What happens if you don’t clean your gutters? For starters, unclean gutters are a breeding ground for mold and make costly and damaging leaks much more likely. An unclean gutter system can also lead to a leaky roof, a leaky basement, and in severe cases, a cracked foundation. Additionally, a gutter system filled with debris makes a favorite home for critters, rodents, and other creatures you don’t want lurking around your home.
While there’s no hard-and-fast rule for cleaning out your gutters, we suggest doing at it least twice yearly. Aim for cleaning out your gutters in the late spring and then again in the late summer or early fall.
Factors that can impact how often you need to get up there and clean out your gutters include the following:
- Do you have large pine trees growing above your home? Since pine needles tend to shed throughout the year, plan on checking on your gutters every three months or so.
- Is your home at a higher elevation? If so, ice can be a big worry for your home. Throughout the winter, make sure your gutters are clean to prevent ice-related damage.
As long as you maintain your gutters by cleaning them and they’re installed properly, you can expect to get about 20 years of use out of them before you should consider replacement. When that time does come and you either need to install a new gutter system or replace a current one, call us at 31-W Insulation for help and superior service.