How often should gutters be cleaned?

Gutters along a white home

Is gutter cleaning necessary?

When you had gutters installed on your home, did you give any thought to the gutter cleaning and maintenance that is required? If you had them professionally installed, chance are the contractor and technician probably informed you of their gutter cleaning services, or mention it needs to be done regularly.

However, if you installed your own gutter system, following YouTube video instructions, you may not have been informed on how important house gutter cleaning service is to the longevity of the gutters, your roof, and your home. Now that we have your attention, you probably have questions:

Cleaning downspouts and gutters is an important part of home maintenance to extend the life of the roof, siding, and windows. Experts recommend twice a year minimum and if you have a storm-filled spring, three times a year may be better.

The purpose of a gutter system is to control rainwater flowing off the roof, and the downspout purpose is to direct that water away from your home’s siding, foundation, and landscaping. When the gutter system is clogged, it can create many problems for your home, which is why it is important to do your own or hire a contractor for house gutter cleaning. Here are six of the potential damages from clogged gutters: 

  • ROOFING – rain should run from your roof, in the gutters, to the downspout, then out and away from your home. If you haven’t had a house gutter cleaning performed, they become clogged and filled with debris, dirt, leaves, and small limbs, the rainwater pools up inside the gutter. Without house gutter cleaning service, they will either overflow the gutters or back up under the shingles, breaking and cracking them.   
  • BASEMENT – a flooded basement is one of those nightmares that no homeowner wants to experience again and clogged gutters cause basement flooding. As we mentioned above, when the gutters are clogged, the rainwater overflows from the gutter then puddles up around your foundation. Over time, that rainwater will wear down the foundation and seep into the basement. Once it is the basement there, it will mildew and mold the ceiling, flooring, and walls and ruin anything you have stored in the basement. 
  • FOUNDATION – there isn’t anything that can destroy a basement faster than flooding, and when the basement is flooded, it weakens the foundation. The foundation is what your entire home is built upon, if it becomes unstable, it no longer is habitable. Routine house gutter cleaning will keep your gutters clean and the rainwater running as intended. 
  • INSECTS – along with rodents, these critters love water, especially water inside a gutter run. They will have leaves and limbs to build nests with, and with a mosquito, standing water is asking for trouble. A house gutter cleaning service will keep those insects, rodents, and their nesting eliminate a mosquito outbreak. 
  • APPEARANCE – you installed gutters on your house to enhance the appearance. When you skip house gutter cleaning duties, the debris, leaves, and limbs will build up and sticking out where they can be seen from the road.  This can make your entire house look dirty and unkept. 
  • GUTTERS – this is the biggest problem of all when house gutter cleaning isn’t performed, is the damage to the gutters it causes. The dirt, debris, leaves, limbs, nest, and other organic materials that find their way there will sit in one spot, erode the gutter material, and break the gutters. Broken gutters do as much good as no gutters.

What happens if you don t clean out your gutters?

A house gutter cleaning job will keep your roof from damage by the sediment buildup in the gutters and drainage system that has no place to go but u under the shingles of your roof. After some time, the shingles and wood components of your roof will decompose and begin to leak. If the leaks aren’t address, then even bigger problems happen to the inside of your home with drywall damage, mold, and electrical hazards.

Clogged gutters become an ideal nesting environment for insects, rodents, and other unwanted guests, like mold. An annual professional house gutter cleaning service that will help you avoid this from happening, keeping your home healthy, your family healthy from mold causing sinus congestion and respiratory problems.

What does gutter cleaning include?

Homeowners dread house gutter cleaning. It is nasty and time-consuming. Therefore, many homeowners hire a professional gutter cleaning service. So, how do they do this nasty job so easily, fast, and neat?! Gutter cleaning professionals will have a commercial powered, truck-mounted vacuum on their truck with attachments that are gutter-sized. They will have power washers that have a strong power that will blast the clogs out. Other companies use a wet/dry technology that enables the technician to alternate between the power washing method and a vacuuming process to remove all the debris. Both processes will include cleaning the downspouts, and any gutter runs that are broken or loose, they will repair them to make sure they are in good working order. Must house gutter cleaning services will include gathering all the debris they cleaned out and place in garbage bags for disposal.

What is best way to clean gutters?

You’ll need a ladder so that you can safely reach the gutter runs for your house gutter cleaning project.  We recommend a thick pair of gardening gloves and protective eyewear. Many homeowners will use a power washer to blast the debris out and then, using their gloved hand, rake out any stuck debris. Other homeowners have found that using gutter cleaning with leaf blower works just as well and you won’t have the worry of the ladder being wet.

Gutters on a house

How do professionals clean gutters?

First, they have the right gutter cleaning equipment. Like a doctor needs his/her specific equipment, a mechanic needs his/her tools, or a chef needs his/her pots and pans, a professional house gutter cleaning service has specific equipment and tools. When you have the right stuff and know how to use them, it makes any job seem easy and go fast. Your home is an important and valuable asset, take the time to either do your own house gutter cleaning or have a professional regularly. The information in this article has stressed the importance of this task and how it protects your home and family. Call 513-563-9988 today for your house gutter cleaning in Cincinnati, OH