‘Tis the Season…To Clean Your Gutters!

Fall has arrived! Leaves have changed and now cover the ground around you, painting a beautiful landscape alongside the cool autumn air. The leaves cover your yard, your sidewalk, your driveway…but where else are they falling? They might look appealing as the weather changes and remind you of nights by the fire, hay rides, trick-or-treating with the kids, and all the other enjoyable fall activities. But besides decorating your yard, the leaves are falling onto your roof and into your gutters – and this can create some real problems for property owners.

Falling leaves are the biggest culprit behind clogged gutters. All year long, leaves from your trees may fall near your home and land on your roof or gutters. However, this problem is exacerbated in the fall as the trees prepare for the winter. The leaves fall and they can’t travel out of your gutters on their own. Because they don’t break down easily, the leaves accumulate and collect other debris, causing clogged gutters on your home.

Read on to understand what happens when your gutters become clogged, how often you should clean your gutters, and the benefits of regularly cleaning your gutters.

What Happens when Gutters Become Clogged?

The gutters on your home are meant to allow water drainage from your roof. They allow the rainwater to move away from your walls, basement, foundation, and the rest of your home through drainage pipes that carry the water away from the house. The gutters collect rainwater as it travels down your roof and divert it to downspouts, which are the vertical pipes that carry water from your roof toward the ground. Downspouts move the water away from your home and foundation, allowing it to absorb into the ground outside of your house.

When gutters are clogged, the water is not able to flow through them easily. Instead of traveling to the downspouts, the water will pool inside of the gutters and then begin to pour outside of them. The leaking water can cause significant damage to your roof, ceilings, walls, foundation, and more. With clogged gutters, your home will be victim to both structural and aesthetic damage. Clean your gutters this fall to prevent unnecessary damages!

How Often Should You Clean Your Gutters to Prevent Water Damage?

The best way to prevent damage from clogged gutters is to clean them regularly. The best practice is to clean them at least twice a year, but this is dependent on the foliage surrounding your home. If you have dense tree coverage around your home, more regular cleaning may be necessary. But with fewer trees, once or twice a year may be all you need.

It is exceptionally necessary to clean your gutters in the autumn, after the trees have lost their leaves. As the leaves fall, they can quickly cause clogged gutters. To prevent damage from this, you must clear your gutters so that water can move through them and into the downspouts to allow proper drainage.

Understanding the Benefits of Cleaning Your Gutters

Cleaning your gutters is vital to maintaining a healthy, strong home. With water damage from clogged gutters, your home and its inhabitants can suffer significant consequences. Read on to understand the reasons you should maintain clean gutters on your home.

1. 1. Prevent damage to the inside of your home

      When water leaks from your gutters instead of flowing to the downspout, it can drain into your home. This can cause structural damage to your ceiling and walls, and it can leave behind unappealing stains. Additionally, pooling water can seep into your basement, causing moisture to accumulate. The water leakage into your home (whether in the walls, ceiling, or basement) will facilitate mold and mildew growth, which can be a health hazard and cause further damage to your home.

2. 2. Protect the outside of your home

      Besides causing damage to the inside of your home, clogged gutters can also result in exterior home damage. Clogged gutters can become heavy as they are filled with debris and pooled water, weighing them down and damaging their structure.

      Additionally, as the gutters become filled with debris, water will have no place to go. It will seep around the gutters and into the fascia. The fascia is the underside of the roof and can be found where the roof meets the outer walls of your home. The gutters sit on top of the fascia. As the water leaks around clogged gutters, this fascia can become rotted and damaged. This will cause the gutters to fall and allows for leakage into the internal structure of your home.

      Clogged gutters also cause water to pool on the roof. This accumulation can lead to water damage to the roof itself, threatening the appearance, structure, and function of your roof. Cleaning your gutters is essential to protect the integrity of your home, both inside and outside.

3. 3. Preserve the structure of your foundation

      When water pools around your home instead of traveling farther away through the downspouts, it can accumulate around your foundation. The water creates pressure around the foundation, causing bowing and cracking of the structural components. This can cause your entire home to shift and lose structural integrity. Preventing clogged gutters is the best way to avoid foundation damage from water accumulation.

4. 4. Keep pests from making a home in your gutters

      Excessive debris in your gutters can make the perfect home for undesirable critters. Birds may use the debris to create nests. Rodents, snakes, and insects may create a home within your gutter system. Wasps and other stinging bugs can build nests inside your gutters and cause problems for your home and family. There are many unwelcome visitors that seek refuge in your gutters, so regular gutter cleaning keeps these pests from sticking around and causing mayhem.

5. 5. Maintain the aesthetic value of your home

      Clogged gutters can diminish the appearance of your home. Water leaking out of the gutters can pull debris with it, causing staining on your exterior walls. The gutters and fascia may also begin to droop and fall, diminishing the outward presentation of your home. Protect your home’s aesthetic value by keeping your gutters clean and flowing easily.

6. 6. Limit ice dam formation this winter

      As the frigid temperatures move in this winter, you will be left with snow and ice on your roof. As these melt, they can create ice dams that hang from your gutters. These ice dams can put too much weight onto your gutters, pulling them down and causing costly damages. Having clogged gutters creates a higher chance that ice dams will form from your roof, as the melting snow and ice have no place to drain. Instead of flowing out of the gutters, ice dams will form. Prevent damage to your gutters and roof this winter by clearing your gutters after the leaves have fallen.

7. 7. Save money on future water damage

      All of the problems mentioned above can come with expensive repairs. Water accumulation causes both aesthetic and structural damage to your home, making repairs a necessity. Don’t let your gutters, fascia, roof, and the rest of your home become damaged from water backups. Clean your gutters out now to prevent any future water damaged inside or outside of your home.

Keep Your Gutters Clean & Your Home Healthy!

Maintaining clean gutters is essential to protect the integrity of your home, both inside and out. As the leaves fall this autumn, make a point to get out and clean your gutters. When debris builds up inside of them, the water has no place to go and cannot reach the downspouts to encourage absorption in your yard. Instead, the water pools on your roof, in your home, and around your foundation, creating structural problems and diminishing the appearance of your home.

If you need help with gutter cleaning or other gutter and roof maintenance, Discount Roof has an expert team who is dedicated to providing top-quality gutter services for your home. We have years of experience and the highest standard equipment to have your gutters flowing freely to protect your roof, your foundation, and the rest of your home from water damage. We even offer gutter guards, which prevent your gutters from being clogged with the autumn leaves. Contact Discount Roof now for all of your fall gutter cleaning service needs before your clogged gutters cause destruction to your home!