A Guide to Cleaning/Maintaining Your Homes’ Gutters

Cleaning your rain gutters is an important part of your home’s maintenance. Gutters allow runoff from rainstorms to drain away from the home, preventing water damage to windows, doors, and the house’s foundation.

Your gutters can’t do their job if they are clogged with leaves and other debris. Dammed up water in gutters will overflow and pull the gutters loose. If not cleaned in time for winter snow storms, ice dams could form and cause extensive damage. Wood troughs will eventually rot, and metal ones will rust.

How to Clean Gutters

It’s easy to hire a service to clean your gutters, but if you are on a budget or want to save money cleaning your own gutters isn’t difficult if you follow these steps:

• Use a steady ladder. Wear work gloves to protect hands from sharp screws. Be sure to wear safety goggles to protect your eyes from falling debris.
• Begin by raking or blowing leaves from the roof so that they don’t wash down into the gutters during the next heavy rain. If you have a low-sloped roof, you can use a leaf blower to blow debris out of the gutters. Only do this if you feel safe going on the roof. Be careful and never try to clean gutters in icy or windy conditions. You can also work from a ladder that extends above the eaves.
• Wearing work gloves, scoop out the debris using a bucket or drop cloth to catch it. A plastic scooper makes the job easier.
• Use a garden house with a high-pressure on-off nozzle to blast out the gutters and clear obstructions. Working toward the drain outlet, wash out each length of gutter. Prepare for this step to be messy.
• When finished cleaning the gutters look for signs of other home maintenance that may be needed. Twigs and branches may mean nearby trees need trimming. If you see granules, your shingles may be deteriorating.

If you feel more comfortable hiring a pro to get on the roof, contact Rooftops Energy Solutions. We can also look for any repairs that may need to be made.