Can Gutter Cleaning Prevent Damage?

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3 Gutter Upgrades to Consider this Summer

Letโ€™s face it, cleaning your gutters is never a โ€œfunโ€ experience. It not only takes time and effort, but it also involves a lot of personal risk from working on your roof combined with the mess that naturally comes from working with waterlogged biological debris like leaves and twigs that have sat there for weeks or months. So why bother doing it? True, you know it's a chore that's on the endless list of โ€œTo doโ€ items for homeowners plastered throughout the internet, but why? Is it just a scam being put over by gutter cleaning companies looking to make a quick buck?

Well, no. And obviously, we're not an unbiased source, but today we're going to lay out the logic for why cleaning your gutters is important, and how you protect your home by doing it.

Aesthetics - The first benefit is the one you're probably the most aware of and might be the least motivated by. Leaving your gutters uncleaned looks unsightly. As clogs build up, water begins to overflow your gutters, leading to unsightly mold and mildew on the gutter exteriors and even your roof itself. As rainfall continues, you'll see stains build up on your walls and the debris in your gutters pours over with litter sticking to surfaces and drying there furthering the stains. Again, you probably knew not cleaning your gutters would affect the way they look, but it gets worse from here.

Extend life of your roof - Those stains aren't just simply a discoloration from soil or soot left behind by water on the roof that can't drain correctly due to the clogs. It also includes mold and mildew, as well as microscopic bacteria that breeds and feasts on the nutrients found in the the standing water and left behind after it dries. At first, this doesn't cause serious damage on its own, but over time these growths are going to begin to feed on more than just what the water leaves behind. They'll pull nutrients out of your roof itself. Again, this alone isn't a huge issue, and you'll likely never notice it directly. However, it will lead to your roof not lasting as long as it should. What's more, some warranties may not cover this reduced roof lifespan if it can be shown to be the result of not caring for it properly.

Damages the gutters - As the clogs build up and water doesn't drain correctly, weight isn't distributed normally over your gutter system. Water that would normally drain off sits in one spot, causing the gutters to slowly sag. This creates undue strain on your gutter mounting and fascia, which not only leads to more sagging, but creates the perfect opportunity for water to seep into the interior of your home's construction wrecking all kinds of havoc.

Protect against water damage - This leads us to the final, and probably most serious problem that results from not cleaning your gutters, water damage around your home. With your gutters backed up, standing water on your roof eventually seeps into your decking since the water protection usually installed on the roof is designed to work with proper drainage. As the gutters sag, other openings become available. Not only can water damage your walls, but water will overflow and drain away from places where the gutters would be designed for. This means water that would normally be diverted away to disperse in your yard instead collects next to the foundation of your home. This eventually degrades the foundation itself. Even if it doesn't get that serious, it can cause major erosion in your yard, damaging plants and other landscaping.

Hopefully, these snapshots give you an idea of just how much you're risking for your home if you're not getting it taken care of. Call us today for a free, no obligation quote