Keeping your gutters clean
Cleaning your gutters is probably not on the “Top Ten Most Fun Things To Do List”, but is necessary in maintaining your home. Best case scenario, this task can be done twice a year, in Spring and Fall. When it comes to cleaning your gutters, you have two choices: take it on yourself or have it done professionally.
Why? When you look at your house, you may not realize how important your rain gutters are. Yes, obviously they direct rain away from your house. But did you stop to think about why that is important? Water and moisture, if allowed to collect around your house can do some very costly damage. Mold, mildew, leaking and damage to your foundation are all things that can occur if your gutters aren’t working properly. Cleaning your gutters on a regular basis can alleviate these potentially costly home repairs. Wind, rain, snow and foliage can all play a part in clogging your gutters. When gutters are clogged, they can overflow, causing the problems mentioned above.
How? While there are companies that do clean gutters, you can do this yourself. The way you can do this is to insert your hose into the downspout of the gutter. You may need to stuff rags in the opening so that the water will be forced upward. The water’s force will unclog the elbows and gutter of the debris that was collecting. This sounds simple but definitely can be messy and somewhat of a headache. You can alleviate your headache and maintain your sanity by hiring a professional to do it.
Strainers and Guards-Are they worth it? If you’ve done any research on rain gutters, you’ve probably noticed that there are some gutter-cleaning accessories available in stores and online. Strainers and gutter guards were designed to keep your gutters clean and free of debris. They sound like a great idea; something to keep your gutters clean so that when you go to clean your gutters out, there is potentially less work involved. Where that may be true, strainers and guards, which are usually wire or mesh, can also keep water out of your gutters, which can effect the drainage of your system. Strainers and guards do work under certain situations however seek a professional's opinion to see if they are right for your architecture.