Do You Know the Importance of Cleaning Your Gutters?
You may think, what’s the big deal? Leaves and sticks decompose so I don’t need to clean my gutter! However, if you think that way, then one of these days you’ll find out exactly why cleaning your gutters is extremely important.
Gutters are more important than you may think. The lack of space in your gutters can cause water damage and therefore structural damage to your home.
What Gutters Do
Before cleaning your gutters you must understand what their purpose is. Their purpose is simple, it is to carry any roof run-off water away from your home.
There is a slight tilt to the gutter towards the downspout. The downspout’s purpose is to take the water farther away from your home. As pooling water would then just sit near your home’s foundation. That eventually causes foundational damage.
Why is Cleaning Your Gutters Important?
As we mentioned above, the purpose of a gutter is to take roof run off away from your home. When it rains, especially in a large downpour, your gutters can handle hundreds and hundreds of gallons of water. Without a gutter and downspout then all that water would sit on your roof.
This can cause damage to your roof, and then in your home. Gutters need the ability to function at full capacity during a storm. Any debris in the way stops that from happening.
What Clogs a Gutter?
The main things that clog a gutter are leaves, sticks, and any sort of debris that comes from your roof and roofing material. This may sound like no big deal, however, these things can mix and cause a sludge.
This sludge can build up in your gutters and downspouts and cause blockages. At that point, there is no cleaning the gutter and only replacing it.
If you aren’t taking care of cleaning your gutters then you can also expect a garden to grow. In the spring any seeds or spores that are airborne can find the perfect home in your gutter. This will also cause clogs in your gutters. However, this is more easily removable.
How to Clean Your Gutter
Cleaning your gutters involves getting on a ladder, if you are uncomfortable with that then we highly recommend calling a professional in. If you are comfortable with that, it is as simple as climbing a ladder, putting on some heavy-duty work gloves, and grabbing the leaves and sticks out.
We highly recommend you clean your gutters twice a year. Spring and Fall are the best times to do this. In the Spring, it helps eliminate the issues of airborne seeds finding root in your gutters. The Fall is due to the number of leaves that drop during that time of year. We highly recommend you wait until most of your leaves are gone, otherwise you’ll be doing it multiple times.
How Not Cleaning Your Gutters Affects Your Plumbing
Not cleaning your gutters does affect more than just water damage in your home. It can cause your sump pump to overwhelm itself when the eventual water damage does strike. That can lead to a flooded basement. A flooded basement is a huge pain to deal with. So make sure you clean those gutters!
Final Thoughts
While you may think cleaning your gutters is not an important task, it is. It should not be put off. Dysfunctional gutters are a leading cause of water damage in the home. Water damage remediation can be extremely expensive to fix! Take the hour it takes to get them cleaned and make sure you handle it twice a year.
Call 1-Tom-Plumber
Don’t hesitate to contact us here or call us at 1-Tom-Plumber (1-866-758-6237) if you need any plumbing, drain cleaning, or excavation service. 1-Tom-Plumber’s certified team of plumbers and drain technicians respond immediately to any emergency plumbing, drain cleaning, or water damage problem.
We also handle the excavation of underground water lines and sewer main lines. Our immediate-response team is available every day and night of the year, even on holidays.
