Majority of homeowners aren’t too keen-sighted and don’t give much thought about how dirty your gutter can get when left uncleaned. Most people would just leave it to be until the rainy season returns and comes crashing down, leaving the gutters clogged.
To maintain your gutter’s integrity and save money on potential repairs – make sure that you take into mind these most common gutter cleaning maintenance errors. That way, you can be certain that your gutters will continue to work in pristine condition no matter how old they get.
1. Ignoring Minimal Things
Rain and other debris will eventually pile up in your gutters if you don’t clean them regularly or well enough, causing possible structural damage to your home. It’s worth mentioning also that other foreign objects, such as leaves, branches, etc., can be the cause for animal rodents making your gutter their own haven and can be the cause for damages found on your roof.
Remember that you have to treat your gutter like your own personal dream car. All components are intertwined and affect all areas one way or another. This makes it of utmost important to address minor gutter issues as you can find them, rather than waiting for them to worsen.
2. Using sensitive chemicals
There are lots of chemicals that can help you clear out unwanted buildup of foreign objects on your gutter, but be warned, they’ll normally come at the expense of your shingles’ protection. When cleaning your gutters, stay away from harmful chemicals, as these might cause your gutters to strip down of their protected coating and potentially ruin the outside of your home.
It may seem contradictory that gutters are engineered to survive environments’ harsh elements, but these rarely contain harsh chemicals. When washing your gutters, try using herbal cleaners to reduce the chance of scratching the finished on your gutter.
3. Positioning your ladder incorrectly
When homeowners incorrectly position their ladders, they inadvertently destroy their gutters. This may sound self-evident, but tons of people are injured by ladders every single year. If you’re going to be cleaning gutters, make sure your ladder is leaned against the wall. Otherwise, if your ladder falls a bit too heavy, particularly when going up, the ladder’s weight could possibly break your gutters.
With that in mind, make sure remember a few of these reminders:
- Carefully follow the safety instructions to properly climb on a ladder.
- Have a tight grip and make sure you’re on even ground
- Wear rubber shoes to increase your foot grip
- If you’re feeling ill or you’re experiencing poor weather, don’t attempt to climb a ladder
- Don’t push yourself too far
- Don’t even face your body away from the ladder
4. Using a pressure washer to clean your roof
Although it may seem like a quick and simple way to clean the gutters, pressure washing it is more likely to harm your roof than to clean it properly. By starters, there’s a higher risk of dislodging granules found on the shingles of your proof. If you didn’t know, granules are used to shield shingles from fog, snow, frost, and other elements, as well as protecting the roof when it starts raining. These granules can also aid in the absorption of UV rays while increasing fire resistance on the roof.
The more granules you’ll be losing, the more costly it is going to be when you’re going to have to replace your roof.
5. Wearing the wrong gear
Cleaning gutters wearing just the bare minimum and standing on the top of your proof is without a doubt, a dangerous and highly-discouraged thing to do. We’re telling you now, don’t make it any more difficult by not making the necessary precautions of wearing the appropriate protective clothing.
A few things you’ll need to consider when choosing the right clothing are:
- Eye Covering: Essential to protect both your eyes from foreign objects
- Gloves: Important for shielding your hands from whatever you may find in your gutters, which may include sticks, twigs, and other items. Furthermore, if they can increase your grip strength, then it may help you in cleaning up faster.
- Shoes: They should have decent enough tread so you won’t have to worry about thinking that you might slip off the ladder.
