Gutter Cleaning Is An Important Part Of Home Ownership
Gutter cleaning may seem like a boring task, but it's more important than you might think, especially if your gutters fill up with a lot of leaves in the fall. If you hate the thought of climbing up a ladder to dig out wet clumps of moldy leaves, then consider hiring a gutter cleaning company to make sure the job gets done. Here's why this home maintenance task is so important and an overview of what's involved.
Gutter Cleaning Could Prevent Roof Damage
Keeping leaves out of your gutters is important because if water can't drain away from your roof, it can back up under the shingles and cause your roof to rot. That creates an expensive repair job you could have avoided. It's important to keep your gutters clear all year, but it's especially important to clean your gutters before winter arrives.
Late fall is when your gutters are probably at their worst when it comes to being packed with leaves. By cleaning the leaves out, water will be able to drain away from your roof when the snow melts or when it rains. This could help prevent an ice dam that damages your roof.
Gutter Cleaning Involves Cleaning And Inspecting
There are various tools available to assist with gutter cleaning, but digging old leaves out with gloved hands is still one of the best ways to clear a gutter trough. A cleaning service can do this without making a leafy mess along your foundation. Once the leaves are out of the way, the gutters can be rinsed so the downspout can be checked for clogs.
Testing the downspout involves running water through it to make sure water comes out the end at the same rate it goes in at the top of the downspout. If a clog is present, the gutter cleaning professional may poke a long tool in the downspout to break up the clog so it can wash through.
Running water through the troughs can also help check for proper slope and drainage. It's important that the trough is sloped properly or rain will sit in the gutters rather than flow away. Besides checking drainage, the service might also check the fascia, soffit, and roof edge to see if there are any signs of rot.
These areas of the roof are prone to rotting when your gutters don't drain properly. They should be repaired if needed or bugs may be attracted to your roof or animals may gnaw through the rotted areas. Gutter cleaning usually goes pretty fast unless the cleaning service finds a problem. If you can't clean your gutters yourself, then hiring someone to do it for you is a good idea so your home stays dry and protected.
Contact a local gutter cleaning company for more information.