Last Gadget Standing: Looj at Work

The adult workload is split fairly evening at our house. My husband does more laundry than I do many a week. Sure, I do more of the cooking and carpooling since I work from home, but he knows when we're low on milk, and it magically appears when needed with him as he walks in the door from work.

But I have never climbed a ladder to clean a gutter. He has. So when it came time to test iRobot's Looj, I knew who should take a close look. And he did, despite cold temps and some residual ice on the ground and in the gutters. Alas, the Looj could not go very far in our gutters because of metal supports that blocked its way, probably because of an icy layer at the bottom of the gutters.

When the Looj has a clear path, it appears to do what it says it will do: clean gutters of leaves and debris while cutting down on the number of times someone has to move and climb a ladder to get the tedious job done. It performed well during a demo I witnessed when the Looj was unveiled earlier this year. And it will be on display again at CES, where it will compete as one of Yahoo! Tech's Last Gadget Standing finalists.

My husband's take is that conditions have to be pretty darn good for the Looj to work well: lots of loose leaves, but no thick layer of gunk or decomposing leaves. The company concurs: "Looj will clean dry and wet leaves, pine needles, pine cones and other debris typically found in a gutter. Looj will not clean hardened dry mud or sediment that is stuck to the bottom of the gutter, nor will it clean small trees or large sticks that may be in your gutter." It will not work on gutters with overhanging gutter guards.

Obviously, the best time to use the Looj is in the fall and spring and not December in New Jersey. But iRobot's Nancy Dussault Smith says it is waterproof in up to one foot of water.

Because all gutters are not created equally, Smith notes that iRobot offers a template on its web site to cut out and measure your gutter before investing time and money in the Looj. Gutter straps/supports must be at least 2 1/4 inches high off the bottom of the gutter. Gutters must be at least 3 1/4 inches wide for the Looj to fit.

Here's how it works: The Looj handle/remote hooks into a belt clip, so you can safely climb a ladder with it. After detaching the handle, place it in the gutter and, using the remote, direct it to go forward or backward on its tread. You can spin the auger at the front of the Looj to shoot the debris away from the house.

The rechargeable battery works for between 30 and 45 minutes, and it takes 15 hours to charge, iRobot says. In ideal conditions, it can cut down on ladder trips for diehard do-it-yourself gutter cleaners or cut down on bills for those who pay for the service and want to try it themselves. The cost: $99 or $129 with a holster and belt accessory.