Most people say that you should clean your gutters yearly. There are some who say that you should clean it during the fall and others who say that you can wait until fall turns to winter. This mostly depends on where you live. In the northern areas, you want clean gutters before the first snowfall. In southern areas whe
re leaves drop from trees until winter, you may want to wait until then to tackle it. Either way, it is time to start considering gutter cleaning so that you can get prepared ahead of time. This includes getting a solid ladder and everything else that you will need.
Gutters are a great way to ensure that rain water does not fall next to your home. This protects the exterior walls and the foundation of your home from getting too much rain on them. Excess water close to your home can cause wooden areas to rot faster and could easily damage your home’s foundation. The reason you should clean them out is to ensure that they flow properly.
Leaves and twigs will stop up a gutter system. These items will blow onto your roof and combine with dirt and pollen. When the rain comes, those items are washed into the gutter and water will pool up in the gutter rather than flowing the way that it should. This blockage means that water is sitting on your home rather than running off and away from it, which could also lead to rotting.
To prepare to tackle cleaning, you should make sure that you have a stable metal ladder that is long enough to reach your gutters, gloves, goggles, your garden hose, which should also be long enough to reach easily, and a cleaning tool of some sort will also be beneficial. Most all of these items are designed to keep you safe while you are cleaning. If you look at your roof and see a lot of debris still lying there, you will also want to have a firm broom to clean the roof of your home.
Before you climb up the ladder, make sure that you tell someone you are going to clean the gutters or plan ahead to make sure someone can be home with you. This way, someone will know that you were cleaning them and be able to check on you to make sure you are okay. In the event of an accident, you will know that help will be on the way soon and in a bad situation, that is going to be very important.
