Rain gutters are necessary to keep water away from your house, but they must be free of leaves, dirt, and debris to function correctly.
Why do you need to be cleaning gutters?
As a homeowner, keeping your gutters clean is essential because clogged gutters pose many potential problems.
✅Water damage
✅Flooded basement
✅Mold and mildew
✅Structural and foundation damage
✅Insect and animal infestation
When gutters aren’t regularly cleaned, they fill up with leaves and other debris. Then, when it rains, the water collects in them and has nowhere to go. It can make its way inside the house, causing severe damage to sheetrock and walls.
Photo Credit: Eric Schmuttenmaer | Flickr \ CC BY-SA 2.0
This excess moisture in your home can trigger mold and mildew growth within the walls and under flooring, which attracts insects and mice. Over time, the water can bring about serious issues like a cracked foundation or rotted, cracked studs in the walls.
When your gutters are filled with leaves and water, they add significant weight and unneeded pressure to the roof. This excess weight and pressure may cause premature damage and can start wearing down your roof.
All of these problems pose potential dangers and can quickly turn into costly repairs, especially if you are dealing with multiple issues at a time. Hence, cleaning gutters can prevent problems and save time and money in the long run.
How often should you clean gutters?
At a minimum, you should be cleaning gutters at least twice a year. However, there are a few factors that can impact the recommendation. Sometimes, you should clean them every three to four months.
What kind of trees are in your yard?
Some trees aren’t much of an issue because they don’t drop many leaves or debris. But others drop heavy amounts of leaves, seeds, or whirlybirds throughout the year. Pine trees shed needles like crazy and can fill your gutters with pine cones.
What is the weather like in your area?
You’re lucky in many ways if you live someplace without frequent storms. However, storms will prematurely bring leaves out of trees, knocking loose twigs and branches loose. So, you may find your gutters clog more frequently and need to be cleaned more often.
What is the climate like where you live?
Lastly, the type of climate you’re in impacts how often you clean your gutters. If you live someplace wet and windy, your gutters will fill with leaves and clog quicker than somewhere hot and arid.
What time of year should you clean gutters?
Most experts agree that spring and fall are the best times for cleaning gutters.
- An early spring cleaning clears out the leaves and debris built up over the winter, ensuring spring rains flow freely into the downspouts.
- A fall cleaning removes crisp, dry leaves before winter snow and rain come along, making them a soggy mess.
How to clean your gutters
Cleaning gutters is a pretty straightforward process. You can buy a unique gutter scoop for the task, but it isn’t necessary. You can easily clean them with your hands or a garden trowel.
Step 1: Climb the Ladder and Scoop Out Leaves and Debris
Starting at one end of the roof, place the ladder securely so you can reach the gutter without straining or leaning. With gloves on, use the hand trowel to scoop everything from the gutter you can safely reach, dropping the debris onto the ground.
Step 2: Slide the Ladder Over and Repeat
Move the ladder a few feet over and repeat on the next dirty stretch of the gutter. Repeat the process until the entire gutter is clear of leaves and debris.
Step 3: Flush Out the Gutter
Use your garden hose to flush out the gutter, directing the stream of water toward the downspout.
Step 4: Rake the Debris
Put the ladder away and rake up all the debris you pulled from the gutter, putting it into your compost pile or bagging it in garbage bags.
Benefits of hiring a professional gutter cleaning service
Gutter cleaning is one of those chores that seems easy but is also something worth paying someone else to do. There are many advantages to hiring a professional service, and that’s why 855-RILAWNS offers professional gutter cleaning.
- Being up on a ladder poses a safety hazard. Turning the job over to someone trained to work on a ladder is much safer.
- Professional services often have teams of experienced gutter cleaners trained to do the job right. You’ll get a quality service.
- A professional team sets up a time that works best for your schedule and frees up your weekend or evenings to do the things you enjoy.
855-RILAWNS can help!
If you are interested in hiring us to clean your gutters, contact us to get a quote or connect with us on Facebook. With our gutter cleaning services, you can rest assured that your gutters will stay clean, open and functioning well, so that runoff from rain flows away from your house.
The service area of our skilled RI Landscapers includes South Kingstown, Narragansett, Charlestown, Exeter, North Kingstown, Warwick, West Warwick, Jamestown, Richmond, Providence, East Providence, South Kingstown, and East Greenwich.
