Cleaning gutters is an important part of your homes maintenance. It ensures that the rainwater is correctly directed from the homes foundation, as well as removing any extra weight that may be built up from debris.
You probably know how the serious damage your gutters can cause if they are left unattended. The damage to your home can be costly. You want to be sure that you are doing everything in your power to ensure your gutters are maintained and doing their job instead of destroying your home.
You want to create a cleaning schedule for your gutters, but you aren’t sure what it should look like. You don’t know how often you should have your gutters cleaned, if you should do it yourself, or if you should hire a professional to clean your gutters. There are a lot of factors to consider and we’ve got you covered to help you decide when and how to clean your gutters.
Unfortunately, many homeowners rarely, if ever, have their gutters cleaned. This can lead to the gutters becoming clogged with debris from trees and other natural sources and even small particles that come off of the shingles. If the gutters become clogged, when it rains, the water is not correctly channeled and can run over the edges and right down into the foundation. This can cause serious and costly damage to your foundation and your home overall. Furthermore, clogged gutters also lead to many pounds of detritus building up and potentially pulling the gutters away from the home, causing you to have to replace your gutters all together.
Believe it or not, there is not a one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to having your gutters cleaned. There are many factors that determine how often and when you should have your gutters cleaned.
Unbeknownst to many, the types of trees you have in your yard and how close they are to your home can have a significant impact on how often you clean your gutters. For instance, if you have pine trees in your yard, which shed their needles frequently throughout the year, you will most likely need to have your gutters cleaned every three months.
Cleaning your gutters more frequently will prevent leaves and twigs from building up in your gutters and prevent clogs.
Take a look at the trees in your yard. Are they close to your home and gutters? If they are, it is a good idea to have the trees removed or invest in gutter guards to prevent the build up of twigs and leaves. Not only can these twigs and leaves cause clogs that cause the gutters to leak over the edge, they can also be a fire hazard in the summer. You will definitely want to maintain your gutters more frequently if you have trees near the home and gutters.
While this is similar to tree placement, there are several factors to consider when thinking about the location of your home. Is your home in the city or the country? Are there lots of squirrels, birds, and other wild animals around, or are they scarce?
The more plants and trees you have around you, the more likely you have for debris to get clogged in your gutters. Of course, this doesn’t mean there won’t be any debris in your gutters if you live in the city; it just means you are likely to have less and require less maintenance to your gutters.
The type of weather you have can affect how often you need to have your gutters cleaned. For example, after a heavy snow or ice storm, your gutters will need to be cleaned to remove any water. Ice can cause a lot of problems for gutters, putting weight on them quickly and can even lead to them separating from the home. Not to mention that snow storms and ice storms break off twigs and branches that will get in your gutters.
For most homes, two professional cleanings per year will keep the gutters clean and clear from stoppages. One of these should be done in the spring and the other in late fall. If you have pine or maple trees, you should have them cleaned more frequently (we recommend every 3 months) as the needles from the pines and the seeds (helicopters) will fall at different times throughout the year and can become an issue.
This is a tricky question. Most people want to do it themselves to save some money; however, that is not always the best option. Gutters can easily be damaged during the cleaning process if proper precautions are not taken. For example, you should not lean a ladder directly against a gutter. Gutters are not designed to hold the weight and putting a ladder on them may quickly cause serious damage and injury.
Professional gutter cleaners, like M&M Gutter Services, can clean your gutters safely and efficiently. We create contracts with homeowners to clean the gutters periodically and to check downspouts and check for leads and decay while we are cleaning the gutters.
Routine gutter cleaning is essential to your home maintenance and can keep your home in top shape. If you live in a heavily wooded area or an area with large amounts of debris, gutter guards may be a good option for you. Typically, we recommend having your gutters cleaned twice per year, but some circumstances require more frequent cleanings.
