn. Published: July 31, 2025.

Roof gutters are not for the aesthetics alone, they help by redirecting water away from the walls, and foundation. This act keeps your building structure protected and improves the integrity of the property.

However, in the course of doing its duty, you know the diligent feature nobody notices, it tends to gather a lot of debris. This dirt clogs the gutter and spout, preventing the flow of water through them. 

What do you do when this happens? The short answer is to clean the gutter of all the dirt to free the passageway.

While there are a few more ways to clean gutters, a pressure washer is one of the most popular due to its accessibility and effectiveness. The way a pressure washer works makes it quite effective in cleaning leaves and other debris from the gutters. 

If you’re wondering what this is all about or how to do it the right way, you’re in the right place as we’ll show you all about cleaning your roof gutters using this power equipment. But first, why use this equipment at all?

Benefits of Using a Power Washer to Clean Gutters

There are other ways to clean gutters like leaf blowers and robotic gutter cleaners. So why bother with using a power washer when there are lots of available options? Well, here’s are some of the benefits of using pressure washers to clean your gutters:

Speed and Efficiency

Compared to manual cleaning, power washers make cleaning your gutters faster. Instead of spending the whole day cleaning the gutters, a power washing will cut that time down significantly while also improving the efficiency.

Ability to remove Stubborn Debris

Power washers have the ability to clean wet, caked-on and dry debris, while also removing algae from the gutters. This capacity steams from the pressure in the washers which equipment like leaf b;lowers do not possess. 

Reduced Physical Effort

You do not need to put in a lot of physical effort to clean your roof gutters if you use a pressure washer as the pressure coming out of the nozzle does most of the work. You just need to direct it where you need it to go. 

How to Clean Gutters Using Power Washers

Taking care of your gutters will help prolong the lifespan of your gutters, keeping repairs and replacement away for as long as possible. However, when you do need gutter repairs or replacement, Honey Badger Home Improvement is ever ready to help. 

One effective way to clean the gutter is using power washers. And here is how to do it effectively:

1. Make Preparation

Before you start cleaning you should prepare yourself, the pressure washer and the area. Start by securely setting up the ladder to the roof of the building. This step is important to prevent you from falling while on it. 

Now it is time to put on your non-slip shoes, safety glasses and gloves. These will protect you from harm like falling, injuring your hands, or blowing debris into your eyes while cleaning.

2. Remove Initial Large Debris

You need to climb up the ladder and do some initial cleaning in some cases. This is when those gloves in the first steps come into play. Here you may have to manually remove large debris like big stones, toys, and huge plastics if any from the gutters. 

Doing this initial cleaning phase makes using the pressure washer easier and more effective. Apart from your gloved handsome, you can also use a gutter scoop to clear some of the dirt.

3. Setup The Pressure Washer

When setting up the pressure washer to clean your gutter, you need to get a nozzle suitable for this purpose. 

Typically, you need a nozzle with a curved or angled attachment that directs the water upwards. 

This with an extension wand and you may not need to climb a ladder to clean all gutters. For some, you can use the pressure washer from the ground while the nozzle does the work in the gutters. 

After that, adjust the pressure settings for the cleaning. For gutters a PSI setting between 1500-2000 should be enough depending on the amount of dirt and size of the gutter. 

4. Clean The Gutter

Now it’s time to do the actual cleaning with all the setups you’ve prepared from the latter to the pressure washer. 

Start from one end of the gutter and work carefully towards the other. To avoid causing damage to the gutters, you need to use a short, controlled burst of pressure while focusing the nozzle on debris. 

You want to work towards the downspouts directing water to flow down through them instead of sitting in the gutter. 

5. Check Downspout

Time to check the downspout as the channel is mostly blocked with dirt alongside the gutters. You can use a plumber’s snake or the pressure washer to wash clear the downspouts and allow water flow out. 

A clear downspout makes cleaning the gutters easier as the dirt can wash out quickly but be careful when using the pressure washer as too much pressure on the insides can damage it.

6. Rinse and Inspect

After cleaning with your pressure washer and opening up the downspout for the dirt to flow out, rinse any remaining debris. Do this by flushing water through the gutter and out of the downspouts using the pressure water but ideally in reduced pressure.

It is vital to reduce the pressure when rinsing to avoid damaging the gutter since there is less debris to lessen the impact of the pressurized water on the gutter. 

Take time to look through the gutters and downspout to ensure it is all clean and ready to go.

Conclusion

Maintaining your roof gutters by cleaning will save you a lot of hassle in the future, prolonging the need for repairs and replacement for as long as possible. 

Cleaning the gutters using a pressure washer may not require a lot of physical effort like manually cleaning the channels but you have to make the necessary preparations like wearing protective wears, securing the ladder, and setting the right power on the pressure washer. 

When you do need repairs or replacement gutters, you can always get the best quality gutters and service from Honey Badger. 

Honey Badger Home Improvement specialize in roofing, siding, gutters and windows. Their service makes the often stressful task of maintaining or replacing roof gutters seem like a holiday. 

All you have to do is reach and to them with your needs, then sit back as they take up the whole process from there. The Honey Badger team will visit for inspection, proffer the best solution, and then execute.