Cleaning the gutters is probably one of the least relished chores of maintaining your home. It’s dirty work high up on a ladder that takes up significant time. The primary problem is your rain gutters need regular maintenance if you’re going to avoid mold growth, flooding and expensive roof, siding or foundation repairs.
The secondary problem is risking your health climbing a ladder and cleaning gutters without the necessary safety and cleaning equipment. There is a significant risk of falling off your roof or a ladder when cleaning the gutters, and you need to have the right equipment and training to clean your rain gutters safely.
It can seem like there is no good solution, but hiring a professional gutter cleaning service offers significant benefits compared to cleaning the gutters yourself. Conversely, you also want to make sure you get the best professional gutter cleaning service for your money. Here’s our guide to hiring the best gutter cleaning company in Eugene
How Often Should You Clean Your Gutters?
The answer to this question largely depends on where you live, the average rainfall and what species of trees grow closest to your home on the property. Most experts recommend cleaning twice a year, but if you have pine trees near your house you will need to clean your gutters at least every three months. Pine trees shed needles all year long, causing debris to build up faster even when other trees have long shed their leaves for the winter.
When Is The Best Time To Clean Your Gutters?
Get your gutters cleaned in the late spring and late summer/early fall for best results. This is when debris from the trees around your house will be at its peak, and you should clean it out in preparation for the next season to come. Snow melt and rain will cause additional leaves and twigs/branches to fall throughout the fall and winter, and the ones that land on your roof will eventually be trapped in your rain gutters and downspouts. You need to ensure that the entire gutter system is draining well before the start of summer rains and thunderstorms, and again before winter snowfall washes still more debris from the fall into your rain gutters.
Should You Hire A Professional To Clean Your Gutters?
If you are cleaning rain gutters on a home that has a roof line above 10 feet, you should seriously consider calling in the pros to clean your rain gutters. They have the training, safety gear and cleaning equipment to make cleaning your gutters fast and easy without risking you safety. What do they do differently? Here’s a quick overview:
Step 1: Set up ladders & get safety equipment in place before getting on a roof over 10 ft
Safety ladders and harnesses are expensive, and even if you plan to clean your gutters every three months you could easily pay a professional to clean your gutters several times for what this equipment costs. You also need to learn how to properly set up and use the safety gear, and that means sacrificing more of your free time.
Step 2. Inspect roof and gutter report any damage to customer let supervisor and office know
Experts know exactly what to look for to see if gutters or roofing materials have been damaged prior to work being completed. Preventing repairs that can cost a lot more than a gutter cleaning is part of the job for gutter cleaning companies, so having their expert eye checking your roof actually saves you money.
Step 3: Blow out gutters or clear them by hand
Clearing gutters by hand is actually faster than using a power air blower to blast the debris away, and it decreases the potential for damage during the cleaning process. Hand clearing also has the benefit of not spraying gutter debris all over your lawn.
Step 4: Clear gutters using ladders where the roof is too steeply pitched
Cleaning the gutters is best done from a rooftop, but if the roof of your home is too steeply pitched the gutters will need to be cleaned from the ground up via ladder. This is not a task anyone should attempt alone, and definitely never without the proper safety gear in place. Having a professional clean gutters on steep rooftops is always the best decision.
Step 5: Flush out all gutters to unclog any debris and disassemble drains at the elbow
Once the large debris is cleared out, the pros will use a pressurized hose to clean out any remaining debris and clear any clogs in the downspouts. Most will also take elbow joints apart to manually clear any debris that’s trapped inside. If you don’t have a pressurized water hose you can use a regular garden hose, but you are unlikely to get satisfactory results.
As you can see, cleaning the gutters is generally a task best left to professional gutter cleaning services for many reasons.
If you live in the greater Eugene, Oregon area, you need to call Cutting Edge Window Cleaning Services. We can help you get your gutters cleaned quickly and efficiently so you don’t have to risk your own safety getting up on the roof to do it yourself. Cutting Edge is also fully insured and bonded, and we offer a satisfaction guarantee on all our gutter cleaning services. Contact us today for more information.