Rain gutters are mostly an under-appreciated workhorse of your home. The function they perform is vitally important, directing rain water away from the home, but most people never even think about them.
A rain gutter’s main job is to prevent soil erosion, why is it so important? Soil erosion can lead to your foundation settling which causes uneven floors, cracks in walls and even chimney damage. if you’re getting water in your basement plugged or poor functioning gutter system might be the cause. If you have Garden or plant beds next to your home and the gutters are just allowing the rain to pour over onto these soil beds it is going to cause soil erosion and most likely destroy the plants in this area with too much water.
Maintaining Your gutters
Cleaning your gutters or having your gutters professionally cleaned is a very important part of home maintenance, clogged gutters or downspout can lead to water running off close to your home and potentially cause water damage and cost you a lot of money in the long run.
To clean your gutters properly you are going to need a few pieces of equipment, here is a list of products that will be required.
- An extension ladder or a step ladder depending on the height of your roof
- Two large buckets
- A gutter scoop or trowel
- A garden hose and spray nozzle
- Cordless drill and bits
- A pressure washer
- Work gloves and latex gloves
- Gutter sealant and gutter Hardware if required
- Wire hooks
- A plumber’s snake for the downspout
If you happen to own a leaf blower this is also a great tool to utilize for blowing out dried debris, this method doesn’t work so good if there is wet debris throughout the gutters. You can actually purchase gutter cleaning kits that will attach to leaf blowers.
If you’re going to tackle this job on your own make sure you have all the safety equipment necessary such as a goggles, a dust mask, work gloves, and if you’re going to be climbing a ladder make sure that is secured to the side of the building and you have a friend with you in case anything happens. Also, remember to never stand on the top two rungs of your ladder.
If you decide that you want to just hire a professional to take care of this annual household chore for you then give us a call in Stony Plain or Spruce Grove at 780-932-7337 for a free estimate.
