Have you cleaned your gutters? This year some of the outside maintenance has gotten away from me. I’m pretty lucky because I only have on big tree in my yard, the other one is still too small to be a real problem. The big tree drops enough leaves to keep me busy raking, trying to get them all up before snow blankets the ground. I usually don’t think about my rain gutters too much, after all I only have one tree.
Once again, I didn’t think too much about my gutters this year until my friend came over. Nancy said she had finally decided it was time to clean the gutters and she was glad she did as she found that several of them were loose. Had she not cleaned them out and fixed the loose ones she probably would have had a big problem when they fell this winter.
We recently had pretty high winds so everything was blowing everywhere, including my leaves and also the neighbors. I thought it might be time to check the gutters. I did some research and found that rain gutters last about twenty years, I didn’t know that, I thought they lasted forever, just another bit of knowledge I didn’t have! As most of us know clogged gutters can cause water damage by allowing water inside the house and then you may find yourself with a mold problem.
If your gutters are filled with leaves and debris they will freeze faster and the additional weight may pull them off of the house. Also you should pay attention to the condition of your gutters and any leaks you find. Make sure the corners are properly caulked to reduce drips that will eventually cause damage. That is one problem my gutters have, the corner over a walkway drips. Unfortunately where this gutter drips the walkway has a slight slope so in the winter that corner of my walkway is very icy. I need to caulk it but now it’s too cold, I will have to wait until spring. If I had been regularly maintaining my gutters I would already have found and fixed this problem.
Cleaning your gutters isn’t hard but if you can’t or don’t want to do it there are companies you can hire to do it for you. Properly maintained gutters will protect your home from water and save you some money in the long run.