Busting 2 Myths About Gutter Maintenance
Posted on: 29 July 2016
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Roof gutters play an essential role in protecting your home from the elements. By diverting rainwater and melting snow from the roof and foundation, gutters can help prevent your shingles and ensure that water doesn't spill off and ruin your foundation. Routine maintenance and proper installation is essential to getting your gutters to work properly.
Unfortunately, there are many myths about gutters that can misguide you and prevent your gutters from being the best they can be. Read on to learn some of those myths so you can better protect your rain gutter system.
Gutter cleaning is all you need
Many homeowners think that gutter maintenance just involves removing debris occasionally. While this is a major part of the maintenance process that helps prevent clogging, it is not all that you need to do to keep your gutters in good shape.
Inspecting the mechanics of your gutters is also a crucial part of maintenance. Start by checking for gutter spikes that may have worked themselves out of their holes and replace them so as to ensure the gutters remain firmly secured to the roof, which will enhance drainage. You should also check for loose rivets on the downspouts and reattach them with a rivet gun.
Another thing you should look at is cracked caulking on the seams of the gutters that could allow water to seep into the boards and cause rotting. Use a chisel to remove any cracked caulking and then fill the affected area with new bead silicon sealing. You should also fill any sources of leaks or drips along the gutters with new caulking.
Gutter protection isn't necessary if you don't have trees
The misconception that you don't have to invest in gutter guards to keep out debris if you don't have trees can be misleading and can lead to clogged gutters. While the lack of trees near the roof will seemingly translate to no leaves and twigs in the gutters, there are still many unsuspecting sources of debris that could cause you headaches.
Debris such as leaves and dust carried by wind could still end up in your gutters, while asphalt shingle granules and dirt from the roof could get deposited in your gutters after a heavy downpour. Furthermore, rodents and birds could also seek shelter in your gutters, especially during winter, causing serious clogging issues.
To be on the safe side, invest in gutter guards to keep out pesky visitors and debris from your gutters. You will however still have to clean your gutters occasionally, as small amounts of debris could still infiltrate the gutter protection.
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