The Gutter Cleaning Story
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Here is the story about how and why I invented this gutter cleaning
tool...
During the winter of 2008, I fell off a ladder and managed to
dislocate my knee. It was the second time in my lifetime that I have done this and frankly it is
extremely painful. To my surprise, I soon learned that I was not alone.
According to Medical News Today, "nonfatal ladder injuries treated
in emergency rooms jumped by 50 percent between 1990 and 2005". Falls from ladders can result in
serious injury and affect people of all ages. Hurting my knee was likely much less serious
than the injuries people got that caused a hospital visit. Ouch !! Broken Bones !!
According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons,
Over 500,000 Americans are
treatedevery year from
injuries from ladders. As I have lived through the same injury more than once, I
didn't even go to the hospital or doctor which was probably a mistake. So imagine how many others
are out there like me, who get hurt from a ladder, and never visit a doctor. Basically 500,000
injuries a year is probably far less than the number of ladder accidents that REALLY happen
each and every year in the United States.
When you dislocate your knee (and go to the emergency room or a
doctor), you are bed ridden for about 4 days & then you hobble around for the next 3 weeks. You
cringe with every step because your knee is weak and tender and usually swollen to the size of a
watermelon. You wear a brace that locks your whole leg in place as straight as a board so that
showering and sitting on the toilet become a pain in the
butt (literally)! You get to wrap a big plastic garbage
bag around your leg for showers. To go to the bathroom, you fall backwards on to the seat keeping
your leg perfectly straight all while hoping not to hurt yourself as you fall backwards.
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You don't exercise, play sports or do anything athletic or strenuous. Basically
you cringe every time you walk hoping that your knee is strong enough to support your body weight.
It really stinks (I am being polite here). So after limping around
for several months, I vowed to stay off ladders as much as possible for the rest of my
life.
Then this spring, the chore of cleaning the gutters of my house came
as it does every year. The gutters on my house are 25
feet off the ground on the front and 30 feet off the ground in
the rear and usually REQUIRE a ladder to clean them properly.
The roof is steep and made from slate so you can't walk on it. Gutter
Cleaning is also a job that usually takes several hours as moving a tall ladder that weighs close to 50
pounds around the house 5 or 6 feet at a time takes either all day or all weekend.
I have always carried my leaf blower up the ladder with me which adds
that additional risk of injury from a fall. A leaf blower gets everything out of a gutter and doesn't get you wet
or dirty. It is better than using your hands with gloves and better than using a hose. It gets EVERYTHING and
really is the best tool for the job.
Well after my injury from just 3 months earlier and my promise to
myself to stay off ladders, I was left with only two choices. Hire a gutter cleaning service or find a tool that
allowed me to clean gutters without a ladder.
I searched the internet for a couple of weeks and found a couple of
tools but NONE of them went higher than about 13 feet off the ground. My gutters are 25 to 30 feet
off the ground!
I called a gutter cleaning service and got an estimate of $300. I
was blown away. I am not sure if I have mentioned it here, but I am CHEAP and there is no way I am going to pay $300 every year to have my gutters cleaned.
After 10 years that is
$3000 dollars not including
inflation.
So I put on my thinking cap and after many different experiments and
$200 in various parts that did not work or help, I invented a tool that does the job perfectly every single
time. This tool works with every leaf blower on the market and not just my Toro electric
model.
But the cheaper lighter electric blowers work better and
are better for the environment.
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