The Best Time To Clean My Gutter Before Winter Comes
The weather is about to change, and the temperature is about to drop in Chicago. Don’t let water damage cost you a lot of money. Ensure your gutters are clean before winter, so you don’t have to pay for expensive repairs. Gutter Medics offers gutter cleaning to ease this worry and lower the risk of damage from ice dams.
Have more questions? Feel free to visit our FAQ section. Check out our reviews and media page to see our work’s quality. Call (630) 922-3131 for more information or to make an appointment.
Why Should I Clean My Gutter Before Winter?
The weather is getting colder, and winter will be here before we know it. Now is the time to start planning to keep your property safe from the harsh winter weather. Here are some reasons why you should clean the gutter before winter:
1. Prevent Clogs And Backups
Leaves and other things get stuck in your gutters in the fall and winter and can cause clogs or blockages in your home’s eaves troughs or downspouts, which stops water from draining correctly. If water from a backup gets into the walls of your home, it can cause damage or flooding.
2. Avoid Having Ice Dams Form In Your Gutters
Ice dams can form if I don’t clean my gutter, and it contains things like leaves and twigs. If ice dams form on your roof, they can cause leaks and damage the structure if they get big enough. If you have a gutter guard on your house, keep it clean so that ice dams don’t form.
3. Get Rid Of Unwanted Trash
When you clean your gutters before winter, you can also eliminate any unwanted debris that has built up over the year. At some point, it may have collected twigs, leaves, acorns, and even small pieces of trash. This doesn’t just make your home look better. It also makes it less likely that it will get clogged.
4. Prevent Water Damage to Your Home’s Exterior
If your roof doesn’t drain water properly, it can damage outside walls. It can also bring mold into your house. Water building up around your home’s foundation could damage the building. Keeping it clean and free of debris is one way to avoid this. So that water can easily flow away from your home’s foundation.
5. Protects Your Roof And Gutters From Freezing Over Time
Cleaning your gutters before winter is also essential because it will keep your roof and gutters from freezing. Even more so when it is cold outside and it starts to rain. When this happens, ice dams form at the bottom of these structures. When the ice melts and the water flows down, it can cause leaks and other problems.
6. Prevent Water Damage To Your Home’s Interior
If your foundation has cracks or your roof has leaks, water can get into your home. It could cause damage to your walls and ceilings inside. It can also make mold grow in your home, which is bad for your and your family’s health. One way to keep this from happening is to keep your gutter clean so water can flow away from your home’s foundation and roof.
7. Keep Your Home’s Foundation in Good Shape
The soil around your home’s foundation can get bigger or smaller when the ground freezes and thaws. This can cause cracks in your home’s foundation that let water and moisture in. This can cause mold to grow, wood to rot, and bugs to move in. So clean it before winter if you want to keep your home’s foundation in good shape.
8. Reduce Your Energy Bills
Having clean gutters can help you save money on your heating bills in the winter. This is because your roof lets heat escape. It makes it harder for your house to stay at a comfortable temperature. This makes your furnace or heat pump run longer, raising energy bills. But if you have a gutter system that works properly. It will help keep heat inside your house and reduce how long your furnace or heat pump needs to run.
9. Preventing Mold Growth
Mold spores are everywhere but only grow when they land on wet surfaces, like leaves and other things that get stuck. They will quickly begin to grow and spread. Mold can grow on the walls and ceilings of your home if you don’t take care of the problem immediately. This is unsightly and can harm your health if you breathe in mold spores.
10. Avoiding Pest Infestations
You can keep pests out of your home if you keep it clean. Rats and squirrels eat things like leaves, sticks, and acorns. If you have many of these things, rodents will probably find their way into your house to look for food.
Pests like mosquitoes and wasps stay still in the water. These pests like to live where water sits still. They are not only annoying, but if they sting or bite you, they can also hurt you.
11. Avoid Costly Repairs
You might have to pay for expensive repairs if you clean it after the winter. This is because leaves and other things can get stuck and cause them to break or fall. If this happens, you’ll have to buy new ones, which can be pricey.
Lastly, remember that gutter cleaning before winter is a great way to protect your home and keep its value. If you have the skills, it can be cheaper to do them yourself than to hire a service to clean them from the outside. If not, you should probably leave it to the professionals.
If you are worried about how much snow will fall this winter. You can easily hire Gutter Medics for your gutter cleaning needs. Customers keep coming back to us year after year because they know how good our services are. Dial (630) 922-3131 to set up a meeting and let us solve your gutter problems.
Gutter Medics Offers The Following Services:
- Gutter Repair
- Gutter Cleaning
- Gutter Installation
- Gutter Screening
- Underground Drainage
- Siding Repair
- Siding Cleaning
- Ice Damming
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Frequently Asked Questions
At least twice a year: once in the spring and once in late autumn. To get ready for the heavy rains that come in the spring, you should clean out your gutters early every year. If you don’t take care of full gutters, water will get stuck in them and damage your home’s foundation or walls.
Get Your Gutters Ready for Winter:
- Be ready for snow and ice.
- Examine your gutters.
- Look for ice dams. Icicles are beautiful, but they are a sign of poor drainage.
- Clear the gutters by removing any leaves, twigs, or debris.
- Use a gutter guard.
Although most people believe that gutter cleaning is only done in the summer, spring, and fall, it is critical to clean your gutters before winter. Your home’s gutters are essential in preventing water from entering your home.
- The gutters are overflowing with rainwater.
- The gutter is sagging.
- You’re staining your siding.
- Critters are making their way into your gutters.
- Birds are congregating in your gutters.
- Your gutters are overgrown with plants.
If your rain gutter slope is correct, water can drain through your gutters to your downspout. Water can collect in your gutters if they are too flat. Allowing water to stand still in the gutters overnight increases the risk of freezing and forming ice.
I clean my gutters regularly to prevent debris and ice from accumulating. This buildup can make the gutter heavy in the winter, causing it to sag or break. Keep your gutters as clear as possible to avoid costly repairs.