As Fall Begins, Do Not Forget to Keep Your Gutters Clean

Cleaning your gutters is always important, as we all know. It’s the most important thing you can do to keep your attic or basement from flooding. However, as it is fall, it is now even more important that you regularly check your gutters. Because in fall, we see increased rainfall, as we see in spring, and in addition to the challenges from rain, we also see leaves and tree debris, which fall at a much higher rate this time of year than what we see in spring.

All that rain and debris means you are likely to see mucky half-rotted leaves clogging up your gutters, unless you regularly get out there to clean them.

In this guide, we will discuss methods for cleaning your gutters the way our roofing contractors in Irondale, AL do.

Clean them before they need it

As roofing contractors, we’re often asked what our secret is for cleaning gutters. The most important secret is to clean them before they desperately need it! First, start before the rain really kicks in. As soon as the rain and the leaves start falling, if you already have a problem with your gutters, that problem will quickly compound. Therefore, it is much better to first clean your gutters before the rain begins to pour.

Use the right tools

Make sure to have a sturdy extension ladder, a bucket with a handle, work gloves, a trowel, a hose with pressurized spray nozzle, basic tools and a plumber’s snake.

Use safety precautions

Have someone hold the ladder, and make sure you have a nice even, level place to put the ladder, and that the ends are braced with something heavy. If you don’t have a level place, try to make one with boards. Don’t carry tools while you’re climbing up; instead, climb up and then pull your tools up in a bucket tied to a rope. And make sure that you avoid working anywhere near where the power is coming into your house. No one but electricians should mess with that.

The actual cleaning process

To do the actual cleaning, spread some tarp out on the ground, and then use the trowel to remove debris from the gutter and put it into a bucket. When the bucket is full, dump the bucket onto the tarp.

Once you’ve gotten all the debris out by hand, take your pressurized hose and thoroughly spray all of your gutters until they’re clean. If any of your downspouts are clogged, you can use the snake to unclog them.

Once they’re unclogged, you can also use the pressurized hose to clean the downspout. You’re going to use a lot of water, which is normal. You need to thoroughly flush all of your gutters and downspouts.

Contact roofing contractors in Irondale, AL

If you have a really steep roof, you’ll be doing all of your work on the extension ladder, so be careful. And if you need a professional, give us a call at Metro Contractors Inc. We have one of the best teams of roofing contractors in Irondale, AL.

Finally, once you’ve cleaned your gutters, make sure to keep an eye on them. If a gutter gets clogged, which can happen suddenly if a pinecone or bird’s nest finds its way down a downspout, then water will begin to run over the top of your gutter, and you could have flooding problems in your attic and basement. It should be obvious if you have a problem, so if you see something, make sure to fix it or give us a call right away.

Categorised in: Roofing Contractors

This post was written by Writer