subject: Residential real estate How And Why It Is Important To Keep Your Gutters Clean And Clutter Free [print this page] Residential real estate How And Why It Is Important To Keep Your Gutters Clean And Clutter Free
For those of you who have rented their whole lives and then buy a home to live in, all of a sudden you find yourself a handy man. With that comes doing things like looking at the roof and checking the downspouts and working your way down the building. We are going to learn how and why it is important to keep your gutters clean.When the garden leafs and small sticks fill up the gutter then a rain comes, you will find that the water then has no place to flow and it backs up. At that point expect your system to become twenty to thirty pounds heavier. There will come a time when the weight of it will cause it to fall off the house and down on to the floor.Toward the top of your home, there is a wooden board that runs the length of the home. The gutters are placed and secured in the front of this wooden board. This is bare wood with nothing protecting it. If it fills with water the board will get wet and you will have rotten wood. Standing water also entices mosquitoes to lay eggs to hatch. You then have a serious mosquito issue.Once you notice the yard debris and you decide that now is the time to clean it out them, start to gather some supplies from around your garage. You need to gather a bag for the trash, a pair of gloves and a small hand shovel to scoop up yard clutter. For safety sake ask a friend to help you. Grab a secure ladder and climb up to where you can see inside the gutter. Scoop out all of the debris with the shovel or your gloved hand. Repeat this all the way around your home.Every now and then, take a good look at the hardware that holds the gutter system to the house. Tighten them if needed. Take a walk around your home and carefully look at things like that, it only takes a few moments to do this. You want to keep your friends and family safe from accidents.At this point, you can see how not to overlook gutter maintenance. Make it a habit to clean them twice each year, and to check them in between. As long as there is no rotten wood and debris in them you are fine. The cleaning itself is not a hard thing to do, just be safety conscience about it and you will be fine.
