Gutters need to be cleaned regularly to make sure they’re doing their job: whisking water off your roof and away from the foundation of your home. Home gutter cleaning is just one of those things that has to be done, but you can maximize the effectiveness of your cleaning by doing it at the right time of year.
The short answer is: usually spring and fall. The more complicated answer is that it depends on the type of trees you have and whether they tend to do a lot of shedding all year long, just in the fall, or in both the fall and the spring. Other important factors are how close the trees are to your home, how tall they are, and which way winds blow.
Fall Cleaning: A Must
Everyone should clean their gutters at the end of autumn when the leaves are mostly gone. Fall cleaning gets out all the fallen leaves, pine cones, and other tree debris that has been accumulating through the late summer and early fall. You can expect a buildup of ice and snow in the winter, and if your gutters are already full of twigs and leaves, that buildup could cause serious damage.
Spring Cleaning: Right for Most
Unless you live with no trees anywhere nearby (and that’s fairly rare here in the Kootenai County area), there are likely to be some lingering leaves that make it into your gutters after your autumn cleaning. Plus, many trees shed during their spring growing season, and if you have any of those around, you will have a buildup of gunk in the gutters by the end of spring. Get those gutters cleaned out in time for the refreshing rains.
Seasonal Cleaning: Dealing With Pines
Pine trees are gorgeous, and they’re also terrible shedders. Their needles and cones tend to shed all year long, no matter the season, and they also have a tendency to pile up even over gutter guards. If you have a lot of pines in the area, or if you’re just not sure what’s around and want some advice, call gutter cleaning specialists to let you know how often you should be cleaning your gutters.
Ways to Minimize Cleaning
First, be sure to get gutter screens or guards. These aren’t magic, and your gutters will still need cleaning from time to time, but you’ll need far less cleaning with these installed. Another thing to consider is getting seamless gutters. Seamless gutters don’t have as many joints where debris can get caught and cause a pileup.
Finally, consider cutting down any trees particularly close to your home that shed badly. Get rid of them completely or replace them with lower-maintenance trees that only shed leaves in the fall.
Contact a Professional
If you need to have your gutters cleaned or just need a professional eye to look over the situation, reach out to us here at Precision Gutters & Roofing right away.