How To Brighten Gutters

Ugly, tiger-striped gutters can drag down your home's curb appeal, but regular pressure washing won't remove those stubborn oxidation stains. In this post, we reveal the professional chemical treatments and gentle brushing techniques needed to restore your gutters' original shine. For flawless exterior restoration, trust Tampa Bay Soft Wash for expert gutter brightening in Clearwater, FL.

Gutter Cleaning and Gutter Brightening

A lot of people understandably confuse the two terms. Gutter cleaning describes cleaning out the inside of the gutters and downspouts. Gutter brightening describes washing the exterior of the gutters with a specific chemical. These are obviously two completely different jobs with the only common thing being the gutters.

Gutter Brightening Does Not Come With A Standard House Wash

Sometimes we ask about the condition of the gutters when quoting a house wash. We like to explain to the potential customer that the majority of the time a regular house wash will do a satisfactory job. In the rare instance that the customer feels that their gutters need to be brightened but they don’t care for an actual house wash, we will explain that we would need to wash their gutters first before brightening, and that it would only make sense to wash the entire house from the gutter line down.

Tools Needed To Brighten Gutters

What you will need:

• LA’s Totally Awesome All-Purpose Concentrated Cleaner (1 Gal)
• Ettore Extend-A-Flo Auto Wash Brush
• Ettore 12′ Interlocking Extension Pole
• 5-Gallon Heavy-Duty Bucket

LA’s Totally Awesome Solution Dilution

We start with a 5 to 1 ratio. That is 5 parts water, 1 part LA’s Totally Awesome. I.e. 1 gallon of LA’s Totally Awesome mixed with 5 gallons of water making a total of 6 gallons of solution.

We will strengthen the solution as needed, but be careful! If you go too strong, you will remove the paint. We will go as strong as 1 to 1, which is half water and half LA Awesome.

Applying and Rinsing Gutter Brightener

Always prewet the gutters and all of the surrounding surfaces and the ground BELOW the gutters. Do not let the LA’s Totally Awesome dry on any surface. On a hot day, you should only do about 10′ – 15′ sections at a time.

Be extra careful around other oxidized materials, especially garage doors. You may end up leaving clean spots and end up having to clean their whole garage.

After everything is wet, saturate the head of your brush in the diluted solution and begin to gently brush the gutter methodically applying LA’s Totally Awesome, making sure to hit all sides of the gutter.

Remember, do not let it dry. Gutters are made from thin metal and they can get really hot, really fast. I will only let it dwell for as long as it takes me to do 10′–15′ and then I am back at where I started and begin to rinse.

Now You See Shiny Metal…

It appears one of a few things happened. One, you removed the oxidation that had already eaten through the paint, thus exposing the bare metal. Two, you made the solution too strong and/or brushed too aggressively and exposed the metal.

To be honest, it is probably some combination of all of them. Either way, you may be wondering if there is a quick fix. Yes, there is a simple solution: gutter touch-up paint. If you are in a pinch, you can buy it locally from any of the big box home improvement stores, or order Rust-Oleum’s line of Roofing & Gutter Touch Up Paint designed for gutters, flashings, and soffits.