Why do rainbows form? Why do birds fly south for the winter? Why do gutters need to be cleaned? Inquisitive kids and homeowners alike often demand answers to questions. We can quickly dismiss the first two questions (refraction; plentiful resources), but the third puzzle needs a bit of work to clear up the clog.
Clean or Not to Clean?
Definitely clean your gutters, or hire capable, local contractors to clean the gutters for you. Why? We know five excellent reasons why your gutters need to be cleaned. You might also be weighing whether to do the job yourself or delegate it.
Delegate it. We have no idea if you live in a three-story Victorian masterpiece or a single-story sprawling ranch. It does not matter. Get a local, dependable gutter contractor to handle this smelly, messy, slimy, filthy work. You will be happy you did.
Gutter cleaning is best done in spring and fall (yes, twice a year!) after winter has done its worst and before the next harsh winter. Spring brings a lot of rain and, often, debris falling on your roof or caught up by winds.
Autumn brings falling leaves which somehow seem to know to target your gutters. They clog downspouts and fill the horizontal gutters so no water can run through, down, and away from your home.
And now, five reasons you need clean gutters.
#5 Overwatering Garden Beds
Overflowing gutters will overwater the flower beds around your home’s exterior walls. The falling water will cause furrows and ditches to form, beat down the plants, destroy bulbs, and saturate the healthy topsoil.
It’s okay, you say. You’re not a big gardener, you say. Ah, but remember your flower beds and grass and all your landscaping helps hold your topsoil in place, keeps your foundation dry (see #1, below), and preserves your home’s curb appeal.
Landscaping is expensive, even if you do it yourself by weekend puttering in the beds. Safeguard your handiwork and protect your investment by getting your gutters cleaned.
#4 Keep Out Pests
Clean gutters keep out pests. Standing water in gutters is an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes. Damp, wet leaves attract flying insects like hornets, who love nothing more than to set up nests inside the horizontal portion of your gutters.
Larger pests, such as squirrels, mice, rats, and even raccoons, will find weak spots in your roof and enter the attic to set up housekeeping in your dry, quiet, dark space. Those weak spots? Rotten wood, displaced flashing, or torn away fascia (see #3, below) from heavy, water-filled gutters.
#3 Damage to Fascia
Behind every great gutter is a beautiful fascia board. Fascia strips are the horizontal exterior molding which caps the ends of roof rafters. They are painted to match other trim and strong enough to support your home’s gutters.
Overflowing or damaged gutters will send water back against the fascia. It will rot and decay. Then your gutters will worsen. The fascia could even entirely disappear. Then you may get pests and insects inside your attic (see #4, above).
#2 Roof Damage
The second-best reason to get your gutters professionally cleared out and cleaned up is to prevent roof damage. The gutters are the last part of your Michigan home’s roof system. Water is shed by ridge vents, flashing, underlayment, and field shingles. It falls down into the gutters, where it runs away only by gravity’s pull, to empty into downspouts which send the water far away from your foundations.
Clog up those gutters and the water has nowhere to go. It will still fall from your roof, but it will have time to soak through shingles, rust metal panels, or saturate tile. It will curl back (by capillary action) and soak through the roof’s edge. It will cause structural parts of your roof to rot.
#1 Cracks in Your Foundation
The worst problem of all gutter issues is your home’s foundation. Concrete is a great invention — thank you, Romans — but it cannot withstand constant exposure to wet-and-dry cycles. Water from poorly performing gutters will saturate the soil around your foundation. This then saturates the foundation itself, weakening it.
Your entire house, literally, depends on those foundation walls to hold up everything you own. Cracks, crumbling exterior surfaces, subsidence, and other foundation issues can often be traced back to bad gutters.
A few dollars and minutes spent on having your gutters professionally cleaned will pay handsomely in protecting your entire home.
Should you clean your gutters? No. Should you have your gutters cleaned? Yes! One call to a trained professional contractor, and all those worries (insects, rotted fascia, damp plants, foundation problems, roof damage) will vanish! Contact Victors Roofing online today to schedule your home’s gutter inspection.
