Gutter Cleaning Tips & Why Regular Maintenance is Important

20 Nov Gutter Cleaning Tips & Why Regular Maintenance is Important

Now that we’re in the heart of the autumn season here in Palatine, the leaves are beginning to fall off the trees. Besides needing to raking the leaf buildup in your yard, you also need to remember that leaves are likely falling on your roof. And when this happens, all you need is a rainstorm for all these leaves to be pushed into your gutter, which can cause a number of different issues for your home.

Here at Aspen Exterior Company, we have been a Chicagoland leader in home restorations of windows, doors, siding, and roofs since 1978. Our main goals as a company is to make sure that our customers are 100 percent satisfied with their homes. Our highly-trained and friendly contractors are here to provide you with tips on how to keep your gutters clean and other important maintenance suggestions.

Gutter cleaning may not be on the top of your home maintenance project list, but if you neglect your gutters, it can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage to your roof or interior of your home. Gutters serve to control the flow of rainwater to protect your roof, walls, foundation, and landscape. But when your gutter gets clogged with leaves, debris, and sticks, it can cause a leaky roof or water damage to the interior or exterior of your home. Water that builds up in your gutter can freeze when the temperature drops below freezing, causing ice dams. Ice dams are extremely heavy and can cause your roof to potentially cave in. Additionally, clogged-up gutters can become a home to pests, rodents, mold, and beehives.

How to Clean Gutters

Cleaning Frequency: How often you clean your gutters depends largely on where you live and how many trees are in your yard. For a house that gets an average amount of leaves falling on the roof, we’d recommend cleaning your gutters twice a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn.

Gutter Cleaning Tips: If you decide to clean your own gutters, safety should be your foremost priority. Make sure that your ladder is stable and that you have a spotter to watch you while you’re climbing the ladder. Standoff stabilizers, also known as ladder horns, are ideal to keep the ladder from damaging the gutter.

In order to remove the gunk from the gutters, you can buy a gutter scoop from the hardware store or try a child’s sand shovel. Dump the leaves into a plastic tarp so that you don’t have to clean them off your lawn. When you’re done, flush the gutters and the downspout with a hose to clear out remaining debris.

Gutter Services in Palatine

We specialize in home renovation and restoration solutions, and we’re proud to service the entire Chicagoland area.