Mini Rake Head – Gutter Rake Tool for Removing Leaves & Debris from Roofs, Gutters & Hard-to-Reach Areas – Fits Standard Acme Thread & Recommended EZ Smart Pole (Not Included)

Stop now... just buy it.The rest of this is just a long rambling rant about the elderly, ladders, and stories of my life long struggle with live oak roof debris.I bought this specifically because my neighbor just passed away after he fell off a ladder. Im 36 and my Dad is almost 70 and even though he's had all of the same tedious oilfield/offshore safety training I've had for DECADES longer than I have he's just not smart with ladders... my neighbor of 30 years lost his life just before Christmas because he too was much like my Dad. He was hanging stage lights, ladder came out from under him and he pivoted perfectly onto his head, the 30lb stage light finished the job. The ceiling was only 12ft... He was only 5-6 feet up, but that's exactly how high you have to be to rotate exactly to where you land EXACTLY on the top of your head. The OSHA rules for requiring fall protection for any activity over waist height are written in blood ya'll... and no I'm not afraid of heights BTW.Sorry back on track...So... step one get a GOOD extension pole. The aluminum 24ft one lowes/HD sells is ok... but I kind of wish I had spent the extra $20 on the 24 footer sold on here that some exterminator bragged about scraping wasp nests off of 2nd story soffits... The aluminum pole sold by Unger isn't bad, but not exactly something I'd put a scraper on.That being said... this little rake solved one of my Dad's biggest headaches for the last 30 years in minutes WITHOUT A LADDER! We have a weird valley on part of the roof that collects live oak sticks, leaves, and oak-lettes. This all mats up into about 15-20 feet of compacted crud that requires physical removal... So our solution for the last 30 years was to either A) get on the roof 2-3 times a year and blast it from the top or B) drive the dogs and my mom nuts while my Dad stands on a ladder in the flower bed using a normal rake like a hammer until he gives up. He somehow manages to take an hour or two to clean out the valley... and that's just too much ladder time for a late 60s computer programmer...Snipped the zip ties off this little rake's packaging, screwed it on, and he dragged every last bit of the crud off the roof faster than I could put up the snips I used to cut the zip ties. Literally took seconds, no barking dogs, no angry Mom, and best part was... I instantly realized the angles were correct to totally eliminate the need for a ladder, showed my Dad, and then we both realized that without the ladder in the way we could put a garbage can where the ladder used to go... Best part on top of all that was the fact that there weren't little scratches all over the roof.Don't forget, this tool can go on any broom handle style pole... Everything from an 18in window squeegee handle to a 30ft extension pole... I have since played around with it and not found a single stick in any of our mature trees that was too hung up for it to knock loose (although I wouldn't recommend it for that due to it's lightweight nature). This this is perfect for removal of sticks and leaves from rooftops and with that 24ft pole I can literally get 80% of the roof from the ground on their single story house with a steep pitch roof.Today I'm going to use it for it's actual intended purpose of gutter cleaning... and honestly I couldn't care less if it works for that or not because it's been so useful for other previously hazardous jobs that it's a keeper in my book already. I'm sure it will work fine for gutters... but personally I just use a 14 gallon shop vac setup to blow, 20ft hose, and a gutter blower kit to blast it all out, but it's genuinely gross unless it hasn't rained in a few weeks... sticks are the only thing that slow down that process, and I have no doubts this rake will solve any stick problems.BTW... get the Amerimax metal mesh gutter covers. Take your time to fit them properly... just the black diamond mesh 1/8in screen covers. They used to be $5ish per piece but HD now has them for about $3.50 which is a steal IMO. Two cheap harbor freight matching 18in flat pry bars and a set of aviation snips are all you need for installation... but if you want them perfect you'll end up building a couple of simple bending jigs like I did. The test section of the house I did was spotless and this rake handled any twigs that were struck in them without an issue.BTW... roof gravel/ grit is extremely hard material... it easily scratches glass table tops and vehicles. DO NOT BLOW/WIPE/BRUSH roof grit... Use the hose and rinse it off using volume and not pressure. Just trust me... unless you want to invest in glass polishing equipment like I was forced to do.So in summary: buy two... I just ordered another one. They're supposed to be lightweight, and I'm sure they'll eventually break because at some point I'll carry on the family tradition and use it as a hammer like God intended, but I dont care... They're still cheaper than an ambulance ride and or a funeral.

A little bit flimsy, but you probably won't find this kind of item at your local store. Also, a bit expensive, but again it's a hard item to find.

I may have been more hopeful than something this simple deserved, but with physical issues climbing ladders and unsafe areas I couldn't even set a ladder, I wanted something from the ground I could use to scrape out gutter debris. This tools seemed like a good idea, but only in theory. Setting the correct angle to attack the gutter from isn't a problem, and with the geared "teeth" on the mating angle plastics, once you tighten the angle you want together it can't spin, which is a thoughtful design. But, less than 8 inches from those INTERLOCKING "teeth" is where the plastic meets the pole (extension pole not provided) and this connection doesn't have anthing that locks it in place. So, as soon as you push the rake end against anything the entire tool unscrews from the pole. How'd that get overlooked? Addirional issues: The rake's tines are small with no real way to scoop debris from the gutter, it's wide enough that it gets hung up on the sides of the inside edges of the gutter EVERY SINGLE TIME, and getting debris around and under the actual gutter brackets inside the gutter is nearly impossible. After 20-30 minutes fighting the tool getting stuck in the gutter, stuck under the gutter brackets, or the tool unscrewing itself from the end of the extension pole and not EVEN close to having cleaned 5' of gutter I gave up; shoulders and neck on fire, and have no plans to try using this again.

We have first story gutters that are next to a large magnolia tree that sheds leaves into it. I bought a paint extention pole to use this to reach up and try to clean out the gutters with help. I did a decent job pushing out leaves, but it was constantly snagging the supports for the gutters, and felt like any effort to free it would break it into pieces. I had a partner to help me free it, but alone, this would not have worked. We have virginia creeper in one gutter, and it refused to unsnag it and bent under the effort to get it free, so I am going to end up on a ladder or hiring someone to remove it, which defeats the point of this tool. If someone were to make a metal rake like this, it would be a much better tool.

With this tool I was able to get 30 foot up to get the trees out of my gutter, see photo.I used it with these tools also available on Amazon. 1) 7.2-30 Telescopic Extension Pole, FT Multi-Purpose Aluminum Alloy Telescoping Rod with Flip-Lock Design 2) Multi-Angle Gutter Cleaning Tools from the Ground - Gutter Cleaner tool attachment for Threaded Poles. 3) Gutter Cleaning Tools, Cleaning Roof Leaf Tools, Leaf Cleaning Tool,. See the photo of what came out, this was one clump at a time.

Great idea if it worked. Needs some redesigning, tines are not long enough and it is very wobbly. Great customer service though. I returned it very easily.

First off I do not use the EZ Smart Mini Rake head for actually removing debris from my gutters. I use it to rake debris from my roof into my gutters then I remove it from my gutters using the GutterWhiz which I purchased from Amazon. The EZ Smart supports my cleaning process in three ways. First the raking of debris (leaves and pine needles) from high up on my steeply pitched roof. Second the way the EZ smart articulates allows me to rake behind and around roof obstructions such as vent pipes and roof vents. Third my roof has areas where different roof pitches meet creating valleys that attract leaves and pine needles. The size of the EZ Smart and articulating capability allows me to get into these valleys and rake the debris out. The EZ Smart's standard fitting screws on securely to my standard aluminum expandable pool cleaning pole and additionally has a knob you tighten down to keep is from twisting and coming loose (nice feature). Anyway fits my needs perfectly and I would buy again.