Get the Most Out of Your Gutters: Four Reasons to Hire a Gutter Cleaning Service

How often do you think about your gutters? “Out of sight, out of mind” rings true here — until they get clogged with debris and water overflows on to the ground and your roof. Then you’ve got a big mess and possible roof damage.

But cleaning your gutters  is a thankless job. You may put it off, whether because it’s dirty, you don’t like being on a ladder or you don’t have the physical strength or desire to spend half a day scooping up muck. Hiring gutter cleaning and repair services, in many cases, is money well spent. The reasons to hire a professional go beyond convenience, too. Here’s four reasons why you should hire gutter cleaners twice a year.

1. Roofing specialists can spot a problem before it escalates.

Most professional gutter cleaning services are offered by roofing contractors, and having a roofing professional take a look at your roof twice a year is always a good idea.

That means that another set of eyes — and with professional expertise, no less — is surveying the roof for debris, damaged roof materials, sunken areas, missing shingles and loose flashing. By repairing these issues before heavy wind and rain comes, you’ll avoid major leaks that can lead to roof replacement and extend the life of your roof.

2. You avoid having loose gutters or downspouts that can cause problems with your foundation.

When your gutter comes away from the house because it’s loaded down with debris, or it’s never repaired after storm damage, the entire system of removing water from your roof and moving it away from your house goes astray. Instead, water can pour off the roof and come directly down the side of your house. Depending on how your home is constructed and the size of your overhang, this can lead to damaged siding and excess water seeping into your foundation and causing cracks and other damage.

Have a basement? Keeping water away from the sides of your home is even more crucial. You could develop leaks into the basement area that are challenging and expensive to fix.

Your gutter cleaning specialist can take on repairs during the time they are up on your roof so these issues don’t happen.

3. Insects and other pests are less likely to call your roof home.

The messy state of your gutters may be like a “welcome home” sign to a variety of pests, including carpenter ants and mosquitos. It’s also not unheard of for mice and squirrels to tamper with dirty gutters, foraging for food and doing further damage.

If you do attract insects like carpenter ants, that can lead to structural damage as they chew their way into your home.

4. You have access to a professional who can install gutter guards, seamless gutters or other improvements to make your home and roof look and function better.

If you decide you’d like to minimize the cleaning and repair that’s necessary for your gutters, you can have them install gutter guards, which protect your gutters from leaves and other larger debris, making them quicker and easier to clean. Most gutter cleaning companies will be able to clean your gutters more cost effectively when guards are properly installed; they can also more easily remove the guards to get at the dirt that’s made its way through the screen.

Seamless gutters will still need cleaning, but they are much less likely to need repair. They are also easier to clean because there are no joins that can become detached from a pressure washer or other cleaning method.

If you are considering a gutter cleaning service, contact us with your questions or to get an estimate.