Highlights from This Gutter Maintenance Guide
- Gutter cleaning should happen quarterly to maintain top condition.
- DIY can be dangerous if a homeowner is not well-versed in ladder safety and the proper cleaning equipment.
- Professional gutter cleaning services offer fast, affordable cleanings on a reliable schedule.
- Gutter cleaning has a high return on investment, protecting your gutters and home from costly repairs.
If You Only Takeaway One Thing…
Clean gutters function better and have an increased lifespan. Want to save money in the long run and avoid replacing your entire gutter system sooner than you have to? Hire a professional gutter cleaner to stay on top of maintenance, or DIY if you’re confident you can do it safely.
The Importance of Gutter Maintenance
Gutters collect rainfall off of your roof and guide it away from your home through a series of specifically sloped gutters and into downspouts that drain away from the foundation. Over time, leaves, dirt, twigs, or other debris find their way into the gutter. Without regular cleanings, that creates a blockage. That blockage can send water over your gutters instead of through the proper channels, creating damage below and leading to more serious issues.
Extend Gutter Lifespans
A typical vinyl gutter has a lifespan of 10 to 20 years. That’s a pretty wide range, so what helps them last 15 or 20 years instead of just 10? It mostly depends on how you care for them. Regular maintenance helps extend your gutters’ lifespan significantly. It prevents blockages, standing water, mold, and mildew from forming. More lifespan factors include: a home’s climate, the installation quality and pitch, and the quality of the gutter materials. It is easier and more affordable to repair the gutters you have than to replace them. With proper maintenance, repaired gutters can last for years.
Prevent Unwanted Damage
Water is meant to move through the gutter systems, so when debris causes it to become stagnant or overflow from the edges, it causes damage. Water sitting in the gutter is heavy, and it can begin to pull the gutter away from your roofline, exposing the fascia to more water and possibly letting water into the home. Water that flows over the edge can pummel your landscaping below and can cause additional damage as it seeps into the ground next to your home’s foundation. This excess water can lead to basement flooding, cracks in the foundation, mold and mildew issues, and more.
Avoid Inviting Pests Into Your Home
Birds and rodents have both been known to make a home in the gutter. Regular cleanings will help you remove any nests. They can also make you aware of damage that may allow the pests to find their way into your home from the gutters. It’s easy to avoid the potential damage these critters cause with regular gutter maintenance to keep an eye on what these tiny architects are building and remove it before it causes trouble.
Signs Your Gutters Need Maintenance or Repair
The best way to avoid serious repairs for your home’s gutter system is to prioritize regular maintenance. If you’re not on a quarterly schedule, these signs will let you know your home is due for a professional cleaning and inspection:
- Visible moss or plant growth in and around gutters
- Water overflows during rain
- Gutters are sagging or pulling away from the roofline
- Pests or birds nesting in gutters
- Streaking or staining on the siding indicates past overflows
- Water is pooling around your home’s foundation
- Peeling paint on your home’s siding from water overflow
- Rust or corrosion damage on your gutters
What is Gutter Maintenance?
Gutter maintenance is the regular cleaning and inspection of your gutters. Tasks include cleaning downspouts, checking the pitch of gutters, and removing debris. If you choose to DIY, it’s essential that you use the right tools. Professionals have the right tools and skills to clean your gutters safely and effectively.
How to Maintain Gutters
At Aerotech, our experts recommend you clean your gutters quarterly. This frequency is the sweet spot to prevent debris buildup and keep a watchful eye during all seasons. We’ve created a maintenance checklist to make it easy for you to stay on top of your gutter maintenance. Within each season, there’s an ideal time to clean your gutters that we outline in another blog as well. Depending on the location of your home, you may need to clean your gutters even more frequently. For instance, if you live near pine trees where pine needles cause a lot of debris, it could require special seasonal extra cleanings. Learn more about how often you should clean your gutters.
What Tools Do I Need for DIY Cleaning and Maintenance of my Gutters?
DIY Gutter Cleaning Shopping List: Insert an Amazon or Home Depot module with a list of all the items you’d need for a successful DIY cleaning. The idea here is to showcase how expensive it can get to add up all that equipment.
Seasonal Tasks
You should be cleaning your gutters with each season, and in addition to those thorough cleanings, there are things to look out for with each season. In winter, it’s important to prevent ice dams by inspecting your home’s attic airflow and removing debris that may contribute to improper drainage. In spring, opportunistic seeds that found their way into your gutters may attempt to sprout, debris can get in the way of “spring showers”, and winter ice melting into excess water can cause foundational damage if your drainage isn’t working properly. Learn more about seasonal gutter maintenance.
Adding Gutter Support
If you live near a lot of trees or have excessive debris in your gutters, there are gutter solutions to support your needs and keep your system from clogging. Gutter guards are a great solution to slow down clog-building debris. Are gutter guards worth the investment? Yes, while you will still need regular cleanings, for homes situated in a debris-rich environment they can be extremely helpful. They will pay for themselves over time.
Safety Considerations
Gutter maintenance comes with considerable risk. If you plan to conduct cleaning or maintenance yourself, it’s important to assess if you’re comfortable taking on those risks of bodily injury. Ladder safety is the most important. Gutters are along your roofline, and you’ll need to be up on a sturdy ladder to reach everything. For multi-story homes, this is particularly dangerous. Having the right tools, such as gloves, safety glasses or other eye protection, and disposal bags are also an important safety consideration to make.
Are there efficient ways to clean gutters without a ladder? In short, no. Many retailers will sell attachments for your hose or leaf blower, but unfortunately, nothing is a full substitute for being up at eye level to capture all debris and check for issues.
Professionals have worked for years at practicing ladder work, cleaning with specialized tools, and wearing protective gear when dealing with mold, pests, and other possible harmful objects. Hiring professional help is the most effective way to clean your gutters safely. Gutters need to be maintained consistently. If you don’t think you’ll have the wherewithal to get up on that ladder during the winter months, call a professional and get on a maintenance plan to stay consistent.
Benefits of Gutter Maintenance Plans
Imagine never having to worry about cleaning your gutters again. Sounds great, right? Our gutter maintenance plans set a regular cleaning schedule by your trusted cleaners. After our first cleaning, you won’t even need to be home. We’ll swing by and perform routine cleaning and maintenance, and then see you the following quarter. You’ll have the benefit of a frequency discount, professional eyes on your gutter system to catch any issues early and quote for repairs, and peace of mind knowing your gutters are ready to collect any rainfall that comes their way. A maintenance plan is an affordable, worry-free option that is far less expensive than the cost of neglecting your gutters.
Typical Gutter Maintenance Plan Schedule
While each of our maintenance plans at Aerotech are customized to your home, here’s an example of a year of cleanings on a quarterly maintenance plan and why they’re important:
| Season | Description |
|---|---|
Fall Cleaning
|
Our team arrives onsite in early November when the leaves have fallen from the maple trees that surround the home to clean as much debris as possible before winter arrives. |
Winter Cleaning |
Our team comes out before a large snowstorm is predicted to hit the area to make sure all of the melting snow doesn’t create ice dams. |
Spring Cleaning
|
At peak pollen season we arrive for a cleaning and rinse out all of that debris along with leaves that found their way into the gutters from a recent windstorm. |
Summer Cleaning |
It’s hot out and your local pests seek refuge in your downspouts. We remove their nests along with any dirt or debris to clear the way for summer rainstorms. |
Keep Your Gutters Clean Year-Round with Our Comprehensive Gutter Maintenance Plans
At Aerotech, we’re committed to providing you with a stress-free cleaning process every time. Contact us to get your free quote. We’ll work with you to find the best time for a team member to come to your home and personalize our recommendations. We’re your first call for any gutter-related issues and can help by providing additional services like professional gutter installation, siding installation, proper gutter maintenance, regular inspection and repairs, and more!
We’re Here to Serve!
Aerotech brings over 34 years of gutter expertise to every job. We’re fully insured, so you will have peace of mind that the job will be completed safely and efficiently every time.
Aerotech proudly services: