6 reasons why gutter cleaning is essential to your home
Owning your home is like a dream come true. Your space, where you can relax and spend some quality time with the family or renovate when it’s time for a change. Like a new paint job for the front fence, trimming the bushes or a bio garden for family consumption. Did I mention the building manager is nowhere to be seen?
But not everything is a walk in the park about homeownership. No building manager means that it’s up to you to keep everything in shape in order to avoid surprises or unforseen costs. Everyone wants their home to look great but it sometimes takes hard work and some extra cash to keep it that way.
Some are quick and easy fixes, like handles, or light bulbs. Others are more complex and can offer risks to the homeowner when choosing to curb costs. Anything that involves high altitude, unless you are certified for the task, should be avoided. Having to call in a doctor on a Saturday afternoon, because you were working outdoors, is not part of anyone’s plans.
And this leads me to the subject of this post: gutter cleaning. We’re going to explain in the next paragraphs why it’s essential to keep them clean. But let’s get one thing straight from the start: it’s money well spent, that avoids several problems and keeps you away from accidents!
Before we get into the nitty gritty, you may be asking yourself when should I clean the gutters?
Gutter checking should be done three times a year. This is something that can easily be verified by climbing a ladder. But if you’re not able or capable of doing so, calling in a specialist in garden care is your best decision. He can quickly check and let you know if any service is needed. Between spring and summer is a good moment to do a first check and late fall for the second. Leave a third inspection for a day after heavy winds and rainfall.
So Let’s get right to it. 6 reasons why gutter cleaning is essential to your home.
Reason 1 – Health issues. Your family comes first.
Humid and wet conditions are a perfect combination for mold and mildew to set in along with other related fungi. This can become a health hazard to you, your loved ones and even pets. Several diseases and illnesses are associated with pooled water, mainly carried by mosquitoes. They use the water trapped or clogged in your gutter to lay eggs. This reason alone should be enough to get you thinking. Is it worth the risk?
Reason 2 – Creepy critters. Your humble abode is supposed to house your family and not harbor 6-legged residents
Ducts and pipes fill up with leaves, debris, sticks, dirt and other elements. The darkness is the finishing touch for a gutter to become the new home of your local 6-legged crawler. His family is soon to come and it won’t take nine months. Keeping a clean gutter flushes them out along with the possibility of having new residents.
And that’s another reason why you should avoid doing this yourself. Your not so friendly neighbour could be a spiders nest, a bee or a wasp hive. I’m sure your family is in no need to be greeted in the house with this kind of visitor.
Reason 3 – Rats and birds. Yes, they too can fall in love with your home.
An obstructed gutter is a perfect location for small rodents to set up camp. They are protected from the rain, wind. Your little Jerry will have a great time. But you won’t. Mice and rats are vectors to all sorts of diseases that affect humans and pets. Dogs and cats that live and are feeded outdoors can be at risk. Imagine this scenario: Sunday afternoon, you’ve just had lunch. You’re relaxing on your sun lounger, drink in hand. Out from nowhere, or better yet from your gutter, a pesky rodent barely misses you.
Birds use the twigs, sticks and leaves caught in your gutter to build a nest. They may look colorful and sound lovely, but they are a risk to your roof and ducts. Not to mention a health hazard, as they too are vectors of diseases.
Reason 4 – Water damage. Inside and outside
Inside – To secure your house from water spoiling your roof or seeping into your home, ducts and pipes need to be free of debris. Otherwise the water can pool up and damage your tiles or worse, lead to cave-ins creating a larger and more expensive problem to solve: unexpected flooding in the basement or other areas of the residence.
Outside – the purpose of the gutter is to collect and direct the water away from the house in an organized manner. If the ducts are not functioning properly the outside wall can take a severe hit or even worse, damage to the foundations which can lead to cracks in the walls. Do you see now why it makes sense to schedule regular gutter cleaning? Even patios, driveways and sidewalks can be affected if the problem persists for a long period of time.
Reason 5 – Protect your landscaping project
Imagine if the water that your gutter should be collecting starts to spill in other locations due to debris in the ducts after a storm. It could puddle up in your landscaping area and in extreme cases ruin a beautiful garden that either you or someone else took the time and dedication to grow.
Reason 6 – Experience and the right equipment avoid accidents
If you’re not in the gutter cleaning business you’re most probably going to use makeshift solutions or quick fixes to try to reach tight holes and dangerous places. Leave this job to specialists that will use the ideal equipment, keep your gutter clean and avoid other expensive surprises
Bringing it all home
- Reason 1 – a clean gutter avoids mold and mildew and more importantly, health issues
- Reason 2 – a clean gutter keeps the insects out of the ducts, pipes and your house
- Reason 3 – avoid birds and rodents by scheduling a regular cleaning
- Reason 4 – keep the water out! Not in. By removing the debris.
- Reason 5 – if the water is properly collected your yard is always healthy
- Reason 6 – let the specialists do the job with the proper equipment and avoid accidents
Regular gutter cleaning will maintain the structure for a longer period of time and keep homeowners free of unsettling problems that can cut deeper into their pockets. You’ll save money, time while keeping the family and your property safe.
Contact our specialists in gutter cleaning at Bristol Gardening for a free, instant quote: 0117 325 5970
