Mini Rake, Great for Removing Leaves and Branches from Roofs, gutters and Other Out-of-Reach Areas Where Debris accumulates.

This took it's sweet time coming to me, but I was aware of when due for delivery etc. I was looking for something telescopic, to rake leaves from in-between a fence & a building (no one can fit between). Alas, the telescopic part is not there. Apart from that, the plastic is very sturdy & it does not open up, so the width is the width. It does have prongs on both sides, so when I do get the telescopic handle & try it out, I won't have to make sure I use the right side, as both sides do.

NOT good for the money

I glanced at the reviews, but decided to buy it anyway, since this tool is quite unique and can't be found elsewhere. I was hoping it would work, but the reviews were right: the rake is not sturdy, the joints do not lock and it's not possible to arrange it in a matter you could easily clean the gutter with it. Also, I bought the pole from the same company since it's sold separately but... it's not compatible! The pole has a "screw" ending but the rake's end is smooth with a screw to secure it to a smooth ending pole. Returned the item for a refund. Conclusion: DO NOT BUY!

arrived today. absolute rubbish. flimsy plastic not up to the task it was made for. about strong as disposable picnic forks

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.

Cannot be used in conjunction with hose so cannot wash leaves towards the drain. As we live in a leafy area it is not suitable for us.

It looks like a good idea but it doesn't work! First, the sweep head it too wide to fit into the gutter. When you consider that, for most of us, the shingles overlap into the gutter, there isn't a lot room left. I had to cut off the outer two tines to make it fit. Second, I can't see a way to extract the leaves. All I could do was to push them toward the downspout outlet. Then what do you do if there's no way to remove them? There's got to be something better.