Is there a way to make gutter cleaning easier? Most people do not particularly enjoy having to stand on a ladder and clean out their rain gutters, but fortunately for them, there are products which help make this a bit easier. These are called gutter guards, gutter filters, leaf guards and many other names, but the one thing they all have in common, is that they limit the amount of dead leaves and other organic material that ends up in your rain gutters, eventually clogging them. The principle is easy enough to understand – a piece of steel or plastic which is perforated in some way, is placed over the top of the gutter. Here, it will catch most of the organic material blown into it by the wind or washed off the roof by rainfall. The advantage is that whatever it catches will not end up in the gutter, where it would otherwise decay in to a mud-like substance which restrains the flow of water very effectively. There are many different designs, with numerous shapes and sizes of holes, and made for any kind of rain gutter you can imagine. Whatever guttering you have on your home, there will be a gutter guard that fits.
But how well do they work? Some makes are certainly marketed very optimistically, claiming that you never have to clean your Gutter cleaning again. This defies logic, of course. At some point the gutter guards will not hold more material, they may even clog up completely themselves, and the water will start flowing over the edges of the guttering. This is not good – in fact this is exactly why we have gutters on our homes and buildings in the first place – so by then you will need to act. Eventually, even gutter guards have to be cleaned. So what good are they? Well, a lot, actually. Remember that they keep a lot of bad stuff out of your gutters – which would otherwise clog the gutters – and your downspouts and sewers! If you think cleaning gutters is dreadful work, then you should try cleaning a downspout! Or what about having to call someone to come and clean your hopelessly clogged sewers which are overflowing due to a vast amount of dead leaves from the roof? This is where you can either clean your gutters often, or install gutter guards and do a little less cleaning. In my view, that is how gutter guards should be used.
Cleaning gutters regularly can prevent:
• Corrosion in the gutter system
• Dirt and leaves from flowing in water tanks
• Damages caused by fires
• Water damages from clogged gutters
• Gutters from functioning to maximum life expectancy
• Pests from nesting in the gutters.
An alternative solution to gutter cleaning central coast would be to install gutter covers to keep out debris and allow water to drain freely into the gutter system. This is an essential maintenance activity as it will ensure that you are getting good quality tank water.