Every house has gutters! They play a pivotal role in protecting our walls, foundations and landscape from severe water damage. Our house really could not function correctly without them! For this reason, it’s super important to take care of them and ensure they receive regular maintenance.
This maintenance includes cleaning! You’ve probably had a flyer through your door before for a local Brisbane gutter cleaning service and wondered if it was really worth it. Do gutters actually need cleaning? And if they do, can’t I just do it myself?
This article is going to answer those questions and more! But first, let’s look at what gutter cleaning involves, and then we will dive into the good stuff! What benefits come from proper gutter cleaning, and is it worth your money or not?
What is Gutter Cleaning?
A gutter clean is the process of deep cleaning your entire gutter system. This includes all gutter components, such as fascia brackets, downpipes, end caps, and of course, the gutters themselves!
During a gutter clean, all twigs, branches, leaves and other debris will be removed from the gutters and downpipes to make sure there are no blockages. Then the gutter system can be flushed with water to get rid of any excess dirt.
Professional gutter cleaning services will also include a gutter evaluation, where they will inspect your gutter system for any defects and recommend the correct way to fix it.
Benefits Of Gutter Cleans
Gutter cleaning provides considerable benefits to your gutters, home and landscape, some of which many people are unaware of! When your gutters are clean and water can flow through them correctly, they can work in many ways to protect your property.
For example, regular gutter maintenance:
Prevents Roof Damage
When your gutters are clogged up with dirt and debris, water cannot flow freely, so it stays there next to your roof, going stagnant. This stagnant water can eventually cause your roof to rot, leading to structural instability, and can even cause your roof to leak! However, when gutters receive regular cleaning and maintenance, water can flow freely through unclogged channels, resulting in a healthy and leak-free roof!
Protects Your Home From Wildfires
Gutter cleans are one of the most simple and effective ways to start making your home wildfire-proof. Even if your roof is fire-resistant, leaf piles and other dry foliage in your gutters can be enough to set your roof on fire. Cleaning all the debris, leaves, pine needles and other dirt out of your gutters can help prevent the fire risk.
Reduces Water Damage
As mentioned before, clogged gutters can cause water damage to your roof. But this damage can extend further than that! Gutters that are clogged and full of water can become very heavy, causing brackets and attachments to buckle. This can put a lot of stress on the siding of your home!
In addition, water that leaks out of your roof and down the side of your property can leak through your walls, causing further structural damage. These issues might not be noticed until it is too late and you have huge mould or mildew spots on your ceiling or walls. Therefore, ensuring your gutters are clean and unclogged is vital to prevent these water damage issues from occurring!
Increases the Longevity Of Your Roof
When gutters are regularly cleaned and maintained, it prevents wood rot, leaks, mould and other roof issues. This helps extend the life of your roof and keep it in perfect condition!
Deters Insects And Pests
Gutters full of leaves, debris and twigs make the perfect ready-made nest for many insects and animals. They love to make their homes here, so don’t give them a chance! Regular gutter cleaning prevents the build-up of leaves and debris, so these pests won’t even consider making their home there.
Prevents Stinky Gutters
Blocked-up gutters lead to stagnant water, rotting leaves and other debris. This can cause an extremely unpleasant smell around your home! If your gutters leak through into your roof or walls, this unpleasant smell can even permeate inside your home too, and nobody wants that!
That’s where regular gutter cleaning comes in. When your gutters are clean, unclogged and free of debris, there will be no nasty smells in the air!
Protects The Surrounding Landscape
We’ve already discussed how overflowing gutters can cause water damage to your home, but did you know it can also cause damage to your garden and surrounding landscape?
Gutters are designed to channel water to areas of your property where they will not cause damage, ideally to a drainage area or sewer. But if those gutters are clogged up, water will overflow wherever it wants, such as your beautiful flower beds or tidy lawn!
Proper gutter cleaning and maintenance can protect your landscape and prevent water damage to your foundations.
Extends Gutter Lifespan
And one final benefit, regular gutter cleaning can extend the life of your gutters! Replacing your gutters is not a simple or cheap job, so it’s better to protect them in the first place. And because healthy gutters do such an excellent job of protecting your property from damage, clean gutters can also add value to your home, win-win!
Can I Do It Myself?
So now we’ve seen some of the great benefits of keeping gutters clean. But you might be wondering if you can save some money by doing it yourself! Well, I can’t tell you what to do…but I can tell you that working at height is one of the leading causes of work fatalities! The NSW Government reports that most fatal accidents happen at heights of 2.1 to 4 metres. So unless you have a tiny house… it is really not recommended to attempt gutter cleaning without the appropriate safety equipment and proper training.
If you don’t have the proper safety equipment and have not been trained to work at heights, it’s much safer and easier to find a Brisbane gutter cleaning service to do the job. That way, you eliminate the risks and can be confident the job will be done correctly!
But whether you decide to clean your gutters yourself or hire a trained specialist in gutter cleaning, one thing is for sure. Regular gutter cleaning is DEFINITELY worth it! By properly maintaining and cleaning your gutters, you can ensure that they continue to do their job correctly, protecting and extending the life of your home for many years to come.