Gutter Cleaning… The phrase embodies so much! Face it, you just got an adrenaline rush and you are running to get your ladder right now…. riiiiight??? It’s everyone’s dream to grab a ladder, the power washer, some gloves, and smell the sweet aromas of the mushy mud and composting leaves. What do you see in your mind’s eye? Do you see warmth and sun rays? The sure bet is you see a cloudy fall day.
Now, back to reality-
Said fall day is cold, overcast and wind and leaves blowing. Try some garbage sacks (let’s hope those sacks are waterproof), and grab what tools you feel will work.
For something that should be done at least twice a year, this job gets left behind, but for a reason. To do the job right takes the right equipment and a love for a dirty job. We use powerwashers and we clean up when we are done. Doesn’t that just sound a lot better?
Heaven forbid you to take your hose up on top of the ladder and try to get something started. You will soon find the damned water overflowing, worse than it was before, and now you have a dirty, smelly mess.
Or you try to scoop out one handful at a time the goopy, sloshy clumps of mud and leaves. Remember, there is a reason it is clogged. Gravity and water have already tried running their natural course, but a few too many things have gotten in the way.
9 of 10 gutters get cleaned when it’s too late, and too late can also mean, too late in the season.
Cleaning gutters is prevention. That’s the bottom line. Prevention for your foundation as flooding can occur. Prevention for your windows to help them stay clean and keep the run-off running down the drain and out the downspout. The run-off is only as clean as its source. So how about, eliminating the dirt and buildup in the gutter and getting the water down the drain and not on your house, foundation, or windows.
Homeowners across America are still trying to find the best way to clean their gutters, but their list of reasons why they don’t end up doing this more than once every blue moon include:
- Sharp Pine Needles
- Petrified Mud
- The Smells (two votes for this one)
- Disposal of the waste
- Lack of Equipment
- Not knowing where to start on the project
- Fear of Heights
- Bad Weather
- Waterproof Gloves, clothes, etc.
Your gutters alone are designed to hold gallons of water but often overlooked are the nails and supports that keep those gutters hanging on for dear life. The weight from the leaves, debris, pine needles, dirt, mud, and damned water make it nearly impossible to escape untouched by damage. How many houses have you seen damaged fascia boards? This is fairly common and usually will not happen in the first 10 years of a home; however, it happens more and more.