The Importance of Gutters
The gutters of your roof are one of the most important yet often underrated parts of your home. If you look at them, they may seem as just pieces of galvanized iron which sometimes form a nice border around the roofs of one’s house. However, despite their good looks, they play one very important role – to serve as a catch basin for rainwater, and to safely and swiftly funnel this water to the ground.
Due to this rather mundane role which gutters have, they are often overlooked and left neglected by many homeowners. Add to that the difficulty of accessing and cleaning them, and you’ll find that they are often left out of any cleaning routines. Many homeowners forget that a home’s gutter can age and wear itself out over time, especially if it isn’t properly cleaned and maintained.
If a gutter is damaged, many parts of the house could get affected, and one could experience effects such as basement flooding, house foundation problems, and dirty water marks all around the borders of your house. Any stuck up gunk on the gutters themselves such as fallen leaves and other debris could cause expensive damage to both the interior and exterior of your home as well. This is why gutter housekeeping should be an important part of your home’s maintenance. Find a gutter specialist in Sydney today!
Cleaning Schedule
The most often seen culprit which clogs up your gutters would be the fallen leaves from trees inside and around your house. This is also the reason why your cleaning schedule would mostly depend on how many trees there are in your immediate vicinity.
Most of the time though, the fall and spring seasons are the best time to clean one’s gutters, as those are the seasons wherein leaves fall the most. This isn’t true for all cases though, as some trees shed their leaves all year round. If you have any like these nearby, a much more regular maintenance schedule should be followed.
Do note that besides leaves, moulds and honeycombs also tend to clog up your gutters as they grow in these parts quite often. This would then lead to other pests and rodents setting up shop in your clogged up gutters, further making matters worse for your gutter’s lifespan and performance. Regular maintenance of your gutters is one of the best ways to make sure none of these make their way inside your home.
Leaf Guards
Gutter covers, or sometimes called leaf guards, are one of the best ways to reduce the chances of leaves, moulds, or honeycombs clogging up your roof’s gutters. These slow down the clogging process though, but not completely eliminate it. Thus, instead of having to clean up your gutters every four months, you can do it around once a year only if you have these covers installed.
Do make sure that you use and install quality gutter covers all the time. The quality of your leaf guards will affect how often you need to clean your gutters. Make sure to look for covers which are durable enough to hold the weight of a large amount of leaves. Also ensure that the entire length of your gutters would be covered, with no spot left exposed.
DIY or Professional Cleaning
Although most dads are capable enough to do gutter maintenance by themselves, there are many safety risks associated with this task. If one is not prepared or careful enough, you could get nasty cuts, especially when touching the galvanized iron without proper protection. Working from a height could also cause accidental falls, which could lead to much more worse and permanent injuries.
These are the main reasons why we recommend that you hire professional gutter cleaners as much as possible. These pros are well-prepared for the task, and have lots of experience under their belt to face any type of gutter issues which may face them. They can clean your entire gutter system, including the downspouts, and getting rid of any nasty clogs which may be hiding within.
Additionally, you can have these pros install leaf guards covering your entire gutter. This would be a great way to save money in labor costs, while ensuring that your gutter is protected all year round.
