Can gutters be cleaned in the winter?

Rain Gutter Cleaning from Leaves in Autumn with hand. Roof Gutter Cleaning Tips. Clean Your Gutters Before They Clean Out Your Wallet. Gutter Cleaning.

Gutter Cleaning

Ask any homeowner, and you’ll find that cleaning gutters is NOT something anyone likes to do, yet it has to be done. This homeowner’s chore ranks with cleaning the cat litter box and raking leaves. Luckily, you can usually find a gutter cleaning service that can do that for you. Why is gutter cleaning important though? Is gutter cleaning necessary?

Maintenance

Yes, regular cleaning is absolutely necessary. This is one home maintenance chore that is crucial to your home and too often overlooked. Yes, before winter sets in, you have a list of must-do things, and if gutter cleaning isn’t on that list, you need to add it there. 

Gutter cleaning services your home by removing debris, leaves, and sticks so the rain, melted ice, and snow can flow freely off the roof on out past your home. This is a crucial step in protecting the foundation and the roof. Here are five reasons why gutter cleaning is so important: 

  1. Water Damage Prevention. Keeping gutters and downspouts clean will from debris and leaves allows the gutters to drain as designed and intended. When they are clogged, the water overflows the gutters,  runs down the siding, and causes water damage to the exterior and interior.  
  2. Roof Protection. With clogged gutters, the rainwater has nowhere to flow, so it backs up under the shingles, rotting the shingles and the under decking, creating leaks. 
  3. Pest Control. Clogged gutters create a desirable home for birds, insects, and rodents. Once they get in the gutters, they find a way into your attic and home. 
  4. Foundation Protection. When the gutters are clogged, what water doesn’t back up under the shingles will spill over the sides and pool around the foundation of your home. As the water gets under the foundation, it freezes and thaws through the winter, and will cause the foundation to crack. Then when the weather warms up the ground, your home will begin to sink in places. 
  5. Money Saver. Yes, if you don’t clean your own gutters and have a gutter cleaning service do the work, it will cost upfront. Down the road though, it will prevent having expensive and unexpected projects, like foundation leveling and repair or replacing the roof. 

How often should gutters be cleaned?

 Now that you know the importance of why gutter cleaning services are valuable, the next question is when to do gutter cleaning? It depends on the foliage around your home. In most homes, gutter cleaning twice a year is recommended. If there is heavy foliage around your home, like pine trees, three times a year may be needed.

Other factors to consider in determining the frequency and when is the amount of rainfall and snow your home gets during the year. Having a gutter cleaning service at the end of fall and before winter will remove leaves and twigs, other debris that has collected over the fall. Schedule gutter cleaning service after the spring rains is recommended. This gets the bird and critters that have nested out of the gutter runs.

man on ladder cleaning house gutter from leaves and dirt

What does gutter cleaning include? 

You may be wondering, does gutter cleaning include downspouts? Just what is included in a professional gutter cleaning? A professional gutter cleaning service is usually going to be more thorough because they have the experience (they do this every day, not just once a year). They have the proper equipment and tools to do a more effective cleaning too. 


Most professional gutter cleaning services will use either a truck-mounted vacuum or an industrial strength shop vacuum that has attachments specific for gutters. This will blast out any debris, leaves, and twigs from the gutter that runs out of the downspouts. 

Once they have blasted out what they can using the vacuum, they will use a pressure washer to finish cleaning and make sure there aren’t any more clogs. A professional gutter cleaning service will repair any broken gutters or hangers and fix any seams that have separated. 

What is the best gutter cleaning solution?

If you want to save money and do the gutter cleaning service yourself, use your water hose with a nozzle that has a strong forced stream with a mixture of water and white vinegar. This makes one of the best gutter cleaning options to clean the gutters and downspouts without corroding the aluminum gutter runs. If the exterior of the gutters needs polishing, use water and cream of tartar to create a paste and gently buff the gutter and downspout exteriors. 

Conclusion

Perhaps you have some more questions, such as whether you should be doing your own gutter cleaning. Or maybe a gutter cleaning service is the better choice? Okay, do some gutter cleaning yourself and you may decide it is worth paying to have it done. Don’t trust the local neighborhood kid for this job, either. Hire a professional gutter cleaning service. And before you make that call, you may want to know – what is the average price for gutter cleaning? The average cost can range between $75 and up to $250, depending on the size of the house, the gutter run lengths, and the number of downspouts. Usually, a company will give you a quote before scheduling your service so you have a better idea of what you’ll be paying.

Cincinnati Gutter & Roof Protection assists with professional gutter cleaning in Cincinnati, OH. Call 513-563-9988 today.