Save Your House’s Foundation With Regular Gutter Cleaning
Installing a gutter not only keeps your landscaping protected, but also ensures safety to your property’s foundation. But when they get filled with sticks, debris, leaves and dirt, they get clogged and the water creeps under your roof and reaches your foundation. Ice dams are also caused due to clogged gutters in the winters. If you do not take proactive steps for gutter cleaning, you may cause some really serious damage to your house. That’s why it is important to clean your gutters every year during the fall, especially if there are many over-hanging trees in your vicinity.
Signs of Clogged Gutters
Soil erosion can kill your plants due to excess moisture. If your house’s basement is flooded or if there is rot in your siding, then you can take it as a sign of clogged gutters. If your roof is leaking, then also your gutters may be calling for a clean-up. Water accumulated in the gutter along your roofline may back up under the shingles, due to which you may find water damage in the ceiling and leakage in the attic. If you do not do gutter cleaning immediately, your property will get severely damaged due to mould and you will have to spend huge amounts on repairs down the line.
How Frequently Gutter Cleaning Should be Done?
Usually, gutters should be cleaned at least once a year, especially in the fall or winters when there are maximum number of leaves falling from the trees. However, you may have to increase the frequency if you are living in a storm prone area or if there are too many over-hanging trees in your garden or neighbourhood. Also keep a check on your gutters and their downspouts. If they are full, if your downspouts have stopped flowing, or if you can see debris in the lips of your gutters, it’s time to clean them out.
What Tools are Required for Gutter Cleaning?
Ideally, the job can be done with a leaf blower, a garden hose end attachment, and a ladder. Protect your hands with a pair of gloves. Lean ladder is better than the folding ladder to protect you from falling. If you don’t want to scratch your house siding with a ladder, you may consider purchasing ladder bumpers.
Step by Step Instructions
- Wear your rubber gloves, work pants and a long sleeves shirt to stay safe and clean
- Remove gunk from your gutter with a plastic scoop, your kitchen’s spatula, or your child’s sand shovel
- Collect all the debris in a bucket or a tarp to protect your landscaping
- Once the debris is removed, flush the gutters with the garden hose
- Repair any metal sags using gutter hangers
How Much Gutter Cleaning Costs?
If you don’t want to work at heights, if you don’t have the tools required for the job, if you are too busy to do that on your own, or you just want a professional’s hand to clean your gutters, here are a few factors that can affect the gutter cleaning cost:
- Height of the house
- Linear feet
- Size of the gutter
- Seamless or seamed metal gutters
- Condition of the gutter
- Installation of a downspout
- Equipment required for your project
- Distance from your house
Whether you do the gutter cleaning on your own or leave the job to the professionals, one thing is certain, you must have your gutter cleaned regularly. Regular cleaning can keep your gutters intact. On the other hand, clogged gutters can actually cause extensive damage to the structure and foundation of your property. Cleaning the gutter won’t cost much, but having your foundation repaired will definitely burn a hole in your pocket.
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