Late last fall, I had my gutters cleaned by a local company. They appeared to be somewhat efficient. A few days ago we had a ton of rain. The rain actually poured over the gutters which tells me the gutters are blocked again and/or the downspouts are blocked.

Today, I took a powerful hose and nozzle and shoved it up the downspout from ground level. A ton of debris came out which told me this was probably the reason for the backup. After doing that for about 30 minutes, I sprayed water on to the roof to see if that indeed was the entire fix. Seems not,
as water poured over the gutters just like before. I am thinking that the blockage is high up in the downspout near the second story roofline.

Is there any way to clean that out with a something more efficient than a hose and a spray nozzle from ground level or, does somebody need to go up on the roof again and attack this from the top?

 

There is no substitute for getting up close to see just what is going on. If there is a plug in the downspout sometimes you can work it loose with water along with beating [lightly] on the downspout in the neighborhood of where the stoppage is.

Gutter screens might be a good option for you once you get it working again. A lot depends on what type of leaves/debris gets on your roof.

 

It's usually pretty easy to get on a ladder and unscrew the elbows below the gutter and dump them out. That's usually where the blockage is.

 

Looking back, we a simply a zillion, trillion "helicopters" from the maple trees this spring. So much so that the lawns were almost brown. That's my guess.

 

So I take it you must not have any type of covers on the gutters?

Lots of posts for that, being in MI also, lots of pine needles, maple and oak leaves.

Over the years Ive tried everything, take a look at gutter stuff, so far it's the best, easiest to install and most efficient!

 

You surly need some type of gutter guard. Regardless of what type you get you will need to do a periodic type of cleaning, which means getting out the ladder and physically getting your hands dirty.
Nearby trees are nice to help keep things cool in the summer and look nice, but you have price to pay. For me I'd rather put that same time and money into an A/C system and not bother with trees near a house.