Gutters are a necessary part of your home’s roofing system. As water flows off your roof, the gutters and downspouts keep your foundations, fascia boards, and landscaping from getting saturated. Keeping gutters clean is easier with gutter guards, but then you wonder, do gutters with gutter guards need to be cleaned?
Why Guard Gutters?
Gutter guards of any type, including the GutterShutter, Green Screen, and Arrow Gutter Guard, are meant to keep leaves and debris out of your gutters.
When twigs, leaves, and pine needles fall into your Sacramento-area home’s gutters, the gutters can clog, downspouts can become bottlenecks, and water can overflow your gutters.
This is trouble for your home’s foundations; the overflowing gutters allow water to seep into the ground under your eaves, softening the soil and soaking the foundation walls. Gutter guards safeguard not only your gutters; they also protect your foundations, fascia, and landscaping.
Why Clean Guarded Gutters?
The entire point of gutter guards is to prevent nature’s litter from falling into the big metal troughs which carry rainwater away from your home. Why clean the gutters if the gutter guards are working?
Think about wet leaves. They can become a wet mat, sticking to the gutter guard and preventing rainwater from falling into the gutter. Think about thin pine needles; they can sneak past the pierced openings of some gutter guards.
Gutter guards are not 100 percent efficient. Some natural leaf litter and twig pieces still get into your gutters. They just do not accumulate to the extent they would without the gutter guards. So, some periodic cleaning is still needed.
When to Clean Gutters?
A gutter cleaning schedule has two parts: clean periodically (about every two years) and clean when you see a problem. In the first year or so of having gutter guards, you may find you will sleep better by at least checking the gutters every year to ensure minimal buildup of leaf litter. Then, a semi-annual cleaning may be all you need.
When you see water overflowing your seamless gutters, you also know cleaning is needed. Protect your roof, fascia, and foundations by keeping the gutters and gutter guards clean and clear.
Straight Line Construction not only installs flawless roofs, but we also install and repair gutters, too. We can protect your home by installing seamless gutters, then protect those gutters with gutter guards. Contact us today so your home stays safe and dry.
