J-channel cleaning tool

[busybee1952]

Is there such a thing as some kind of tool one could use to clean the J-channel of debris or does someone have a good idea for making such a tool? I live in the woods and the J-channel is full of junk. Thanks.

[Mark]

Are you talking about the bottom j-channel that the skirting fits into? For that, I had a crow bar that was the right width. That worked pretty good.

Mark

[Yanita]

Hi Busybee,

Was wondering where you were again?

I only know of the regular gutter cleaners, and those are the ones that are used with a garden hose.

When we had the single wide we just used to use a step ladder and sweep them out with a whisk broom. That also allowed for inspection of caulking and any other seam separations.

Others may know more about an actual tool.


~Yanita~

[busybee1952]

Um, I meant the channel that qualifies as a gutter on a mobile home. I was kind of hoping to avoid the ladder thing and thought there might be something with a telescoping pole with some kind of thing on the end of it.

Yeah, I'm still around Yanita. Been so busy around here. Hard to keep up all by yourself ya know? Busy with the gardening and yard as well as still trying to get the underbelly replaced, the hot water heater access door back on, and all that stuff. I have a list a mile long so anything that can make my work faster and easier without much added expense is really appreciated.

Thanks for the suggestions and maybe someone has invented the tool I'm looking for or maybe I should invent one. LOL

[Yanita]

Hey BusyBee,

Yup, I figured you were trying to scratch things off your list before the first snow fall.

Sorry I can not give you an idea to clean the gutters.

Those things are so cheap and flimsy that they might easily get damaged from trying to clean from below...just envisioning something being dragged thru them.

I know it is a pain, but the flip side is you get the chance to inspect the caulking in that area. As you know, when it goes bad the water starts running down inside the walls...yet more repairs for next years list.

If you use a regular ladder, make certain not to rest it against the gutters, it will squish them. Hubby fixed me up a ladder that he attached a piece of 2x4 across the top of the ladder, about 2 1/2 feet in length. We wrapped that in some insulation. This allows the ladder to rest against the home with the weight being dispersed on 2 studs and does not cause dents, scratches etc in the siding.

But if you do come up with a cheap homemade gutter cleaner, please share the details with the rest of us!

Take care, and good hearing from you! Keep us posted as you continue to check off your list!

~Yanita~

[Manitoba Bill]

What you are looking for is called a "Gutter Blaster". Has a telescope handle.
Should be available locally.
http://www.mileskimball.com/mileskimbal ... =SEARCHDEX

[busybee1952]

Yeah, the gutter blaster looks like it might do the trick! Thanks for the link. I don't know if the water would get that junk out of there or not but it seems like it wouldn't be too hard to stick something in the end of the tube to scrape with. On the other hand, maybe I should just bite the bullet and get out the ladder and clean them manually the first time at least as I know they haven't been cleaned in years! Then try the water thing the next time when everything isn't stuck.

Yanita, this brings me to another problem. The more I do around here, the longer the list gets. Inspecting for other problems is like looking for more work to add to the list and I just dread it, but I know, prevents further problems down the road.

I have a hard time with a caulk gun. I don't know how to actually operate one I guess and can't find any instructions anywhere. I can get the tubes in but can't ever get them out without cutting them up first and I have a real hard time squeezing them. Soon, I will be using some of that putty tape to put my hot water heater access door back up and that seems like real easy and cheap stuff to work with. Would I be able to use that around my windows and stuff instead of using the caulk?

Trying to operate a caulk gun while standing on a ladder is just plain scary to me. I know it shouldn't be but you have no idea how difficult it seems to be for me to operate a caulk gun. Takes both hands and all my strength just to squeeze the caulk out. I've tried cutting the hole bigger on the end and everything. I've tried 2 different caulk guns. I'm just caulk-gun challenged. Ok, and I have a wimpy grip. LOL

I like the idea of putty tape and also that rope caulk if it will work.

[JD]

Hi Pat,

The butyl putty tape would only go behind the nail flange of the water heater door. It is not made to be exposed. To make your caulking easier, make sure the caulking isn't cold when you apply it. On a warm summer day, just leaving the tubes in the sun is enough. In the winter, leaving them up on the dashboard of the truck on the way out to the job helps. I also use one of those $6 black mixing basin that you can get in the concrete area of your home store. Keeps them from rolling off a roof and the black helps heat them up. While you could leave them near a forced air heater vent to warm up, never use direct artificial heat such as portable or baseboard heaters for safety reasons.

When we install one of our insulated roofs (pictures in album) we will go through 24+ tubes of caulking in about 3 hours. In cool weather, this is very hard on the grip muscles. That is when we use the cordless Ryobi caulk gun. It is part of the 12v Ryobi One system. Like all Ryobi, they are pretty cheap, although ours hold up very well. We put them through commercial use and never have had a problem. They really aren't for small jobs like bathrooms or painters caulk. The lowest setting may be too much flow for a small bead. It can work, you just have to move real fast.

JD

[Yanita]

Hi,

I certainly understand the grip thing.

Ok, I am going to try to explain what type of caulking gun my Hubby got me...It is orange in color and says NEWBORN on it. This caulking gun has a thumb button on the handle, when the tube is empty, press this button and the plunger backs out of the empty tube.

My other caulking gun is silver and only says made in China, I know I purchased it at Lowe's. This gun on the plunger you will see that there are notches, these notches have to be turned down while trying to caulk, squeezing the handle ratchets these notches so the plunger pushes the caulk out of the tube.

To remove the plunger from the inner empty tube, turn the plunger rod so the notches face up, this will allow you to pull the plunger out of the empty tube without having to cut it up. Hopefully this helps you get the empty tube out.

Like JD said, letting the tubes get warm really help the process! If you are looking for a nice clean caulk job also cut the tip on a slight angle.

I know you do not want to look for more work, but at the same time I do not have to preach to you about how good preventive maintenance is. Physical inspection of the gutters at least yearly will reduce your list. You do not want to have to add wall damage, insulation replacement and floor damage to the list because the gutters are leaking.

Hope this helps....

~Yanita~

[mist1953]

I had an idea when I was checking out our J-Channel. They were so dirty and regular soap and water did not remove the dirt., they needed to be scrubbed.
I purchased a dryer tool that cleans the lint from the channel, its long and thin and fits perfectly in the channel. Just bend the brush at an angle and scrub away. The bristle's are stiff enough but are not harsh enough to damage the channeling.

[busybee1952]

Apparently, I couldn't wait for any special tools since last night, I got the ladder out and carried a screwdriver and wisk broom up with me, got on the roof and sort of slid around the edge of the roof cleaning out the gutters. I removed a whole lot of branches and debris from the roof while I was up there. Some of the gutters were actually bent shut especially on the slide out which I assume happened when this trailer was moved here 5 years ago.

I found out that I am not as afraid of heights as I thought since I had no queasy feelings sliding around on the roof at all. It's the going up and down the ladder that scares me. The gutters are all within a few inches of the roof so it seemed a lot easier to just stay on the roof and clean them and I could see into them easier that way. (Didn't get to check the windows for problems this way but found a few places where it looks like I might need something on the roof which I'll put in another post)

It's been so dry here with no rain to amount to much for a very long time. However, now I am prepared for it so I say, let the rains begin!

[Yanita]

Good job!

See, by getting up there you did find a couple of problems...LOL, inspect the windows another day.

Give yourself a pat on the back for overcoming your fears and getting the job done!

~Yanita~