Regularly cleaning your home’s gutter is an important thing to do, especially if you notice some unwanted signs of damage or something similar. Your gutter has a crucial role when it comes to leading the water and other things such as debris and leaves into the right direction, so that they can all be stacked up at one place for when cleaning time starts.
But, although it seems like something that’s very easy to do, cleaning your gutter is a bit more complicated, especially for those who never engaged in such an activity. It’s a frequently asked question that many people want to know the answer of. How do we clean our gutters without making some of the most common mistakes that people tend to do when they don’t have enough experience with it.
In today’s article, are going to help you learn something that will be of huge importance in the near future for whenever you decide to clean this specific part of your home. Without any further ado, let’s take a look at what you need to know.
1. Not regularly cleaning the debris
Dirty rainwater isn’t the only thing that you need to clean when taking care of your gutter. This is like the breeding area for withered branches and leaves. Things like these are what’s going to block most of the water flowing space in your gutter, so you shouldn’t ignore them at all when cleaning. You see, during seasons such as fall and winter, especially fall, leaves and branches can be easily stacked up inside of your gutter in a very quick period of time. This is especially true if you live in an area where there are a lot of trees.
2. Using strong chemicals for the process
Although your gutter is made out of metal, it’s still not indestructible, so we suggest that you avoid using strong chemicals for the cleaning process. Doing this can cause damage to the insides of the gutter and it can be an even bigger problem. In fact, you don’t even have to use chemicals to perfectly clean your gutter. You can do it by using other simpler tools. People think that pouring down chemicals inside the thing will fix the problem, but that’s not true. As we mentioned above, it can cause an even bigger problem than you already have, because the chemicals can bite the material and cause holes slowly but surely if you’re doing this on a regular. Read more here.
3. Air blowers and fans to “ease up” the work
Are you looking to fix this issue without creating any additional ones? Then don’t turn to using air blowers and fans to ease up your work. A lot of people think that this is the best solution when it comes to cleaning up the gutter, but instead they are risking a lot of other things. First of all, air blowers, or even worse, fans, are not strong enough to unclog branches and leaves stuck inside the gutter. And, by using them, you are risking water falling over one of those things and breaking them completely, without getting anything in return. Believe it or not, this is the worst way to deal with the situation. We suggest avoiding it.
4. Disregarding the importance of safety gear
Although it doesn’t seem like a dangerous task at first, you should never disregard the importance of safety gear when doing something like this. You never really know what’s stuck inside of the gutter, and you also don’t know whether some of those things will end up playing in your face potentially damaging your eyes or hands. It is dangerous to avoid wearing safety gear.
When it comes to the required equipment pieces you need for the task, we suggest wearing protective eyeglasses and gloves. Also, don’t bring any electronics close to the areas where water might start pouring out.
5. Damaging the gutter on your own while working on it
It’s very easy to damage the gutter while working on it and not many people realize this. Now in the previous section we mentioned not using chemicals but that’s not the only thing you need to take care of and be careful of when doing this. You should avoid leaning on the gutter while standing on top of a ladder because the pressure from your body is more than enough to break it or bend it in a way that causes an even larger problem.
6. Using fire to “burn through” the obstacles inside
Last but not least, although it sounds like something that nobody would try, it’s still worth mentioning it because quite a few people tried it in the past, and we consider this a huge safety hazard. What we are talking about is using fire to burn through the obstacles inside of your gutter. People think that by setting a fire inside will burn all the leaves and branches and only smoke will come out, potentially fixing the problem. But, we wholeheartedly vote against this action because it’s a huge safety threat.
Conclusion
There is a reason why gutter cleaning services are so popular in many states in the US. But, a lot of people at the moment are left without jobs and they are all facing a mild economic crisis, meaning that spending even the slightest bit of money for something that you can do on your own is not a smart idea at all.
This is why we decided that it is much better to teach you all about the common mistakes you should avoid when cleaning your gutter instead of telling you that it’s optimal that you pay for a professional service instead. Don’t get us wrong, the quality of service you will receive from a professional gutter cleaning service is incomparable with the results you’ll get by doing it yourself. But, when it comes to saving money, there isn’t a better way to do things than by doing them on your own.
