Roofing and Building Center

Cleaning Your Gutters

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Samuel Cheeseman ----- Advertisement

We all know the benefits of a clean and tidy house and many of us devote considerable amounts of time each week making sure the interiors of our homes are kept clean and well organised. Unfortunately we usually pay much less attention to the exterior of our home. It is important to ensure that the exterior is well looked after to ensure both a respectable appearance and also to minimize the risk of any damage or wear and tear causing the need for expensive repairs.

One area which tends to get neglected more often than others is the rain gutters. A gutter can become blocked very easily and lead to a whole host of problems. These include leaks and overflowing water which can cause the rotting of wood both inside and outside of the home and also the rusting of any metal which may be holding the rain gutter in place. In extreme cases the gutters themselves can break free from a house under the weight of excess water leaving serious water damage visible on the exterior walls. Avoiding the costs of repairing water damage whenever possible can save you considerable amounts.

The blocking of gutters is more often than not caused by dead leaves and other debris clogging them up. The extent of the problem will often depend on the location of your home and its proximity to potential sources of debris such as deciduous trees. Gutter cleaning can usually be limited to once or twice per year but may be necessary more often in certain areas.

There are various kinds of tools available which are designed to clean rain gutters. Most require a hose pipe and are operated either from the ground or with the aid of a ladder. Many designs have a tool which enables you to pick debris from out of the gutter without even leaving the ground if the high pressure nozzle fails to clear the gutter. In rare situations it may sometimes be advantageous to operate these devices from the roof of your house both for safety reasons and better access. There are also a couple of new designs which require almost no effort from the user and take the form of small motorised devices which act as mini robots travelling the length of your rain gutter until it is  cleared.

One final option you have in order to deal with the problems of a blocked gutter is to take pre-emptive action. Gutter guards are now available which are designed to prevent blocking and therefore greatly reduce the need for any cleaning. This will mean the need for any repairs to the guttering itsself or to fix water damage will also hopefully go down. It is important to make sure that any gutter guard you purchase will fit your specific rain gutters and also that it is installed correctly.

Here is a resource where you can find more information on cleaning your gutters and guttering in general. Many other Home Articles can be found here.