Maintaining the exterior of your home can be a time consuming job, especially during the fall and winter months. Trees are going to shed their leaves, acorns, and branches at a pretty rapid rate, which can accumulate into large piles of debris on the roof and all around your home. The gutters are designed to help keep the water and the piles of leaves away from your home’s roof. However, for the gutters to work like they are supposed to, they will have to be cleaned and inspected regularly.
Why is it so Important to Clean Your Gutters?
Cleaning the exterior of your gutters is important because the gutters protect your roof from all types of water damage. If trash, sticks, leaves and other debris make their way into the gutters, then they may get clogged and no longer work properly. If damage to the roof does occur, it can cost quite a bit to have repaired – much more than what you would pay to have your gutters cleaned. If the gutters are left unchecked, they can become breeding grounds for small pests, such as mice and bees, which may also clog the gutters and become a source of danger for homeowners.
What Steps should be Taken?
If you haven’t ever checked your gutters in the past, the first step to clean them is to find out where they are. The gutters are the structures that extend from the roof’s edge to capture water run-off and any leaves. You can use a ladder to look inside of the gutters and determine the amount of accumulation that has occurred and determine the potential damage that may have occurred. The next step is to determine whether or not you can clean the gutters yourself, or if you need to call a professional for help.
Should You Clean Gutters on Your Own?
The decision of if you should handle gutter maintenance and cleaning on your own is one you have to make for yourself. In some cases, this can be a dangerous task, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. In most cases, if you have never done this before, you may only be able to partially clean the gutters and you may miss the clogs or other issues that a professional would be able to find.
If you make the decision to clean the gutters on your own, you should remember that you will need a ladder, that lets you reach them, and someone to help and hold the ladder steady. Make sure that you only clean out the gutters when everything is completely dry and it has not recently rained. While you can inspect your gutters on your own, it is still a good idea to have a professional inspect them one or two times a year. This will ensure there are no issues that you haven’t noticed.
