Gutterwhiz GW1 Gutter Cleaning Tool

Not sure whether to put the emphasis on the "exercise" or the "frustration" because using this contraption was both!OK, to be fair, this might have worked better under different circumstances, but for me it was a total bust.Issue number 1: We have 5 inch K style gutters. When you figure in the half inch lip at the front of the gutter, and the one inch shingle overlap, that leaves about 3.5 inches of opening, and I found it extremely difficult to maneuver this thing into place. It usually took me 2-3 tries to get the first tong inserted, then you have to twist the pole in an awkward position to get the second tong to come down in the right place. Maybe if I was stronger or had more dexterity or something, but I found the whole process to be utterly exhausting.Issue number 2: We have honey locust trees which produce tons of itty bitty little leaves. I wasn't able to get more than a tiny bit in each grab unless the leaves were wet so they would stick together.Issue number 3: Our gutters have a gutter hanger every 2 feet or so. So half the time, when I finally was able to get the thing positioned correctly and grab a tong-ful of leaves, I'd go to pull them out only to get stopped by a gutter hanger. AAARRRRGGGGHHH! Then you have to pull the sucker out and go through the misery of trying to insert it again. The net result was that even when I was able to clear some leaves, I was still left with a little leaf dam at each gutter holder.Issue number 4: The way this thing is designed you pretty much have to stand directly under the gutters - not out at an angle. This means that you're constantly looking straight up. I don't know about you, but I can't handle that for more than about 30 minutes before I'm in lots of pain. It might have been easier if the house was a simple single story unit, but we're on a hill so it's more like a floor and a half.Bottom line. I tried for several weeks to make this thing work. I went out every day for an hour or so, and each time was able to get maybe a grocery sack's worth of leaves out of the gutters... but not enough to really make a meaningful dent. On the plus side... it did help me to clean my gutters, because after several weeks of fighting with this contraption, getting back on the old ladder felt like a welcome relief!So I dunno... maybe if you have a simple one story house, 6 inch gutters, large easy to grab leaves, and significantly more arm strength, dexterity and patience than I posses you could make this thing work (hence the 2 star rating rather than one), but for me it was simply not worth the suffering.

Hi, I am a 52 year old mom of young kids who needed something to clean my gutters, since I was worried about falling off the roof. Low gutters about 10 feet high, its a ranch in a flat lot with some very big ash trees.I didn't read the instructions, just read the other reviews, and started cleaning my gutters yesterday. It works, I'm left handed, so it maybe works better for a right handed person, because one part of the claw is stationary/stronger than the other part of the claw(which moves with the rope), so it seems like it would work differently for a right handed person. Also being left handed I think means, the part of the claw I use to put the weight of the leaves on, or just being left handed also turns the whole contraption to the left (lefty loosely) on the extension like, so I had to tighten it up after every 5-6 grabs, but not a big deal. My leaves are from an ash tree so only a out 4-5" long and 1-2" wide, so I can't pull giant clumps out of the gutter, because of the size of the leaves, they just don't weave/pack together that strongly, and slip apart from each other easily. I got about 12 feet of gutter done in 35 minutes. Its very gratifying when u get a big clump. If u like to fish, u might like cleaning your gutters with this! Much less dangerous than being on the roof, if safety is your concern. U have to wear the glasses, I forgot and after 1 grab, ran back in the house to get them. Using a ladder & gloves is probably easier and faster, but I can't afford to have a fall off a ladder either. So it will take a while to do them all, which is probably due to the size of the leaves.

So I just purchased a 100 year old, two story house with several trees in the yard. Being in construction I understand the importance of gutter maintenance, but these are a little high for me to comfortable clean from a ladder (Climbing ladders is a young mans game any way). The Gutterwhiz works and it works well. It is not the most fantastic piece of equipment I have ever laid my hands on, but it works. Understand that you will only be able to clean one section at a time - the space between the fasteners holding the gutter to the house. I found that it works very well if you move right to left, removing the debris every few feet. It will give you an arm workout, and them some. The only real drawback is that you almost have top be standing directly under the gutters. If you are away from the house at all, its more awkward to maneuver, and its gripper is cocked at an angle which wont let you into the gutter. Bottom line, i would recommend it, but know that it takes some finesse.

Wow! What a great tool to remove leaves from high gutters. Because of our house's walkout basement, two of the gutters are over 18 feet high. This height along with sloped ground made it unsafe to use a ladder for remove leaves from the gutters. Gutters would clog with leaves and clog the drains causing water to overflow, resulting in soil erosion below. Checking out the various gutter cleaning options on the internet, I was struck by the many positive reviews of the GutterWhiz, so I placed my order for one through Amazon. It arrived via priority mail only a few days later. Included with the GutterWhiz was a pair of safety glasses which fit nicely over my eye glasses. The operating instruction sheets (one for each of 3 languages) clearly demonstrated how to use the GutterWhiz along with a sheet with pictures on how to use it for taking smart phone video or photos of your gutters.Within minutes of taking it out of the box I had screwed the GutterWhiz onto an adjustable extension pole which I owned. If you don't already own one you will need to purchase one which is long enough to reach your highest gutter. Following the instructions, moving from right to left, I was quickly grabbing and removing clumps of leaves and debris which had accumulated in my gutters and were clogging the drain holes.I would highly recommend the purchase of the GutterWhiz. It does all that it is advertised to do, an does it well!Rich - K1HTV