Seriously…Why Should I Clean My Gutters?

If you own a home, there’s a good chance that it’s your largest and most important asset. So you should already understand that keeping it in good repair is the key to preserving its value, which often means a running checklist and or to-do list.

Not to mention — you want your home to be a welcoming and comfortable place to live. But what you may not know is that regular gutter cleaning is one of the best ways you can protect your home, its foundation and the roofing system from a variety of environmental threats.

For example, unclean gutters can lead to excess water damage, a pest infestation, contribute to a cracked foundation, create a health hazard, mold, algae and more. While often overlooked, your home’s gutter system plays an important role in protecting every wall and the home's foundation from the damaging effects of the elements.

And to make sure your gutters are in tip-top shape to do that, periodic gutter cleaning is a must. However, attempting to clean gutters yourself, remove debris, and clean the downspouts is not only time-consuming — but dangerous.

Fortunately, when you partner with Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning of Long Island, we make regular cleaning as simple and effortless as possible. Most importantly, we will clean your gutters while your feet are safely on the ground.

From start to finish, our gutter cleaning professionals will do all of the heavy lifting to remove leaves, pine needles, and other debris to ensure rainwater flows safely and securely away from your home. Let's take a closer look at a few of the top reasons why it's imperative to have your gutters cleaned.

Clean Your Gutters to Prevent Interior and Exterior Water Damage

The first and most obvious reason that you should clean your gutters is that they are tasked with collecting rainwater and channeling it away from your home. In doing so, the gutters prevent standing water, which can cause damage to your home.

If your gutter system becomes clogged with debris and you fail to clean your gutters, they will not be able to do their job. And that’s when your home becomes vulnerable to water damage.

Rainwater can begin to seep behind your home’s siding and eventually make its way inside the walls. Water can also degrade your roof eaves and fascias and enter that way.

Whether water enters from the roof or wall, you’ll end up with a substantial repair bill to clean. Whether it's water from the wall or roof, the repair bill will be exponentially more expensive than what you’d pay for a gutter cleaning by a reputable, PROPERLY INSURED gutter cleaning service.

Gutters Protect Your Home’s Foundation

One of the reasons your home’s gutter system exists is to prevent rainwater and meltwater from ice and snow from running down the side of the home and reaching its foundations. If this rain and pooling water is allowed to collect, it can cause cracks and other damage that aren’t easy to repair.

The water accumulation from a clogged gutter system can also result in the foundation shifting. This can cause cracks to develop in your home’s floors and walls — and could eventually threaten the stability of the whole home.

A gutter cleaning is an essential task as well as a quick and inexpensive way to avoid all of those headaches. Best of all, when you schedule professional gutter cleaning services with Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning of Long Island, we offer flexible contracts as well as schedule reminders to ensure your home has functional, clean gutters.

Can Gutter Guards Help?

For a more permanent solution, you might want to install gutter guards so you won’t have to worry about gutter cleaning as often in the future. At Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning of Long Island, we offer world-class Englert MicroGuard gutter guards. 

These gutter guards are tested and proven to reduce and sometimes eliminate the number of required gutter cleanings. Installing gutter guards for your gutters is a cost-efficient way to reduce the number of cleanings and further protect your home.

Keep Rodents and Pests Away

Although most people don’t realize it, clogged gutters make inviting homes for rodents, bugs, mosquitoes and other pests. And as if that’s not unpleasant enough, those uninvited pests won’t stop with your gutters — they’ll make their way into your house, too.

The reason this happens is that falling leaves and other bio-debris from trees can accumulate in gutters. Once this debris accumulates, water stays stagnant and mold will begin to form as well as degrading, rotting biological materials. That turns your gutters into an ideal location for ants, mosquitos, pests, and other insects to gather.

Mice, squirrels and other rodents use the debris in your gutter system as soft and convenient nesting material. So, putting off gutter cleaning is like putting out a welcome mat for a whole range of pest infestations you don’t want near your home.

Clean Your Gutter Systems to Improve Your Home’s Curb Appeal

If you’ve ever driven past a home that has damaged or clogged gutters from debris — you’ll know it immediately. You’ll notice the growth of mold on the walls where water is allowed to overflow onto the siding. 

You may see peeling paint from the cumulative effects of unchecked water flows. You may even notice damaged gardens resulting from the constant soil erosion that comes from protracted, heavy rainfall.

All of those add up to one thing — an ugly home. So while contacting a gutter cleaning service may not seem like a way to improve your home’s curb appeal, it sure can prevent some unsightly damage and keep your home’s exterior in good shape.

In addition, regular gutter cleaning will keep your gutter system in working condition so you won’t have to carry out any expensive repairs if you ever decide to sell your home.

Preventing Ice Dams During Winter Months

In dry seasons, it’s easy to ignore the conditions of your home’s gutter system. In the rainy season, you may notice heavy rainfall overflowing your gutters, but still, write it off as a problem for another day.

But when winter sets in, you’ll wish you had done some gutter maintenance and cleared out your home’s clogged gutters and downspouts. In the winter, clogged gutters can lead to the formation of ice dams and icicles on your home.

They happen when snow and ice at the peak of your roof — where your attic is warmest — melt and run down toward your gutters. If those gutters are clogged with debris, they give the running meltwater no path to escape, it will refreeze.

Eventually, that ice buildup can destroy your gutters, your roof shingles, or even lead to flooding and roof collapse. Oh, and once the ice is there — you won’t have many options to get rid of it.

At that point, you’ll have nothing else to do but wonder why you didn’t get a gutter cleaning when you had the chance. Whether it's the fall, spring, summer, or winter, it's your duty as a homeowner to have clean gutters.

Contact Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning of Long Island

When the leaves, buds and seedlings fall, they tend to be attracted to your gutters and will eventually clog your gutters and downspouts. To prevent this from happening, it's imperative to have your gutters cleaned regularly.

Fortunately, the team at Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning of Long Island has the right tools and expertise to protect your home from gutter leaks and overflow. After we remove the debris and any gutter clog, our professionals will carefully flush your gutters to ensure optimum efficacy.

Contact Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning of Long Island today for the best solutions for your gutters and roof.