Colorful autumn leaves may look pretty on the sidewalk as they fall from your trees, but they can also mess up your gutters. That’s why you need to schedule gutter cleaning for both autumn and spring. It’s best to hire professionals for this because they have the knowledge, skills, equipment and experience to climb to the heights they need to reach to do a thorough cleaning. There is a real risk of falling if you try to do this twice-yearly job yourself, so leave it to the people who are trained for it.
Autumn Cleaning
Having your gutters cleaned in autumn gets your entire roof ready for winter weather. Gutters that are clogged with leaves, pollen, dust and other debris can’t drain water during heavy rain, and moisture is trapped in the leaves themselves. Overflow has nowhere to go but the house and its foundation. It can get into the house’s sheathing and cause interior damage.
Spring Cleaning
Cleaning in the spring removes any leaves that have made their way into the gutters since the last cleaning and gets your home ready for spring showers. When the weather is warmer, clogged gutters lead to water overflowing from the roof directly on top of the foundation. This can lead to rot, mildew, mold, decay and other damage. Your gutters are there to move the large volume of water that falls on your roof in a rainstorm away from the house so that it can drain harmlessly into the ground.
Other Considerations
Regardless of the time of year, gutters stuffed with leaves simply look bad. This can be one of those details that passersby notice, and it can ruin the curb appeal of your home if you decide to sell it. Also, animals can start to build homes in the leaves in your gutters.
If you have many trees shedding leaves onto your roof, you may need to schedule cleaning more than twice a year. It’s a pain, but it’s definitely worth doing. Additionally, if any of your guttering is broken, warped or dangling, it’s best to deal with it right away because any of these situations will become even worse the next time there’s a major rainstorm.
It’s remarkable how something as simple as cleaning your gutters twice a year can help save your home from damage. Also, when you have professionals do the job, they can inspect your gutter system in general and troubleshoot small problems before they have a chance to become big ones. When you need gutter services in St. Santa Barbara, CA, contact Action Roofing.
