‘Tis the Season for Gutter Cleaning: The Importance of Clean Gutters Home Garden Home Improvement by Jim Jones - January 25, 2016January 25, 2016 ‘Tis the Season for Gutter Cleaning: The Importance of Clean Gutters Gutters play a crucial part in maintaining your home’s well-being, designed to control the flow of rainwater to protect your roof, foundation, siding, walls, and landscape from water-related damage. But given their role in protecting the home, gutters are not always given the attention they need and deserve. Unfortunately, that can lead to certain complications, many of which could’ve been easily avoided by keeping your gutters clean. Image- flickr.com The Importance of a Well-Functioning Gutter System Gutters are meant to work with your roof to protect your home from various water-related problems. A well-maintained and functioning gutter system is important because: It helps stabilize the soil around the house. It helps preserve the home’s exterior, preventing damage to doors, siding, walls and masonry. It helps lessen settling and cracking in pathways. It helps prevent foundation problems. It helps prevent flooding. It helps prevent erosion, keeping landscaping intact. Image- flickr.com Problems Arising From Clogged Gutters If gutter cleaning is delayed for a prolonged period of time or totally ignored, debris will eventually accumulate. Leaves, for instance, will decompose, mat down, and compress into a solid sheet of muck that will clog your gutters sooner or later. And when that happens, a myriad of problems arise: basement flooding, foundation cracking and settlement, soil erosion, and paint damage. It can also cause window, door, and siding problems later on. Clogged gutters also result in standing water that can attract mosquitoes. To avoid these problems, gutter cleaning should be done about every four months, or every time the season changes. If you have trees around your home that produce falling leaves year-round, you may need to have the gutter cleaned more frequently. DIY or Professional Gutter Cleaning? Cleaning your gutters is important so it must be done properly. Hiring a professional not only ensures this, guaranteeing that not only will your gutters be cleaned but that no other problems arise during the job. After all, professionals know what they are doing. They have the necessary skills and experience, as well as tools and equipment, to carry out a gutter cleaning right the first time. Professionals will also know precursors to problems when they see one and will be able to alert you of any additional work that your gutters will need to stay in top shape. And should anything untoward occur, professionals carry insurance coverage that will protect you from damage and injury liability. Image- flickr.com Gutter Protection: What is It and Why Consider It? There’s no denying that worrying about keeping your gutters clean, even with professional help, can get troublesome. To save yourself the trouble, you should consider getting gutter protection. With a gutter protection system installed, debris is kept out of your gutters for good, eliminating the risk of clogs. Some debris will still accumulate over a gutter protection system over time but you have nothing to worry about as this will not impede its performance. To learn more about gutter protection and how you can better care for your gutters at home, don’t hesitate to talk to a local contractor. Author Bio: Jim Jones is the President of Seamless Exterior, a family business based in Cedar Falls, Iowa. A window contractor himself, he established the company out of the desire to provide customers with quality and respectful service.