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Lean the ladder against the gutters near a nail. Scoop out leaves and debris that are stuck in the gutters. Move the ladder to the next section and continue cleaning. Flush the gutters with a garden hose. Check the water flow through the downspouts.
Locate a place on the gutters where a nail holds them to the house. It is best to place the ladder here because the gutter is supported best at the nails. If you place the ladder farther from a nail, the gutter is weaker and may crash. If you can lean the ladder against the house's main structure rather than the gutters, do this to entirely avoid leaning on the gutters. If you're putting your ladder up in a soft or landscaped area, put a piece of plywood underneath the feet. This will help keep the legs stable and minimize the risk of falls. Always wear work gloves for this process. Use a small garden trowel to scoop out as much of the debris as possible. If you don't have a small trowel, find an empty plastic bottle with a sturdy handle. Cut the bottom and part of the side out to form a scoop. Set up a large garbage can or a tarp on the ground for a place to dump the leaves as you clean. Throw the leaves on the compost pile if you have one, or discard them in the garbage. Be careful using a trowel over joints or downspouts, and too much force could cause damage to these connections. Lean to your right and left, scooping as much as you can without moving the ladder. Be careful not to lean so far that you get off balance. Ladder safety is always important. Since you can probably only reach a few feet to either side of the ladder, you'll need to move it multiple times until you have removed all of the buildup from inside the gutters. This is the most time-consuming part of the cleaning process. Carry the nozzle of the hose with you up the ladder to the gutters. Use a sprayer attachment, if you have one, to increase the water pressure. Spray the gutters toward each of the downspouts to rinse remaining debris out of the gutters. It may take a while to wash all of the gunk out of the gutters, but it will be worth it to make sure future rain can flow freely through them. While the water is running, check each downspout to see if the rinse water is washing down through them. If there seems to be a blockage, use a stick, such as a broom handle, to push the blockage from the top to the bottom of the downspout. Leave the water running while you push to help move the blockage along. You may need a longer stick, depending on where along the downspout the blockage is.