DIY Gutter Vacuum - Easy and Safe Gutter Cleaning from the Ground
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ส.ค. 2018
- 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:
*Over 3 years later, I figured I'd do a follow-up video to better show the ease of use as well as answer the most common questions I've received over the years: • UPDATE: Gutter Vac (3+...
**If you're having trouble finding the central vacuum tubing or fittings, call your local electrical supply store.
Central Vacuum Tubing:
www.homedepot.com/p/100155184
OR
amzn.to/3dJr9Ci (affiliate*)
90 Degree Long Sweep Elbow (x2):
www.homedepot.com/p/202195581
OR
amzn.to/3r0OZTq (affiliate*)
Black ABS Pipe:
www.homedepot.com/p/202300519
OR
amzn.to/3bM9GYp (affiliate*)
Wet/Dry Vac:
www.homedepot.com/p/304006023
PVC Cement:
www.homedepot.com/p/203477293
OR
amzn.to/3yz63jw (affiliate*)
Hacksaw:
amzn.to/2wRlRUQ (affiliate*)
Miter Box:
amzn.to/2WWmGX6 (affiliate*)
*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! - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
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Central Vacuum Tubing:
www.homedepot.com/p/100155184
-OR
amzn.to/3dJr9Ci (affiliate*)
90 Degree Long Sweep Elbow (x2):
www.homedepot.com/p/202195581
-OR
amzn.to/2WYPwpC (affiliate*)
Black ABS Pipe:
www.homedepot.com/p/202300519
-OR
amzn.to/3bM9GYp (affiliate*)
Wet/Dry Vac:
www.homedepot.com/p/304006023
PVC Cement:
www.homedepot.com/p/203477293
-OR
amzn.to/3yz63jw (affiliate*)
Hacksaw:
amzn.to/2wRlRUQ (affiliate*)
Miter Box:
amzn.to/2WWmGX6 (affiliate*)
*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!
Home Depot no longer offers the Nutone 3808 and I could not locate any schedule 20 PVC anywhere. Ended up going to Amazon www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001MDCZT8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
where the tubing was 19.99 for an 8 foot section. I bought the Ells from Home Depot, with shipping, cots 14.98 www.homedepot.com/p/NuTone-Central-Vacuum-System-90-Degree-Sweep-Ell-Long-CF377/202195581
The Charlotte Pipe and the straight connector I also bought at Amazon , 10.40 and 5.52 respectively. Charlotte Pipe ABS 03200 0200 DWV Foam Core SCH 40 Pipe, 2', ABS, 2", Black
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002KIC3GE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UZI2RGW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Total is less than 71 bucks. Still a deal!
Thanks
I'm really sorry for the late response, I didn't find this comment until just now. Did you call around to your local electrical supply stores? That's where I got my tubing and fittings. I'm glad you were still able to find what you needed. Thanks for watching!
local central vacuum store has the 2 inch- 8 ft tubing for about $3
@@pengchen2365 I thought I was getting it cheap for $6 per section, that's great! Thanks for the comment.
I'm wondering why you didn't stay on the roof to wonder the suction tub along all the gutters of the roof. What about leaf mesh installed in the gutter ?
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
That's awesome! Were you able to find the central vacuum tubing?
Man this is fantastic 👏
WHY ARE YOU YELLING?
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!
I appreciate the comment, thanks for watching!
There is a cut we used in the oilfield called a mule shoe works better than drilling holes.
Thanks...I'm glad you clarified that. I'll call around and see what I can find.
Any luck finding the central vacuum tubing?
I’ll be making one after work tonight! I have an extra first person view camera I’ll be attaching to the end so I can see what I’m doing from the ground! Great idea for cheap!
That camera would be a really nice upgrade! I just go over the same section a couple times and hope for the best. ;)
Great creativity Mike. Well done. As I get older I was looking for a way to avoid the ladder. I think you have come up with a great solution.
Thanks Matt! Yeah, up and down on the ladder is rough, I'd much rather do it all from the ground.
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.
That's great, thanks for the comment! Before I built the vacuum attachment, my original plan was to make a PVC hose attachment to spray out the gutters. I might still do one specifically for flushing out the downspouts.
Put a cheese cloth at the end of the down spout and it will chatch all the shit the vac. missed when you wash it out
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.
That's great, I really appreciate the comment!
All of my gutters are covered . Definitely recommend
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!
Home Depot actually sells a gutter cleaning kit very similar to the one you made. That was a great idea to reach the 2nd story gutters from the windows. Thanks for watching!
can u reach all of ur gutters fm ur windows?
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!
That's awesome, I appreciate the comment, thanks for watching!
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.
Yep, the professional ones are made of aluminum tubes too. Good info, thanks for the comment!
Guys, how would you connect the aluminum downspouts to the vacuum and to each other, and what would you use for the curve? I only found corrugated round ones.
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.
That's cool! I'm sure it wouldn't be quite as strong, but you could connect the hose to the exhaust port on the vacuum and blow 'em out that way too. Thanks for watching!
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!
That's great! I'm glad the video was helpful and I appreciate the positive feedback. Those central vacuum tubes come in 10 foot sections too but those are probably a little harder to find. It's good to know that some Home Depot stores have everything you need in stock.
Laurence, do you want a job clearing my gutters near Waterbury?
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 🤙
That's awesome, I love getting comments like this! If you need more detail, I just make a follow-up video. Thanks for watching and subscribing!
A landscape/ orchard ladder has 3 adjustable legs so you can set it up for almost any terrain. Just built this tool but put threaded couplers between each pipe.
This will add many more jobs for our lawn biz in the slow periods.. Costs have gone up significantly from this video.
Wow what a great idea! I love home improvement TH-camrs like yourself.
Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it!
Great video, I did my gutters today. Thank you
Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!
I modified this approach to fit my particular skills using packing tape, a coat hanger, and some pipe I found in the grass .
Hahaha, that's cool, whatever works! Since most of my gutters are 2 stories high, I don't know what else I could use besides the central vacuum tubing. Anything else would be much heavier and hard to maneuver.
I made a similar pvc clean out but used 1.5 inch pvc and used a heat gun to bend the end of the 10’ section into a 45 degree hook - then used the heat to pinch the end almost flat - instead of suction, I used the shop vac blower - works decent
That's a cool idea! I've thought about doing the same but didn't consider that it'd be better to taper the end.
Thank you so much for sharing!!! I am confident I can build one now and do it myself!
I did a follow up video in November 2021, if you need more details. Thanks for watching! :)
Fantastic idea.....I'm going to put one together right away.....Thanks for sharing!
Read the video description for more details and let me know how it turns out!
Great idea I was thinking about installing gutter guards but my shingles are old and brittle. I literally gave up trying out the sample piece I ordered because of how brittle the shingles where. But thanks to your video idea I made a similar setup but using my blower thanks again for the 💡 idea.
Thanks for watching!
Wow, this is fantastic - very simple and creative! Thanks for making the video and providing links for the materials.
I appreciate it, thanks for watching!
Did the exact same thing today. Worked great.
That's great! Did you have a hard time finding the central vacuum tubing? Thanks for watching!
Thanks for posting and doing the material list.
There's a follow up video if you need more info. Thanks for watching!
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.
That's actually a really good solution for anyone using a less powerful vacuum, thanks for the comment!
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.
Dang, that's a MacGyver gutter cleaning rig, sounds like it works great! :)
That sounds like a cyclone filter or something similar? I've see a few built by the guys who have wood working shops to keep sawdust out the shop vac.
@@jonathanjudd3168 Yep, I think that's essentially what he made.
Awesome video. I was watching these to see what I needed to attach to my blower....now going this way!
Thanks! If you need more detail, check out the update video I did recently.
Great video, Mike. It'll help me make one, thanks for posting!
Thanks Tom, I'm glad it was helpful.
Great project Mike! Can’t wait to build one of these. I also like to reduce my time on my 2 story roof.
Thanks, just be sure to read the video description for more details and let me know how it turns out!
@Mikeattempts - good idea and video, thanks for sharing. To save your neck, do what I do when painting ceilings with a roller; roll up a towel and put on top of a backpack so you can rest your neck whilst looking up.
That's a great idea, thanks for the tip! :)
Awesome! Now all I need to have you c'mon over to my house and show me how to do the entire gutter system.
Hahaha, good luck with that one! :) Thanks for watching.
Great idea. I have a two house as well and will be making this pipeline
Thanks, let me know how it turns out!
I found the 2" black abs pipe at Grainger locally in a 10 foot section for a reasonable price. Thanks for this video........
Yeah, I had to order my ABS pipe from homedepot.com and I think it was under $5. Local plumbing supply stores might carry ABS pipe too. I'm glad you were able to find some. Thanks for watching!
I understand there is difference between schedule 20 'tubing' vs ABS pipe in terms of outer diameter, how did you connect the Shop vac to 2" ABS? thanks
I do exactly the same but totally opposite.
Rigged the tubing to attach to my backpack leaf blower! Been using it for years!
That's a cool idea! I guess I could do the same by connecting the hose to the exhaust port on the vacuum but it'd be messy.
@@Mikeattempts
I just make it the first step when doing the rest of the leaves. Does get messy if they're wet though...
Wow MA! I enjoyed watching your D.I.Y video. You just changed my life! Thank you 😊
Hahaha, that's great, thanks for watching!
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.
Much appreciated! I did a follow up video last year, if you need more detail. Thanks for watching!
Use s few 45 degree fittings to offset the top of the long handle. Then you do not need to be directly underneath it. You don’t need to have the elbows in line (plan view) they can be rotated axially to create the desired shape you want.
I though of doing that but, even though it's a little rough on the neck to look almost straight up, it's much easier to control the attachment while standing directly underneath. I think your idea would work great on single story gutters since the length and weight would be half. With the tip at 45 degrees, your attachment would need to be slightly longer to have the same reach. Also, holding the attachment at an angle feels heavier than if you're directly beneath it. Thanks for the comment!
I made a similar rig out of aluminum downspout. Had to make a rectangular to round transition piece out of flashing for the attachment to the shop vac.. Works great and light weight.
Nice! Most of the professional ones I've seen are made out of aluminum tubes but they're pricey. Downspouts sound much cheaper if you want to go the aluminum route.
Hi there. Henry from Australia. Thank you very much for your great idea. I have gone to my local hardware and priced the identical items and it comes to $41. The kit for a 1 storey house is $73. Amazing. Thanks mate.
That's great, I'm glad you were able to find the parts so easily, let me know how it goes!
What sort of vacuum you are using?
Nice work. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week 😎
Thanks, I really appreciate the share! :)
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.
Yep, you could also attach the vacuum hose to the exhaust port and blow 'em out but the leaf blower would probably be more powerful. Thanks for watching!
If you blow them out chances are there will be standing water in the gutters somewhere. You'll be taking a shower in black nasty smelling leaf water before the job is done. Guaranteed. And half of the junk will end up on your roof shingles and siding. Been there, done that. Good idea...maybe it'll work for some...but keep in mind what happened to me trying that.
Yeah, that's the reason I only suck out the gutters, clean and easy. I don't wanna get covered in debris and then also have to clean up all the crap on the ground.
Unfortunately this setup won’t work at all with backpack blowers which have too many CFM’s and too much torque. I tried it today and the blower generates way too much power for the tubing and angles...unable to handle
@@NeilLB7yeah but his vacuum only works for small Leafs inhave maple and sycamore they are huge lol no way this would work
Great idea, the process of covering the eves so no leaves get in the trough is a bad idea as I have had to climb the ladder to remove the leaves on the flat face of the eves trough to let the water go into the trough and flow..
Yep, I considered the gutter guards too but decided against 'em for the same reason. Thanks for watching!
@@Mikeattempts gutter guards are a complete rip off
Great idea! I'll be making one.
Be sure to read the description for more details and let me know how it goes!
Great job my friend, you saved me from repelling down the roof ..
Thanks for watching! :)
I watched your video a few times and now I'm back to say thanks, this helped so much. For around $150 CAD I had all the supplies I needed (including the wet / dry vac). Usually one visit to clean gutters costs $100 since I have a two story home. This thing will pay for itself quickly.
For those of you trying it - here were my mistakes.
1) not drilling those notches in the end of the tube. "Certainly it won't get stuck to the bottom of the gutter, is my gutter even flat?" I thought. Yes, it will. Yes it will.
2) Know about how high you need to go and plan accordingly. I started off on my front porch and the nozzle was in my gutter and my pvc piping was almost on the ground. This made it a little bit hard to maneuver.
Luckily I can adjust both problems easily.
Thanks!
Thanks for coming back to comment! I really enjoy hearing the success stories from people who made their own gutter vac attachments.
J, do you mind me asking what wet/dry vac you went with? I can't find one with a 2" hose, and I'm a little worried that a smaller hose will get clogged.
I'm not handy but this was easy and fast to build, and most of all it works great. Thank you so much for sharing your solution!
That's awesome, I really appreciate the comment!
I am going to try this. It seems like a good idea and it is much safer.
Let me know how it turns out. Thanks for watching!
Really DIY innovative, thank you for the video!!!!
Thank you for watching!
Good idea using the Schd 20 pipe... I've got 40ft of it left over from my central vac install that I now know what I'm going to do with it. I think it might be more efficient to just cut out about 1" of the pipe that goes into the gutter half way around instead of having 4 cut outs like you made - you should have all the suction happening in the direction you are traveling. It might limit you to traveling in one direction only unless you can twist that piece around... but small price to pay to get more suction where you need it.
I'm not lacking any suction but you could just make the holes smaller if that's a concern. The holes are only there to break the suction so the tube doesn't stick to the bottom of the gutter. Let me know how it goes!
@@Mikeattempts Quicker way to cut those slots would be to use side cutters and clip triangular openings.
@@rokustittsville2422 That's true but I wanted to keep the holes rounded so pine needles and leaf stems wouldn't get caught in the notch of the "V". Thanks for watching!
@@rokustittsville2422 Use stone rotary grinding bits. It will cut the round slot in a faster way or make the holes and then cut the pipe in the middle of the holes.
Great video. I have a 1.5" shop vac. What I ended up using are: A) 2X 1.25" Charlotte Pipe; B) 1X 1.25"X1.5" rubber coupler; C) 1X 1.25"X1.25" rubber coupler; D) Flex 'n fix under sink extension tube inlet 1.5" length 8-12"; E) a sink tailpiece 1.5" X 6" length ; F) a large paint wooden stirrer; G) duct tape; H) a couple small screws. All these materials bought from Lowe's. Homedepot does not carry schedule 20 pipes.
Thanks! Yeah, I had a hard time finding the central vacuum tube too, I ended up calling a local electrical supply store who had 'em in stock for around $6 per section. I'm happy to hear that you came up with a solution to fit your 1.5" shop vac hose, does it work well?
I just found your video. I made a very similar setup about 10-years ago using abs, but think the vacuum tubing is likely lighter in weight. The one difference I did was to add a 45 right after the second 90. That way the 5” or 6” piece leading into the gutter is not vertical. I also cut it 45 degrees. This eliminates it being sucked down to the bottom of the gutter itself. Works great. I went so far as to add a union to join the 2-90’s. that way you can adjust the attack angle of the short piece leading into the gutter itself. The union prove to be of limited success but was able to optimize the attack angle and eventually taped it with duct tape so it is now permanent.
Sounds like a great design. I toyed around with the idea of angling the tip but, depending on the gutter section, I would sometimes need the tip pointing in the opposite direction. Thanks for watching!
I bought a bunch of shop vac extension pipes.
What angle did you wind up going with when you made it permanent?
@@alb12345672 I got 4 hoover upright extensions from an old vaccuum repair place, what size pvc tightly fits over the extension
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.
Thanks for watching!
Well done, Mike! I'm planning to build my own. By the way - what camera do you have mounted for your video?
Thanks for the positive feedback! I use an old Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone to record my videos. For the "action" shots, I mounted the phone on the gutter cleaning attachment using electrical tape. :) For the other shots it's just a $4 cell phone mount on a tripod.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the great video and sharing. I was going to make similar for my gutters: some are 28' high, some
10ft and some 18ft. Your video definitely provides good ideas for my project.
Did you glue just the elbow area of the pipe with cement, and the rest using silicon?
Do you think the two 8-ft sections, with the vac hose of 10ft or so, would be long enough to cover my gutters?
I am not very clear why you used that 24" abs pipe in the middle of the PVC pipes. Is it for easy changing the length? Please elaborate. Thanks again.
You can get 10 foot sections of the central vacuum tubing, I think that would make it just long enough to reach your 28 foot gutter. I found mine at a local electrical supply store so just call around.
Yes, I only used PVC cement on the joint where the first elbow connects to the long section of tubing, the rest is silicon.
The black ABS pipe is a coupler to connect the two sections of white central vacuum tubing. It's only glued to the bottom section, the top section just slides down in the ABS coupler, it fits really well. Then I can use only the top section for the single story gutters around my front porch. It makes it nice for storage too.
@@Mikeattempts
Thanks for the quick reply. Now, I have a better idea of what you are trying to accomplish.
I am using PVC pipes from my collection all these years, so I don't need to buy anything.
I have a 3D printer, I can print pipe couplers to fit. There are few customizable templates at thingsverse.com that can be used if anyone is interested. Here's the link to some of them:
www.thingiverse.com/search?sort=relevant&q=pipe+adapter&type=things&customizable=1&dwh=355d9e0dfc18604
Again, thanks for your suggestion and have a nice day.
Standard schedule 40 PVC pipe would be way too heavy. The central vacuum tubing (schedule 20) has thinner walls so it weighs a lot less.
@@Mikeattempts
Sorry, I did not make myself clear. I am using Schedule 20 PVC pipes from central vac system. I will be printing out with PLA filament for the adapters, but couplers are relatively small compared to pipes. Thanks.
Ah, that's good, I can't imagine trying to maneuver a 20 foot long piece of schedule 40 PVC. :) Let me know how it turns out.
Hi Mike. This is absolutely great!
Oh, and new subscriber following this.
Thanks for the comment!
@@chrisryan8863 Thanks for subscribing too!
I followed your instructions...It seemed to work nicely...thanks!
That's great, I appreciate the comment! :)
@@Mikeattempts I followed your plans exactly except I used 10' vacuum tubes and duct tape to attach the abs pipe in place.
@@rohankhemraj Ah, nice, that'll give you some extra reach!
I have a section of the house where it is about 3 stories and need to clean the gutters badly, do you feel that another section to get a 3rd story would be doable? Great idea and something I was thinking of doing however your instructions make it very easy, thanks for posting.
Yeah, it would probably be doable. The reach on mine is probably around 20 feet when holding the end of the vacuum hose at about chest-height. If you were able to measure the distance and then make a 3rd section just long enough to meet your requirements, then you would minimize the amount of additional weight. Thanks for watching!
@@Mikeattempts options: if u have a pickup, you can do the work from the cargo side of your truck- that will add a good 3-4 ft of vertical leap and minimize the weight of your total PVC/ABS towards the suction end
@@ningcaytube True but that's the great thing about using the central vacuum tubing, it's MUCH lighter than standard schedule 40 PVC.
I hadn’t thought of using schedule 20 pipe. Great idea! As for the stiff neck, did you experiment at all with mounting the elbow at a bit of an angle so you aren’t working directly overhead? Also, did you do anything special to attach the extension to the wetvac hose?
Thanks for the comment! I thought about swapping one of the 90 degree elbows for a 45 degree elbow but I haven't tried it yet. I didn't need to do anything special to attach it to the hose. The PVC pipe slides into the vacuum hose extension, gravity and suction keep it together.
Mike attempts that would probably work even better than my idea, but even with your current set up if you rotated half of the curved part out of plane (I mean that if the whole thing was lying on the floor just bend the end straight and first curved part) by 30-45 degrees so the suction end was vertical in the gutter but the 8 foot piece was at an angle that would move you out from directly under the end. Might be harder to control though. Anyway, great video. Thanks!
Ah, I see what you mean, so you'd still be directly under the gutter but not directly under the suction end. That's why I used silicone caulk for most of the joints, if I wanted to try either one of our solutions, they'll come apart without too much effort. Thanks again for the comments!
YOu could also get a few different pieces so you could do different angels.
Thanks for sharing your solution and the process for constructing. I'm running to Home Depot now to do the same before our first rain of the season arrives in about 5 hours [classic procrastinator :) ].
Let me know how it turns out.
My local HD didn't carry the vacuum tubing. So, I went with 1.5" PVC. Good thing, because that size just barely fit into my gutters (old house with wood shingle roof). Overall, it worked much better than I expected. Took me just over an hour to do the whole house and finished just as rain started to fall (whew!). Thanks, again!
Sounds like you finished just in time! Was the 1.5" PVC heavy and difficult to control? I think the thicker walled pipe would be manageable for a single story house but would quickly become unruly as it got longer. Thanks for watching!
It’s a single story house, so I only needed 7’. But, I AM a bit sore today. 😋
I'm thinking about 1.5" Schedule 40 pvc pipe as well. I can't find lightweight sch 20 pipe anywhere locally.
How did you fit the 1.5" pvc to your shop vac?
Thank you. It works great. Great vid.
Thanks for watching!
outstanding! great tutorial. I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm preoccupied with how a bungee cord got into the gutter.
Hahaha, that bungee cord slid down the roof months prior while I was working on the chimney cap. I was happy to retrieve it with the vac attachment. Thanks for watching!
You didn't have leaves in your vacuum when you were done. Have you used it to clean out a bunch of leaves in the fall? Any issues with clogging because of the leaves? Also, how did a bungee cord get all the way up there? :) Thank you for the video.
Hahaha, you're the first one to notice the bungee cord! I dropped that when I was working on a chimney leak and it slid down the roof into the gutter. :) We mostly have long leaf pines so pine needles are usually what ends up in our gutters. There were also willow oak leaves in the gutter but they are very skinny. We don't have any really tall oak or maple trees so those don't end up in the gutter. The pine needles and willow oak leave will sometimes form large chunks but I haven't had any issues with clogging yet. I'm sure clogging might be a problem with a weaker vacuum. Thanks for watching!
Awesome gadget. This is exactly what I need.
Just be sure to read the video description to make finding the central vacuum tubing easier. Thanks for watching!
Brilliant vac ordered going to do same👍👍
Let me know how it goes, thanks for watching!
I did the same thing but used a 45 degree for the piece going into the gutter. Seems to be a better working angle for me.
Ah, that way you don't hafta stand directly beneath the gutter, nice!
What an awesome system, it’s genius!!
Thanks! I did a follow up video if you need some more detail.
That is a hell of a good idea thank you
I did a follow up video, if you need more details. Thanks for the comment! :)
Great idea! Thank you for sharing. My height ist much higher and I tried a leaf blower with a pipe extension. Good too for the job!
Thanks for watching!
Bro. Great job. Awesome idea
I appreciate the kind words. Thanks for watching!
Fantastic idea,man.Thanks.Gonna give a shot,myself.Appreciate ya.
Thanks for the comment! Be sure to read the video description for more details and let me know how it goes.
Thanks for the video. I just ordered all of the Sch 20. We have a historic house with cedar shakes, rolled-edge eave, and half-round copper gutters that hang (dangle) below the bottom of the curved edge. So propping a ladder against any of that is potentially damaging to that type of roof even with a padded stand-off attached to the ladder. Optimistically hoping this method will work great!
It works well for me, let me know how yours turns out. Thanks for watching!
where did you buy the tube sch 20??? very difficult to fine them
Thank you. You helped solve my problem.
Thank you for watching!
Bravo! Great idea!
Thanks for watching!
Will try. Hope it works well given I have little trees growing out of my trough
Be sure to get the central vacuum tubing. More details in the video description. Thanks for watching!
You should sell a ready cut pvc pipe kit with assembly instructions, ...I'd buy one, ...your idea is a 'Life Saver'***Thank you for the video👍
I appreciate the kind words! I'm not trying to start a business, I'm just happy to share the idea. :)
I had to subscribe as soon as it started. Awesome. Thank you!!
Thanks for the sub! I did a follow up video 3 years later that has more detail, if needed. Thanks for watching!
That’s Awesome, I wish I had thought of it 👍
Thanks for watching! :)
Think I might have to make one of these.
Let me know how it turns out! I did a follow-up video last year, if you need more detail.
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.
They sell a commercial version that's made of aluminum tubes (I think) but it's a bit pricey. Thanks for the comment! :)
Nice job! those high gutters are a pain in the butt to keep clean..Glad I live in a rancher...:)..Thanks for the ideas though...I forgot about the sky hooks in the gutter...good heads up!
It would still be worth it for a single story house, unless you like ladders. :) Thanks for watching!
@@MikeattemptsThanks for the reply Oh, yeah, you're right...I'm prototyping mine now...:)...I use to just climb up and walk the front edge...I did roofing for many years so I'm comfortable up there but...As I head toward 60 it would be a dumb idea...;)...
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.
Ah, yeah, it would be nice to avoid those gutter hangers, it's probably faster too. I could connect the vacuum hose to the exhaust port and blow 'em out the same way but I've never tried it because I didn't want all that debris raining down on me. :) Thanks for the comment!
Couldn't find that sch 20 pipe at any stores locally so just happened to find a couple pieces at a "Habitat for Humanity" store. They also had some 90 degree elbows. I used electrical tape to attach the different pieces so I could remove them if needed. Just cleaned some gutters this morning and it worked fine I used my shop vac and blew out the gutters. Haven't tried vacuuming them out yet. Much better than climbing a ladder.
That's cool that you found some tubing at your local Habitat store. It's more commonly known as central vacuum tubing, and I got mine at my local electrical supply store. Thanks for the comment!
Good idea, thanks, - I'll make one too. But I have the problem of wet soggy leaves, moss and slime like some others in this thread which I solved some years ago by making an extension for my Karcher high pressure water cleaner using one of those garden shower things with a curved end and cutting off the end of a karcher nozzle. Needs some strong hose clamps to join them because the pressure is fierce. That works very well- at least for one storey - although it pays to wear a raincoat!
Hahaha, yeah, I bet it's just like getting rained on. Sound like a good solution though. With a strong enough wet/dry vacuum, I wouldn't be surprised if it would just suck all of that stuff up.
Nice job mike! Im doing a invention for a science fair and this helped me get a idea. Thanks so much
Ah, that's cool, I'm glad the video was helpful! :)
nice and cost effective solution
Yep, I've been using it twice per year and it has been working great. Thanks for watching!
Great DIY. In experience the curve should not be in line with the long tube. Example, my 5 HP motor shop vac couldn’t pull the giant oak leaves. Maybe they where too wet. So I attached to blower end. The angle of the pipes just blew everything toward my face.
Now to add the extension to reach higher.
Thanks for the video
Yeah, I mostly get pine needles and smaller leaves. I would imagine larger leaves, like oak, could result in some clogs but I would think damp leaves would get sucked up easier than stiff dried ones. Thanks for the comment!
Good tutorial. Thanks
Thanks for watching!
The gutter vacuum is a great idea, I use that same setup but with a blower, but a vacuum seems easier
Yeah, I can connect the hose to the exhaust port on the vacuum and blow it out too, it's just cleaner to suck it out.
I think you have the hack saw blade in upside down lol. Great video!
Hahaha, thanks for watching!
If you were to use a Sch 20 coupling and glue it, you'd find that it doesn't provide much support. At least that's what I found. I wound up temporarily duct-taping an old broom handle to the pipe, but will use the ABS method next season. I also shelled out $99 at Harbor Freight for a 6HP shop vac. All in all, I have less than half in this system than it would have cost to clean my gutters ONCE. I just wish there was a way to stabilize the vac on my relatively low pitched roof, stand back 15' and work from the top. Would save a lot of energy and if done right would only involve one trip up and down the ladder. Thanks, Mike!
Yeah, it gets harder to control when held at an angle. I like the ABS for storage and the 2 pieces quickly and easily slide together. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for this. Could you please do a video on how you keep your work bench so clean?
Hahaha, thanks for watching! ;)
Put in gutter guards and never have to worry about cleaning gutters again. I live here in New England and have oak and maple trees around my two story house and had installed black metal gutter guards from Lowes and have no problems since.
I looked in to gutter guards prior to building the vacuum attachment but, from my research, they all have their problems and they're not cheap. Plus, I would still have to get up there to clean off the guards because of all the long-leaf pine needles. I'll hafta check out the ones from Lowes. Thanks for watching!
I'm so glad to have come across your video tutorial. I made my own gutter vacuum based on your template/recommendation and it was so helpful. The best DIY gadget I ever made and a great investment to have . It will pay for itself after two gutter cleans. I don't dread cleaning my gutters now. Many thanks!!!
That's great, I'm glad the video was helpful, thanks for the comment!
Great! Even better, use a bag in the shopvac, or an Oneida system between the shopvac and the pipe.
very good and well made project.
Thanks, I appreciate it!
This worked perfect for me. I have one gutter almost 3 floors up and it even reached that one, though it was a bit difficult to handle at that height. I’d like to figure out a way to temporarily lock each piece into position.
You could make an attachment just for the 3-story section and use PVC glue and PVC couplers instead of the black ABS pipe. This will make it a little lighter and a bit more stable. Thanks for the comment!
Leaf blower attached works great. Use it on my lawn service customers houses. Wear a wide brimmed hat and glasses.
Hahaha, yeah, you could do the same thing with the vacuum by switching the hose to the exhaust port. I was considering the same thing but it's just too messy. :)
I put gutter covers on. I have a long telescopic rod with a brush at the end and can sweep the gutter covers from the ground if required especially in inside corners where debris gets caught.
That's a great idea! The main reason I've avoided gutter guards is because I knew I'd need to clean the guards anyway. :)
This is perfect. Got mine all prepped before glue tommotow. Think ill cement the whole top area as the last thing i want is a piece to fall off ill never get back...all i want to add is some type of support at the end to hold a gopro mini.
Mine is still holding together after all these years but, if I had to do it again, I would probably use PVC cement on the whole top area as well.
@@Mikeattempts yeah, the gutters I have to do are super high, and if they fall off they are going to stay there forever lol
@@jn2400 Hahaha, yeah, that would suck! :)