Here Are The Top Reasons Not To Skip Gutter Cleaning
Skipping cleaning your gutters can lead to:
- Expensive Damage to Your Roof, Gutters, Walls, and Landscaping
- Potential Flooding and Foundation Issues
The Purpose of Rain Gutters
Gutters and downspouts are your roof’s drainage system. They are responsible for carrying away the thousands of gallons of water that lands on your roof every year. They are not easy to maintain for most homeowners but play an important part in how well your home serves you.
Rain gutters that are clogged with leaves, dirt, and debris will back up with water when it rains. The gutters will overflow or even worse, pull away from the support structure and fall. Gutters that overflow pour water onto walls, windows, doors, landscaping and other areas around your home.
Water will seep into the interior of your home, your basement, or your foundation where it can cause significant damage due to freeze-thaw cracking.
View our video on the reason why skipping your gutter cleaning is never a good idea:
The Expense of Damage Caused By Clogged Gutters
Most homeowners never spend a lot of time thinking about their gutters and downspouts. Usually it is only when there is a problem that develops and by problems, we mean more than just a little waterfall of water from your gutters where there should not be one! All of this water can cause significant and expensive damage to your home and its vital parts. Let’s look at some examples of the repair prices for typical damage that happen due to clogged gutters:
- Replacing Fallen Gutters
Replacing gutters can run from $5 to $10 per foot when including the price of downspouts and repairing any underlying damage. - Replacing or Repairing Fascia Boards or Shingles
$4 to $10 per foot is the going rate in most areas of the country. - Window and Door Repairs
Repairing windows and doors due to water damage can run from $70 to $125 each. - Basement Flooding
A flooded basement can set you back $500 or more to have the water removed and dried out using high-power fans.
It’s easy to see that these repair prices are far more than the price of having your gutters professionally cleaned twice a year.
Are Gutter Guards The Answer To Clogged Gutters
We’ve written a number of posts about gutter guards on our site over the years and a list of them is below for you take a look at.
But let us say this right here so it will not be misunderstood – gutter guards are not the “answer to” or a “solution for” clogged gutters and here are the reasons why:
- Gutters with guards still have to be cleaned on a regular basis. Just because there is a screen or mesh over the top of the gutter does not mean that it is somehow sealed. Dirt and leaves still enter the gutters as well as accumulate on the TOP of the screen. weighing it down and actually preventingthe gutters from doing their job. Companies that install gutter covers or guards will either charge you for cleaning after the guards are installed or add it to the price of the guards and then give you “free gutter cleaning” for a year.
- Guards lead to heavier gutter weights and potential ice dams. This additional weigh gradually (or suddenly) pulls the gutter away from the house and sends it crashing down onto your landscaping, autos, decks, driveways, and other areas. The guard creates a barrier over the top of the gutter that gets heavier and heavier as debris and water accumulates.
Read More About Gutter Guards:
Leaf Guards: Do They Really Work?
Let’s Review:
Skipping gutter cleaning may be tempting and easy to do. It may seem to be a big task or that it could be expensive but neither one of these are true. Clean Pro Gutter Cleaning provides affordable, easy to schedule gutter cleaning near you from our nationwide network of authorized vendors. Our free quotes, online scheduling, and 100% satisfaction guarantee make taking care of your gutter cleaning responsibilities as easy as filling out a two minute form.
This post originally appeared in 2017 and was updated September 2019.
