More often than not, people ignore their gutters. Gutters are an important part of your home, performing the crucial duty of protecting it. Clogged gutters can give rise to numerous issues, like water damage and leaky roofs. They are also a good breeding ground for unwanted guests like mould, pests, and rodents. All these factors make gutter cleaning an important and indispensable part of taking care of your home.
Gutter Cleaning
The process of gutter cleaning involves removing any dirt, leaves, and debris that may have clogged your downspouts and gutters. All this clogging will hinder the easy flow of rainwater to the earth.
Need for gutter cleaning
Gutters need to be clean and clog-free to work efficiently. Clean and clog-free gutters have several benefits, like:
- Redirect rainwater away from the home.
- Minimise condensation and moisture from window sills and windows.
- Keep water off the foundation and away from the basement.
- Protect the interior and exterior walls from rain.
Keeping your gutters clean is an essential component of protecting your home. Some advantages of regularly cleaning your gutters include:
Avert water damage
Gutters should be cleaned at least twice a year to avert serious water damage that can damage your home. When gutters are not properly maintained, your home can incur water damage on the inside and outside.
Whenever there is excess water in the gutter, it will flow through the cracks and crevices of your home. When this phenomenon continues for a long time, it can lead to serious and extensive water damage. This will show up as ugly stains on your ceilings and walls.
Minimise the chances of a damaged foundation
Your gutter plays an important role in preserving the foundation of your home. If it is not maintained properly, rainwater can pool around the foundation, causing cracks and damage. This can create a huge monetary burden for homeowners.
Clean gutters keep melting snow and rainwater away from the house by diverting them and preventing them from leaking into the cracks and crevices of the house. This means that the water will not pool around the foundation, thereby protecting it from damage.
Pooling water and erosion will cause substantial damage to the foundation of your home over the years. A damaged foundation can lead to wall cracks and uneven floors, affecting the overall health of your home. These issues can prove more costly as time goes on.
Chase away pests
Rodents and pests love clogged gutters. A pest infestation can cause a variety of health problems for your family, including allergic reactions, asthma, bites, and food contamination diseases. Postponing cleaning your gutters can cause this rodent issue to become extensive, leading to serious issues incurring high costs.
Protects the roof
Clogged gutters will lead to water remaining stagnant on the roof and then slowly leaking through the roof. These water leaks can cause your roof to rot and damage the interior of your home.
Avert fascia damage
When your gutters get clogged, they will be holding the entire weight of water and the debris for long periods of time. This can cause structural damage to the gutter and roofing system. The gutter might even break away from the fascia.
Safeguard garden beds
Garden beds take a lot of time and energy to maintain. You do not want to ruin them by forgetting to clean your gutters. An overflowing gutter may direct large amounts of water onto your garden bed and kill plants by overwatering them.
Enhance curb appeal
Well-maintained and clean gutters will make your home look beautiful and well-kept. If you clean your gutters regularly, your house will not have wall stains, saggy gutters, and a gloomy garden. This will become beneficial, especially when you are trying to sell the house.
Avert ice dams
People living in cold climates are familiar with this issue. An ice dam is a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof and prevents melting snow from draining off the roof due to clogged gutters. They can tear off gutters, slacken shingles, and cause water to back up and pour into your house. All of these can cause huge amounts of repair and monetary losses.
Avert basement flooding
Water pooling near the foundation can leak and collect in the basement, causing basement flooding. The gutters should be clog-free and clean to avoid this.
Increase gutter life
Clogged gutters get easily damaged due to increased weight, corrosion, and rust. This can detrimentally affect the life of the gutters.
How should you clean the gutters?
Gutters can be easily cleaned by homeowners. Make sure you have all the necessary tools and equipment like a ladder, dust masks, hand trowel, spray nozzle, rubber gloves, goggles, tarp, and standoff stabiliser. Wear rubber gloves, work pants, and a long-sleeved shirt before you start the cleaning work. Make sure that the ladder is sturdy and extendable. Place it on a solid surface to avoid an accidental fall. You can also use a ladder stabiliser for extra safety. It is also advisable to have someone help you while cleaning.
Use a scoop or trowel to clean out the leaves and dirt that have accumulated in the gutter. Gutter scoops and even cleaning robots are available to make the job easier. Collect the gunk from the gutters on a tarp to avoid damage to the landscaping. After the debris is removed, clean the downspouts by using a garden hose. Look for any structural damage and repair them too. You can also hire a professional to get your gutters cleaned perfectly.
Gutter cleaning gold coast is an easy and important task to keep your home healthy and safe. Investing some time in cleaning the gutters will help you a lot in the long run.