9 Essential Gutter Cleaning Benefits You Need to Know About
Gutters shield your doors, ceiling, walls, and foundation from water damage. They also prevent basement flooding, minimize soil erosion around your property, and protect your fascia and patios from water-related staining and decay.
To enjoy the benefits of a gutter system, however, you have to ensure that they are not clogged with leaves, twigs, dust, or any other debris. Regular gutter cleaning eliminates the debris from your gutter, thereby ensuring that they work as intended.
Below, we have listed and described the major benefits of gutter cleaning. By the end of this article, we are confident you'll be convinced of the importance of gutter maintenance.
Top Benefits of Gutter Cleaning
1. Gutter Cleaning Prevents Water Damage
One of the top reasons to clean your gutters is to prevent water damage, a leading cause of structural damage. Gutters are intended to channel water off the roof and away from your home and its foundation.
However, a clogged gutter floods your foundation, thereby reducing the integrity of your building. Besides spoiling your foundation, a blocked gutter can also cause roof leaks that can damage your ceiling, your walls, your floor, your fascia board, and other parts of your building.
If left unmanaged, such loss can reduce the stability of your building, thereby reducing its value. Cleaning your gutters is among the primary ways of maintaining your structure’s glory.
2. Gutter Cleaning Eliminates The Nesting Of Pests That Can Damage Your Building
Another benefit of gutter cleaning is to eliminate the leaves, twigs, and any other debris that serves as nesting and breeding places for pests like rats, mice, insects, birds, and mosquitoes that may carry the deadly West Nile Virus.
Furthermore, the debris in your gutter may decompose to form an organic matter that supports the growth of tree seedlings, fungi, and other plants. It is common knowledge that pests like mosquitoes, rats, and other bugs that breed in a clogged gutter may spread deadly diseases.
On the other hand, tree seedlings can damage your roof while giving your home an unsightly appearance. Regular gutter cleaning eliminates pest’s nesting areas, and it gets rid of the organic matter where plants thrive on.
3. It Prevents Destruction Of Landscaping
Landscaping is a critical process that improves the aesthetics of your home. Besides adding beauty to your home, landscaping also enhances the value of your home, regulates temperature extremes, and improves your home's comfort and livability.
However, did you know that a clogged gutter can damage your landscaping? Unmanaged water from clogged gutters can cause soil erosion, sweep away your cherished flowers, or even destroy the plants that you chose for your landscaping.
Clean gutters and downspouts/leaders channel rain water away from your landscape, thereby eliminating soil erosion and any other damage that may be associated with unmanaged water flow to your landscape project. In certain situations, the water can be purposefully channeled into certain flower beds and gardens to help eliminate the need for watering.
4. Gutter Cleaning Shields Your Home Against Basement Flooding
Basement flooding is one of the problems caused by blocked gutters. This is because clogged gutters overflow and spill rainwater around your basement. In turn, the spilled water may easily find its way into your basement where it causes flooding.
Basement flooding is a serious problem for homeowners as it fuels the growth of mold and mildew. Mold spores may trigger allergic reactions and other respiratory disorders. Furthermore, basement flooding damages your basement's interior décor, and spoils furniture, electronics, and other valuables housed in your basement.
The benefit of gutter cleaning is that it minimizes basement flooding by funneling rainwater from your roof to the drainage where it is funneled away from the house.
5. Gutter Cleaning Extends Your Roof’s Lifespan
Another reason why gutter cleaning is an important service is because it extends the lifespan of your roof. During winter, clogged gutters trap ice, thereby adding unnecessary weight and stress on your roof. This additional weight may cause your roofing materials to collapse unexpectedly.
Moreover, clogged gutters will not drain water as intended and when the water freezes, it moves your shingles apart, opening a way for roof leaks. A well-maintained gutter facilitates water and ice flow from your roof. This way, ice and water will flow easily from your roof eliminating the excess weight and pooling.
6. Gutter Cleaning Increases Your safety and Comfort
Gutter cleaning enhances your safety and comfort in various ways. First, this valuable service eliminates harmful pests like rats and mosquitoes that spread various diseases.
Secondly, the debris, the decomposed organic matter, and other particulates can contaminate your water, making it unsafe for domestic use. Also, the presence of organic matters in your gutters can promote the growth of mildew and mold, which are harmful to your health.
Based on these reasons, regular gutter cleaning would be a better option to evade any gutter related health issues.
7. Gutter Cleaning Protects Your Home Against Roof Leaks
The principal purpose of gutters is to facilitate water flow from the roof to a managed drain. However, clogged gutters will not drain all water from your roof. As a result, the excess water can find a way into your home through the roof.
It is not hard to tell that a leaky roof can damage your ceilings as it fuels the decay process of your house’s roof rails. With water leaking through your ceiling, the people living in the house risks suffering different types of injuries that could result from the decaying materials. Therefore, cleaning your gutters not only gives you the benefit of shielding your building against roof leakage but also keeps you safe from other associated problems.
8. Gutter Cleaning Enhances the Beauty and Value of Your Home
Gutters are among the parts that improve the aesthetics of your home since they are a noticeable part of a building. Neglected gutters may fall off, and their overflow will stain the fascia boards.
Such issues will reduce the integrity of your structure and may be interpreted as irresponsibility on your side. Also, houses with clogged gutters have a lower value, and may take longer to attract a buyer.
For this reason, you should consider cleaning your gutters if you are planning to sell your building. Gutter cleaning will also save you from earning a reputation of irresponsibility and neglect.
9. Gutter Cleaning Increases The Lifespan Of Your Gutters
Building experts say that clean gutters last longer than clogged gutters. This is because un-cleaned gutters accumulate debris and other particulates that add unnecessary weight onto the gutters.
As a result, the gutters may detach from fascia boards and fall off. Likewise, the organic matter in a clogged gutter may cause rusting and corrosion. Therefore, you need to clean your gutters regularly if you want them to last long.
Gutters protect your home's integrity. Despite the fact that they are important, most homeowners do not maintain their gutters as required. As a result, they leave the gutters to accumulate debris like leaves, twigs, and other particulates. Clogged gutters damage your roof, foundation, fascia boards, and they may cause basement flooding.
Need Gutter Cleaning Services?
Do you remember to clean your gutters periodically? If not, you need to start cleaning them to get the many benefits of completing this home chore: increase their lifespan, increase the aesthetics of your home, extend your house’s lifespan, prevent basement flooding, and protect your landscaping project from water damage.
Other benefits of gutter cleaning include the fact that it enhances the value of your home and helps the house to attract buyers and fetch a reasonable price. You may choose to clean the gutters yourself or hire a gutter cleaning professional to help you.
