Clogged rain gutters can damage your home’s foundation and interior. Learn how to clear your gutters of dirt and debris—with or without a ladder.
Of all the necessary evils that make up a comprehensive fall yard maintenance routine, cleaning the gutters may be the most dreaded of all. Tedious though this task is, homeowners are wise not to neglect it. Properly functioning gutters, after all, ensure that storm water does not find its way indoors.
Of all the necessary evils that make up a comprehensive fall yard maintenance routine, cleaning the gutters may be the most dreaded of all. Tedious though this task is, homeowners are wise not to neglect it. Properly functioning gutters, after all, ensure that storm water does not find its way indoors.
Learning how to clean gutters isn’t difficult and with proper precautions in place, is safe. There is a variety of ways to get those leaves out of the gutters before they clog and lead to gutter damage, and there’s no one best way for every homeowner. Some folks don’t like using power washers, and others don’t want their feet to leave the ground in the process. The best way to clean gutters is to use a safe, effective method you’re comfortable with.
Why It’s Important to Clean Your Home’s Gutters
Gutters serve the vital purpose of collecting the rain that falls on the roof and diverting it through downspouts away from the home’s foundation. Without gutters, water that falls near the foundation could leaks through windows, or seep into a basement or crawlspace.
Rain gutters typically require very little upkeep to function well, other than keeping them free of debris. Gutters that are filled with leaves can lead to clogged downspouts, which cause water to spill out over the top of the gutter channel and fall to the ground below. Worse, winter’s melt and freeze cycles can cause snow on the roof to melt into the gutter and freeze there. These ice-filled gutters are sometimes so heavy that they detach from the roof.