11 Reasons Why You Should Clean Your Gutters

Have you been ignoring your gutters?

Gutters that fall into disrepair and become clogged are unable to do their job—protect your home. Clogged gutters can lead to leaky roofs and water damage, among other concerns. Not to mention, clogged gutters are a paradise for pests, rodents, and mold which aren’t the type of company you want attracted to your home.

We’ve outlined the top reasons you should consider moving gutter cleaning to the top of your to-do list.

Reason #1

Prevent Water Damage to Your Home

We recommend cleaning your gutters twice a year to avoid the risks of water damage. Water damage from gutters that haven’t been maintained can occur both inside and outside of the home.

Excess water can travel into your home through crevices and cracks in the siding. This trickle might not seem like such a big deal at first but the compounding effects can result in serious and extensive water damage. This will appear as ugly staining to your walls and ceiling.

Clogged gutters and downspouts can also push water, with nowhere else to go, through the roofing structure. This process is aided by another problem that occurs when your gutters haven’t been maintained—ice dams.

The Average Cost of Restoring Water Damage: $2,000 to $5,000

Reason #2

Reduce the Risk of Cracked Foundation

Your gutter system plays a huge role in protecting your home’s foundation from damage. Without it, your foundation has no guard against pooling water during heavy rainfall.

Gutters help to move rain and melting snow away from your home. This helps to protect the base of your home from cracks and leakage that occurs when water pools around it. So while gutters themselves may seem insignificant, the financial damage you can incur from clogged gutters is undoubtedly significant.

Erosion and pooling water will weaken your foundation over time, eventually leading to cracks, shifting, or settling. Cracked foundation will lead to uneven floors and cracks in your walls. These are problems that are pricey and will need immediate attention from a professional.

The Average Cost of Cracked Foundation: $2,000 to $10,000+

Reason #3

Ward Off Pests

Clogged gutters make attractive hangouts for pests and rodents. This can be a serious health hazard for your family and also lead to a number of other damages associated with pest infestations.

Keeping your gutters clean keeps rot from occurring, which is an especially attractive feature of clogged gutters for pests.

If you skip out on having your gutters cleaned the pest and rodent problem can become more extensive. This can ultimately lead to major repair costs.

The Average Cost of a Pest Infestation: $300 to $600

Reason #4

Protect Your Roof

When your gutters are clogged, there’s nowhere for water to go. This can force water to your roof, resulting in water leaks. For obvious reasons, water leaks aren’t something you want occurring in your home.

Leaks can lead to further damage to your home’s interior, rot away your roofing system, and result in high repair costs. The cost to protect your roof with gutter cleaning services is relatively low in comparison to the average costs of roof repair.

The Average Cost of a Roof Repair: $650 to $1,100

Reason #5

Avoid Fascia Damage

Your clogged gutters inevitably will begin to hold water. Between the mounting water and the weight of the debris clogging your gutters, your gutters will become incredibly heavy. This can lead to your gutter breaking away from the fascia causing damage to this portion of your roofing system.

The Average Cost of Fascia Damage: $600 to $6,000

Reason #6

Protect Garden Beds from Damage

If you’ve spent a great deal of time tending to or having a landscaping company tend to the garden beds around your home then you’ll want to do what you can to protect them.

If your gutters are unkept and overflowing with water, instead of successfully guiding it down a downspout, then your garden beds are at risk. Clogged gutters can lead to overwatering, which may ultimately kill your plants.

The Average Cost of Landscaping Damage: $500 to $1,000

Reason #7

Improve Curb Appeal

Clean gutters won’t be the one factor that sells your home (or makes your neighbors jealous). But clean, kept gutters give your home a defined look without distraction. In fact, the gutters will most likely blend right into the rest of your home—just how you want it to be.

Not only are clean gutters a good look, but the absence of damage caused by unkempt gutters is also a good look. This will keep your home from having saggy gutters, torn up landscaping, and water staining on your siding.

Whether you’re trying to sell your home right now or you just want a beautiful house to come home to, well-kept gutters will help you achieve your goal.

Reason #8

Prevent Basement Flooding

Basement flooding due to lack of working gutters happens due to water collecting in pools next to your home’s foundation. This can cause water to seep down and collect in your basement. You should be especially aware of this if your home’s landscaping does not slope away from your home.

You’ll want to ensure your gutters and downspouts are clean and free from clogs. It’s also important to repair and replace these when needed.

The Average Cost of Basement Flooding: $3,000 to $10,000

Reason #9

Extend Gutter Lifespan

Clogged gutters can accumulate debris and collect water, causing them to become damaged under the mounting weight. This can also lead to rust and corrosion, shortening the lifespan of your gutters.

Gutters that receive proper maintenance and cleaning can last for 20 to 50 years depending on the material used. Downspouts can last for even longer with average lifespans of 30 to 100 years.

The Average Cost of New Gutters: $600 to $1,500

Reason #10

Prevent Ice Dams

Ice dams form when snow on the roof of your home melts and runs into the gutters. Here it re-freezes due to the cold temperature of the gutters. This caused the formation of an ice dam that prevents proper drainage. This can be exacerbated by gutters that already have a buildup of debris due to lack of cleaning.

Ice dams can cause water to collect under shingles, moving moisture to damage the roof, fascia, and soffits on your home. Icicles can also form which adds additional weight which the gutters can not handle. This can lead to gutters detaching from the roof and damaging the fascia.

The Average Cost of Ice Dam Damage: $1,000

Reason #11

Prevent Unexpected (and Expensive) Repairs

There are multiple problems that can set in when gutters remain clogged for an extended period of time. Unfortunately, if your gutters have been neglected your home won’t be subject to just one repair. Clogged gutters can cause all of the damages covered in this article to the same home at once. This will result in a massive repair bill for your family.

You could be looking at total repair costs that are as high as $10,000 on the low end.

How to Clean Your Gutters

If you don’t want to invest in a handyman to take care of your gutter cleaning for you, you can attempt it yourself.

Cleaning your gutters should be done twice yearly, preferably every six months. This is best done in the spring and the fall.

Follow the following three steps to keep your gutters clean.

First

Secure the proper equipment to safely clean your gutters. These include at least the following:

• Extension ladder
• Hand trowel
• Standoff stabilizer
• Dust masks
• Spray nozzle
• Tarp
• Goggles
• Rubber gloves

Second

Pull debris from your gutters and drop this debris into a bucket or down below you onto the ground. It’s best to lay out a tarp for easy cleanup.

Third

After cleaning your gutters, check your downspouts. You can use a hose to send water down these downspouts and flush out any debris. If no water comes out of the end you’ll know you have a clog to remove.

Hire a Pro

Hiring a handyman or roofing professional to take care of your gutters can take the stress off of you as the homeowner. A professional will also be able to determine if the gutter should be replaced, repaired, or cleaned.

Having a professional take care of your gutter cleanings is especially important for those with roofs that have extensive slopes and multiple stories.

Gutter cleaning services will range from $100 to a couple of hundred dollars depending on the number of stories your home has and how large your home is. We can provide you with a quote for gutter cleaning on your Tennessee home.