How Often Should I Clean my Gutters?

Keeping your gutters clean is an important part of home maintenance and one that sometimes gets forgotten about. Having clean gutters helps ensure that water drains to the right place and helps keep your property looking great. Gutters should be cleaned regularly, but how often do they need to be done? It depends on your home’s location, the gutter material, and even the way you collect and use water in your property.

Why do I need to clean my gutters?

There are many reasons why you should clean your gutters. Not all of them are straightforward and may seem unrelated at first glance.

The main reason to clean gutters is to divert runoff. Water that hits your roof needs a place to go, and gutters make sure that the water goes somewhere safely away from the house. If they become clogged, they can leak or even break, and that extra water can start to damage the roof or the walls of your property.

Clogged gutters also make inviting homes for pests such as birds. With much of the material for their nests already made, birds and insects can congregate around gutters and also make their way into your home, and pest control may be required to remove them.

Having clean gutters is especially important if you collect rainwater in a tank. Gutters collect dirt, sludge, and other unwanted materials, and some of that can get into your tank. Getting comprehensive cleaning done, will get rid of any unwanted debris and keep them out of your water.

How often should my gutters be cleaned?

In general, we recommend having your gutters cleaned twice per year. Typically, this should be done in late spring and early autumn. Twice a year cleaning ensures that there aren’t too many debris in your gutters that could cause them to clog. However, twice a year might not be enough depending on your location and what’s around your house.

If you have several tall trees around your house, for example, you’re much more likely to have your gutters filled up faster because of all the leaves, sticks, and/or pine needles from the trees that will settle in them. You’ll probably find some of these that settle from the wind even if you don’t have trees around, but your gutters will fill up faster when they’re close by and can drop into your gutters easily.

If possible, it’s a good idea to check your gutters after a heavy storm. Storms can bring a lot of extra materials into your gutters that typically wouldn’t be there that can cause harmful clogs. Heavy winds, rains, and hail can also damage the gutters in spots and cause them to leak, and it’s important that these leaks get patched up quickly to avoid problems later on.

Our team is experienced in cleaning gutters and use the SkyVac gutter cleaning system for quick, effective gutter cleaning. We can do one-off cleanings or you can schedule us for regular gutter cleanings for your home or business. Give us a call today to set up your appointment.