How Often You Should Clean Your Gutters & Why It’s Important

When your gutters are working correctly, it’s easy to forget them. When they become filled with debris, though, you might notice rainwater gathering near your home’s foundation or water spilling over the sides of your gutter system. Why is it important to clean gutters? Cleaning your gutters helps protect your Jacksonville home from water damage and other problems.

Cleaning your gutters regularly plays a critical role in providing your home with protection from the following problems.

Roof Damage

Rainwater can seep into your roof, attic, and home interior when you have clogged gutters. This puts your home at risk of water damage, such as mold growth, wood rot, and other water damage. Severe roof damage from water can even make your home unsafe.

Gutters catch water flowing down the sides of your roof and direct it away from your home. When they’re clogged, water could seep through your roof into your attic. Cleaning them helps lower this risk.

Pests

Leaves and other debris in your gutters invite pests to make a home there. This can also give them easy access to your roof and attic, leading to major pest problems. Keeping your gutters clear of debris discourages pests from building nests in them.

Damage to Fascia

The fascia boards running along the roof’s lower edge help keep moisture out of your home. When you have gutters filled with debris, water can damage the fascia. This, in turn, allows moisture to seep through your roofing system and into your attic and home interior. Having your gutters cleaned helps protect the fascia from damage.

Overwatering Garden Beds

Water should be able to flow through your gutters, but blockages from debris can stop this from happening. Instead, water in your gutters can spill over the sides and onto the ground below. This can wash away vital topsoil and give your garden beds too much water, damaging plants and flowers.

Cracks in Foundation

Clean gutters keep water from accumulating around your home’s foundation. When your gutters are clogged, water can pool in these areas, leading to cracks in the foundation. These cracks allow water to get into your home, resulting in water damage to the interior and potentially causing structural problems.

How Often to Have Gutter Cleaning Done

Leaves and other debris can slowly build up in your gutters over time or quickly fill them after severe weather. How often should you have them cleaned to prevent problems from occurring? That depends on certain factors, including your home surroundings, weather events, and time of year.

Trees

If you have trees around your home, plan on cleaning your gutters more often. Leaves and twigs from these trees can end up in your gutters, especially on windy days or during storms. Adding gutter guards can help lower (or eliminate) tree debris from clogging your gutters.

If you don’t have any trees near your home, you can still have debris in your gutters, but you probably don’t need to have your gutters cleaned as frequently.

Time of Year

What time of year is ideal for cleaning your gutters? Homeowners in Jacksonville should aim to have their gutters cleaned at least twice a year or more often if needed. Having your gutters cleaned twice a year is recommended. In addition to a spring cleaning, plan to have them cleaned after hurricanes.

Having your gutters cleaned before hurricane season is vital since this season tends to have a lot of rain and wind. Keeping them clean helps rainwater move through to the ground instead of seeping through your roof.

Weather Events

Since Jacksonville gets its share of hurricanes and tropical storms, plan on having your gutters cleaned before hurricane season starts in June. Starting with clean gutters lowers the risk of heavy rains damaging your home when a hurricane or tropical storm passes through.

You should also have your gutters cleaned after major weather events occur. These events can easily fill your gutters with twigs, branches, leaves, and other debris. Clearing your gutters to ensure no debris is left to accumulate and put your home at an increased risk of damage. 

When it’s windy out, wait until the wind dies down to have your gutters cleaned. Otherwise, the wind can continue blowing leaves and debris into your gutters, so you’ll need to clean them more than once. Waiting until after the wind subsides allows you to go in and clear out all debris without worrying about more being added.If you need more information on cleaning your gutters or for gutter installation and repairs, please contact StormForce. We can help with all your gutter needs to help ensure your Jacksonville home is protected from leaks.