It’s Important to Clean Your Roof Gutters Every 6 Months

A bi-annual gutter cleaning can have a positive impact on your home throughout the year. Your gutter system works to pull water away from your roof and home, ensuring underlying boards are protected. Water damage can happen invisibly, ruining the insides of walls and the soffit that runs under the edge of your roof. With regular maintenance, your gutters prevent this damage from ever happening.

The Benefits

It’s important to clean your roof gutters every six months because the gutter can hold leaves and other debris that lead to water backing up onto your roof and washing down the outer walls of your home. When water enters a gutter filled with leaves, the most common problem is that the leaves are compacted into the downspout causing water to backup and overflow onto the outer walls and the roof of your home. In extreme cases where water can’t flow out of the downspout, foundation damage to your home is possible.

You may also experience ceiling damage when your gutters become backed up by leaves as the water is pushed back onto the roof of your home. In most cases, spotting the damage early is impossible because the water begins to destroy your home in hidden areas, such as the basement, under the home, or in the attic crawlspace. When considering why it’s important to clean your roof gutters every six months, you will also want to think about preventing pest infestations in the home. When a gutter is backed up, the water can stagnate and breed mosquitoes and other pests easily.

Gutter Cleaning

It’s important to clean your roof gutters every six months to reduce the need to paint the exterior of your home. Gutter cleaning can prevent termite infestations, as well, since the exterior of your home can be weakened and prone to termites as a result of water damage. Cleaning the gutters is usually a simple task that can be completed in a couple of hours by a professional team, or you can opt for cleaning the gutters yourself over a weekend.

If you do opt to clean your gutters yourself, make sure that you have someone to assist you while you are on the ladder. You will also want to be careful not to bend the gutters or downspout with your ladder while you are working. You can usually use a small shovel to scoop out old leaves and twigs, but you may need to work a little more to remove any dried on dirt. You will also want to remember to rinse the gutters thoroughly with a water hose after you have removed all the debris. Flushing the gutters will ensure they are ready for the next six months of rain by removing any small leaves and dust particles left over after cleaning.