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I've cleaned out my fair share of gutters, scurrying around rooftops, hurling clods of slimy leaf-muck towards the earth. Those were good times. Some people have problems with their gutters and their gutter maintenance. Here are some ways to turn those problems into opportunities.
Compost your wet leaves.
All those wet leaves are great fuel for the compost heap. That slimy heap of guck is probably crawling with microbes that can tear through your compost pile. Dry leaves, on the other hand, won't decompose as fast as, but having gutters full of dry leaves is a fire hazard and that's worth the work.
Attach a rain barrel to your gutters.
I've seen a lot of yards with naked dirt exposed near the gutter spout. In the springtime, people sprinkle handful after handful of seeds on that barren, over-watered ground to no avail. Why not get a rain barrel? A rain barrel can store excess rainwater, and it can be used to water the lawn during the dry times. They aren't eyesores, and with rising water costs, they're bound to save you money.
Put a pipe in your gutter.
You can put special piping inside your gutters. This piping allows your gutters to collect water, but the leaves slip right on down to the ground. You won't have to clean your gutters again. There is no need to replace your gutter system. They fit in your existing gutters. A company named Rain Tube makes their tubing systems exclusively out of recycled plastic.
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