Cleaning your gutters can be a difficult task because it involves getting on a ladder and scooping endless debris from them. This is a vital part of home maintenance in order to make sure that rain water doesn’t collect and overflow, causing foundation and mold issues down the road. If you’re having a difficult time keeping your gutters clear of debris like leaves and twigs, here are three solutions that can help you preserve your home.
What Happens If You Don’t Clean Your Gutters?
The reason gutters are installed is so they can collect any rainwater that might otherwise settle on your home and carry it away from vulnerable areas, such as the foundation. Without clean gutters, this water can impact several parts of your home, such as the boards behind your gutters that help support your roof, the shingles of your roof, and even the foundation of your home. These can increase your risk of developing mold, leaking in your home, and even the need for an entirely new roof, which costs thousands.
How Often Should You Clean Your Gutters?
Typically, professionals recommend that you clean your gutters at least twice each year, once in spring and fall. If you notice that leaves are collecting, it definitely never hurts to clean them more often. It’s also not a bad idea to routinely inspect your gutters after storms to make sure that no branches or twigs are cluttering them.
3 Easy Ways to Keep Your Gutters Clean
Keeping your gutters clean is an essential task for homeowners that often gets overlooked because of how inaccessible they are. In these cases, it’s a good idea to have some easy gutter cleaning practices in your back pocket to reduce your risk of roof damage.
Get Special Gutter-Cleaning Tools
To make the task of cleaning gutters a little easier, you can always get special tools to help out. When you go to your local home store, you can purchase special gutter scoops, shop vac attachments, extensions for leaf blowers, and other tools. The drawbacks to these gadgets are that, depending on the severity of your debris buildup, they aren’t always tough enough to tackle the job. That means that you’ll need to take a gamble on how you’re spending your money.
Hire Someone to Clean Your Gutters
If you’re not particularly a fan of getting on a ladder, hiring someone to clean your gutters for you will help you avoid needing to be lifted off the ground. It’s important to hire gutter cleaners that you can trust to do a thorough and good job. Additionally, because they’ll need to be cleaned at least twice a year, it may become costly.
Have Gutter Guards Installed
If you want an investment that will continue to benefit your home for years to come, consider getting gutter guards installed. These fit over the area where debris would collect to shield them from falling into the gutter system and clogging it, meaning the only thing that will be travelling through your gutters is rain water.
If you’re not fond of the idea of cleaning your gutters out routinely but understand the importance of the task, your best bet is to look into long-lasting gutter protection systems like mesh guards. These will protect your home and provide your gutters with the protection they need to work efficiently and effectively to redirect water away from your home and prevent damage.
About the Author
At Platinum Gutters, we provide installation, repair, and replacement services to make sure that your gutters stay functioning and continue protecting your home for years to come. We’re a family-owned and local company who takes pride in offering the highest-quality of gutter services. We also offer affordable, zero percent financing with approved credit for homeowners. For questions or to schedule free estimate, visit our website or call 817-380-4404.