Why Is It Important to Keep Your Gutters Clean and Maintained?

The author Jim Watkins once quoted, “A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.” Similarly, rainwater causes long term effects to your home over time if the water is not controlled and dispersed properly. Gutters are a necessity in order to keep your home safe from the many undesired consequences that rainwater will cause. However, if your gutters are not maintained and cleaned properly, like anything else that is neglected, it can become an absolute nightmare and can cause many problems.

When to Get Your Gutters Cleaned

In order for a gutter system to work properly, it must be free of all debris, leaves, pine needles, shingle granules and dirt. Believe it or not, sometimes trees and plants are growing out of those things as well! That is a tell-tale sign when it has been majorly neglected! If you have not had your gutters cleaned in over a year, chances are they are full of debris and causing problems to the efficient operation of your gutter system.

Reasons to Keep Gutters Clean and Maintained

When your gutters are full of debris, it blocks the water from flowing down the downspouts. With water weighing just over 8 lbs a gallon you can just imagine how weighed down the gutters can become with nowhere to escape. Moisture is also being trapped at the roof line, which can result in mold and mildew growth. The wood of your roof will rot due to a decay fungi, which needs a moisture content to be between 20 and 30 percent in order to survive. A gutter full of wet, decaying leaves and trapped water breeds a perfect condition to cause roof leaks at the baseline of the roof and fascia boards to rot. With the gutter being full it will also cause the water to overflow and possibly run down the soffit, walls, and baseline of the foundation. This can result in thousands of dollars in unnecessary damage.

Gutter Cleaning Maintenance

The best solution is to have your gutters cleaned on a routine schedule between 1 to 4 times a year, depending on how many trees you have and the conditions that are present. If you have no trees whatsoever, it would be safe to do a gutter cleaning once every 2 years as dirt and debris will still build up over time. It is imperative to have your gutters cleaned on a set schedule, because if you’re anything like me, you will forget!

Possibility of an Injury

Every year approximately 500,000 people nationwide injure themselves in a ladder-related injury. It is not a good idea to clean the gutters yourself or have “Neighbor Joe” or a good buddy try it for you. A Professional Gutter Cleaner is trained and more experienced. If a person gets hurt performing a job on your home without the right insurance coverage, you will be held responsible for that injury that occurs on your property. It is highly recommended to hire a company that has workers compensation and is fully insured in case the worst was to occur.

 

POSTED ON September 14, 2016 // 0 COMMENTS