If there’s one maintenance job that homeowners dislike the most, it’s climbing up on their roofs for gutter cleaning.
While it seem fine to just let it go for a while, cleaning your gutters in the fall is a critical part of roof care to prevent the need for roof repair.
Whether you DIY or hire roof services to do it for you, fall is gutter cleaning time to make sure your home stays in great shape.
Clean Gutters - Healthy Roof
Gutters are designed to catch the water flowing off roofs and divert it away from the house.
When they get blocked with vegetation, dirt, and other debris, the flow of water is impeded and the gutters overflow.
This can cause extreme damage to your roofing structure if the edges of the shingles end up submerged.
Shingles and underlayment will suck up water and saturate the decking, promoting wood rot, shingle damage, and other costly problems that require roof repair. The gutters themselves can rust and become damaged as well.
Another issue that may occur if your gutters are blocked is ice damming. This happens when water gets under the shingles and then freezes, causing widespread leakage and moisture damage beneath the shingles. It is a serious, yet easily prevented condition that requires extensive roof services.
Blocked gutters can also cause substantial damage to your home’s foundation if the ground around it continuously becomes saturated every time it rains. To prevent these and other home problems, you need to keep your gutters cleaned out.
Fall Is Gutter Cleaning Time
The predominant material found in roof gutters is tree leaves. To prevent damage that requires expensive roof repair, you should do a thorough gutter cleaning every autumn after all the leaves have fallen off the trees.
You’ll probably find sticks and twigs, bits of tree bark, and anything that's blown onto your house and worked its way into the gutter.
You might even find empty bird nests or new nest construction going on as birds and other critters start preparing for winter. All of these things can block gutters and cause costly damage to roofs and homes alike.
Plan Your Gutter Cleaning Now
With fall almost here and winter right around the corner, roof services know that this is the best time to pick a weekend, get out that ladder, and start cleaning those gutters. Take care of this task once the trees are bare but before the temperature dips below freezing at night.
A good cleaning to remove all the debris that has collected throughout the rainy summer season and after the fall drop of leaves will ensure you won’t end up dealing with the different problems mentioned above.
In Sum
Gutter cleaning maintenance for roofs is fairly easy to do as long as you have a safe, sturdy ladder and someone to help you out.
If you’d prefer not to or can't climb up there yourself, make a quick call to local roof services who will be happy to come and clean your gutters.
No matter how you get it done, just make sure your gutters get an annual fall cleaning to prevent serious damage that requires expensive roof repair!
