Clogged Gutters and Debris in Gutters
Without doubt, the most common reasons for clogged gutters are the leaves and debris that will eventually fill in gutters. Materials that find their way into gutters can easily include deciduous leaves, pine needles, pinecones, twigs, acorns, seeds, asphalt shingle grit, and more.
Obviously, clogged gutters don't move rainwater away from your house. But there are even more reasons to be concerned:
- Debris reacts with water to form a sludge in gutters that can reduce the life of your gutters by weighing them down and attacking the metal coating.
- Clogged gutters are fire hazards. Embers from wildfires can travel up to a mile-and-a-half away. For that reason, the state of California recently declared that most new homes must be built with gutter protection to keep out leaves and debris.
- Clogged gutters can be nesting sites for insects and vermin. For example, the standing water in gutters that don't drain well can be breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which can spread illness and disease.
- Clogged gutters cause water to overflow, often penetrating siding and foundations. The resulting mold can be a major health hazard to your family.
What clogged gutter solutions are available to you? Two of them aren't very inviting. You can either climb up on the roof and risk an injury, or hire a teenager and risk a lawsuit.
Another solution is to install a gutter protection product. (See our article on gutter protection.) And the last alternative is to hire a gutter cleaning service. Yet such a service might not be easy to locate. Most gutter companies believe they can make more money by installing gutters rather than servicing them. Their business model is built around installing as many linear feet of gutter per day as possible. Nevertheless, a few gutter installers offer cleaning services as a way to cultivate relationships with homeowners.
