Posted on

Recommended Gutter Cleaning Schedule

Recommended Gutter Cleaning Schedule

We all know that having your gutters cleaned out is needed. But often times, we fail to understand why they need to be cleaned out and how often they need to be cleaned out.

Today we are going to discuss what gutters are supposed to do and why they must be cleaned frequently. 

What Gutters Do:

Gutters are not in place to just keep water off of your head. Gutters serve a very valuable service. When rain hits your roof and comes barreling down, it needs someplace to safely land. Your gutters are the ideal place. Gutters channel the rain water to specific locations  and then release it to the ground.  

By channeling the water away from the roof line, gutters protect the wood underneath your edges of your shingles, the wood under your eaves of your home (fascia) and it protects your siding as well. Not only that, making sure that you have gutters helps prevent top-soil erosionof the landscaping at the base of your home. When water is allowed to pool at the base of your home it can lead to foundation cracking and many other expensive repairs.

In short, gutters are in place to save the homeowner money!

Now that we know why we have gutters lets talk about what gets into those gutters.

What Gets Inside Your Gutters

For starters, you are always going to find leaves. But not just leaves, decomposing leaves that have mixed with dust and turned into a soggy muddy mess. You will find twigs, branches, pine needles, and other “tree matter.” You will also find, often time, weeds that have grown up in the gutters. If you have asphalt shingles you will also get a good bit of debris from them. Little hard pellets of shingles come off with the rain and find a nice home in your gutters.

With all of these items you can see why its so easy for them to get clogged. 

The Recommended Gutter Cleaning Schedule

Now, all good things must come to an end and that includes clean gutters.The Recommended Gutter Cleaning Schedule is usually twice a year. Once in the spring time and once in the fall. Of course, this doesn’t apply to every customers.

If you don’t have any trees in your yard, or your neighbors yard then the odds are that you will not need this service done but once every year to two years. On the other hand, if you live in an established neighborhood with many trees you might need this service done once every three months. In this, and in most things, a little common sense comes into place.

Save Money Now

Now, for the home owner to realize the savings of having functioning gutters, the home owner must insure that his gutters are cleaned out at all times. Preventative maintenance can go a long way to insuring gutters stay clean. Here are some steps that can be taken to help lengthen the time between gutter cleanings:

  • Trim all trees and bushes so that they are away from the home and the roof
  • Install gutter guards (another post)
  • Place a water hose at one end of the gutters to help flush out any small debris

Gutters that work properly save the home owner thousands of dollars in repair bills. Having your gutters cleaned properly is key to realizing these savings. For those that prefer to NOT climb on a ladder we is here to help.

To receive a free estimate for your gutter cleaning Get Your Quote Online Here. 

If you found this blog post helpful please remember to share it with others.

Posted on

What should you look for in a gutter guard system?

Unlike some manufacturers of gutter guards would have you believe, gutter guard technology is far from rocket science. Consider what it is you are trying to accomplish……keeping leaves from clogging the rain gutter so that the water collected in the gutter can flow freely to the downspouts. If the gutter gets clogged, thereby forming a dam of sorts, water will overflow. It will overflow the front of the gutter resulting in pooling around the base of the house which can cause costly damage to the crawlspace area or basement. The water build up in the gutter will also seep over the back of the gutter where it attaches to the fascia board and cause rotting of that wood. So what’s the best and most economical way to prevent all of this? What should you look for in choosing a guard?
Well first off be sure that the guard is made of a sturdy material. Inexpensive plastic guards that are readily available at home improvement stores may hold up for a year, but after wet leaves, or snow put a heavy weight on them they will simply collapse into the gutter and give leaves a place to stick inside the gutter, actually causing more harm than good.
Secondly choose a guard with a screen that is small enough to keep large debris out of the gutter.
Then be sure that the guard is constructed in such a way as to allow air to flow under the accumulated leaves in order to allow the wind to blow the leaves off, and also to help dry them out when they are wet.
Avoid guards that go under your roof shingles and attach to the roof itself. This could cause problems in regard to your roof warranty.
Be sure that the guards will not allow a waterfall effect during periods of heavy rain. Some guards will allow runoff from the roof to overshoot the gutter completely, in which case you may as well not even have gutters.
And finally be sure that there is no large gap to allow leaves to blow into the gutter because once those leaves get in there, it is nearly impossible to clean them out properly. Also, birds and bees find these openings lead them to a nice sheltered environment to build nests and hives. And very often this type of guard is the most expensive.
So with all that being said take a look at the website www.everythinggutter.com and see what Shur Flo has to offer. Guaranteed not to clog, economical and sturdy, once installed you can forget you even have gutters. And a lifetime of gutter related issues is a thing of the past.

Posted on

Best Gutter Cleaning Products

       When it comes time to clean your gutters, aside from ladders, pressure washers, and a variety of buckets, there aren’t a lot of advertised products designed to reduce your overall time on the ladder. From robots to pressure washer attachments, scoops to gutter tongs, these products are designed to save you time and money, so maintaining vital efficiency of your gutters will be a much smoother and safer task.

Without a doubt, using a pressure washer is the best method for cleaning gutters. Debris and sediment won’t stand a chance against the force of the water, and the grime and film that couldn’t typically be removed using a pair of gloves is effortlessly blasted away. However, using a pressure washer on a ladder has some obvious safety concerns, and there have been many serious injuries resulting from homeowners falling from ladders while trying to negotiate cleaning, balancing, and using a pressure washer. But with a wand and a gutter cleaning attachment – such as the Apache Gutter Cleaner Spray Tip – cleaning gutters is a breeze, and as safe as it gets. The attachment is designed to fit virtually every type of power washer extension wand, rendering the use of a ladder unnecessary.

Not looking to own a pressure washer in the near future? Gutter tongs are another option for those that wish to clean safely from the ground. Gutter tongs, like the Ultimate Rain Gutter Cleaning Tool, can be attached to standard extension poles and are light enough to easily reach gutters on two-story homes. The jaws are opened, clamped around debris, and easily lifted to remove the sediment and foliage found in your gutters. The tongs can also clamp onto your garden hose nozzle, allowing you to operate the spigot to flush out smaller debris that might have been missed without having to repeatedly scale the ladder or recruit a friend.

Gutter scoops are another alternative to pressure washer cleaning, but unlike the washer extension or the gutter tongs, the scoop requires the use of a ladder. Gutter scoops are cheap and available at nearly every hardware store, so getting your hands on one shouldn’t be a problem. It works well for debris that’s a little tougher to grab by hand, like seeds, pine needles, and muddy sediment, but when you’re already up on the ladder, trying to juggle a bucket and your balance, adding another gutter cleaning tool into the mix seems a bit risky. Most homeowners would say that just using gloves is sufficient but if you have a lot of sludge in your gutter channel, finding a safe way to use a bucket and a scoop on a ladder should be on your to-do list.

If you’re completely opposed to manually cleaning your gutters, hiring a professional service will be your best choice.

Posted on

Ladder Safety for Gutter Maintenance

      When using a ladder to service your gutters or, honestly, for any reason at all, safety should always be your number one concern. Annually, there are approximately 222,000 people taken to the emergency room for ladder-related injuries. What’s more, many of these accidents occur because of improper ladder use, and could have been prevented simply by taking a few precautions before hopping on the ladder. Follow these guidelines for safe ladder usage and to prevent a trip to the hospital.

First and foremost, avoid using a ladder alone. Having a friend help while you’re working can make your job infinitely safer, and can give you an extra set of hands on the ground. Give the whole ladder a thorough inspection to ensure the ladder is solid and completely free of rust or visible damage. Make sure the ground you’ll be setting the ladder on is a firm, even surface, free of ice, water, and loose debris. Also, remember to look up and spot the power lines before carrying or using your ladder, and always avoid using metal ladders around electrical hazards.

The proper angle for setting up an extension ladder is based on how tall the ladder is; the base of the ladder from the side of your house should always be a quarter of the total height of the ladder. For instance, if your extension ladder is 12 ft. high, the base of the ladder should be 3 ft. away from the side of the house. When positioning your ladder, don’t lean the ladder against your gutters – not only do you risk crushing or damaging them, but the coating on your gutters is slick and offers very little resistance against your ladder, thus greatly reducing the stability of the ladder in general.

When you’re ready to make the climb, have your friend hold the base of the ladder while you scale it, always maintaining the three points of contact (2 feet/1 hand or 2 hands/1 foot). Never extend your arms over your head to reach your gutters, because you’ll swing your center of gravity too high and end up in the ER. The same principle applies to extending your reach too far laterally, as well- if you remember to keep your body centered and between the stringers of your ladder to maintain stability, you shouldn’t have any problems. Granted, you’ll have to climb up and down the ladder several times to reposition it as you work along the gutter run, but your patience will be rewarded with good health and unbroken bones.

Lastly, as always, make sure to thank your friend for their time and patience, and be sure to return the favor as soon as you can.