Water Damage Prevention: Why Keep Gutters Clean
How do your gutters look?
Do you see sagging gutters, wood rot, gutters overflowing, water damage to your siding or perhaps you’re getting water into your basement? These along with other problems are signs of dirty gutters and why you need to keep your gutters clean.
Experts such as Bob Vila warn that when gutters become full of debris they become so heavy that the gutters pull loose and fall off the house. Not only will the gutters need to be replaced but as they fall they may take out light fixtures, smash windows and damage the siding. What an expense for not cleaning out the gutters! Allowing debris to accumulate and decay in the gutters will also attract mosquitos and carpenter ants which love dead, damp wood to build their nests and can cause extensive structural damage to a home. Another cause for concern is mold, which not only can spread through your home but affect the health of your family.
If you have trees around your home, leaves, bark, twigs, seeds, and flowers can end up in the gutters.
Evergreens are guilty of shedding needles and other debris too. So it’s inevitable that the gutters will fill with debris. Overflowing gutters can erode the soil underneath and wash out your landscaping. Water pooling around your foundation can expand as it freezes creating cracks in the wall eventually allowing water to flood the basement or crawl space. Repairing foundation walls may cost $10,000 or more.
Ice dams are another cause for concern – and many in the metro can testify to the ice dams and monstrous icicles from this past winter. Clogged gutters allow water to freeze and back up pushing against the roof and working its way under the shingles forcing water into the house.
So now we understand the importance of cleaning and maintaining the gutter system of a home.
The gutters should be cleaned regularly throughout the year. The saying is certainly true, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. If you would like to say “goodbye” to gutter cleaning forever, call Gutter Cover Kansas City for a free estimate to install Advantage Gutter Guard®.