You may not have thought much about your gutters lately, but now that the fall season is quickly approaching, it’s the best time to get up there and clean out your gutters. Cleaning your gutters helps keep them in working order and prevent clogs, draining issues, and other potentially serious damages. Gutters with years of debris piled up can accelerate the formation of rust, creating unsafe and unstable gutters. It also greatly increases the risk of water damage to your roof, siding, and basement. Here are the top 3 reasons why you need to keep your gutters clean.
Water Damage
Your gutters are one play an important role in protecting your home. They’re one of the most underrated barriers against water damage that your home has. Gutters are designed to reroute water and keep it away from your roof, siding, and foundation - the three areas that are the most devastating when damaged by water. Keeping your gutters clean and properly maintained is both beneficial and crucial to protect your home.
Leaving your gutters clogged with leaves, twigs, and debris leaves your home open to the destructive nature of water. Without clean, open gutters to guide the water away from your home, you’ll most likely start finding damp spots on your ceiling, walls, and in your basement. If left unchecked, this dampening will become worse, resulting in mold and mildew. You’ll most likely end up having to replace your roof and siding or have your foundation repaired sooner than if your gutters had been properly maintained.
Insect and Animal Nesting
Where there’s dampness and cover, there are insects. By not cleaning out your gutters, you run the risk of inviting insects and small animals to make a home there. Many homeowners have found different types of insects and small animals living in their gutters. From birds to roaches, carpenter ants to rodents, many types of creatures can make their homes in your debris-filled gutters. Aside from the dangers of having insects and animals living so closely to your home (and most likely finding a way into your home), having all that weight on your gutters is not a good idea. Letting leaves and debris build up is usually enough to crack and damage your gutters, but having living creatures in your gutters adds even more weight. The more weight on your gutters, the higher the risk of having your gutters fall off and possibly taking some of your siding with them.
Ugly Home
While keeping your gutters clean is essential to the protection of your home, it is also beneficial to the look of your home. There’s a huge difference between a home with properly maintained gutters and a home with clogged and dirty gutters. By not giving your gutters the attention they need, the beauty of your home can suffer. You might end up with chipped paint, rusty gutters, damaged shingles, cracked siding, and many other deformities. By simply cleaning your gutters twice a year, you not only benefit the structure of your house, but you keep it looking beautiful.
When to Hire a Professional
Most homeowners who clean their own gutters choose to do so because it saves them money. Very few of them actually enjoy the time-consuming, laborious task. Many homeowners will do extensive research on how to properly and safely clean their own gutters. However, if you have any doubt in your ability to safely and completely clean your gutters, hire a gutter professional. With ¼ million emergency room visits per year, ladder-related falls and injuries are, unfortunately, a common occurrance. If you’re not sure of how to properly clean your gutters, you could risk injuring yourself or worse. Always hire a professional if you’re not sure you can properly and safely clean out your gutters.
